Amazon India is hosting its Prime Day sale between July 15 and July 15. During the two-day sale period, the e-commerce giant is promising crazy deals and discounts on a range of electronic products, home appliances and more. Sure, if you login to Amazon India, you will find some interesting deals. The obvious response from a lot of my friends is to pester me about the best deal on the product they’ve long desired to buy.
As a part of my job, I usually keep a track on deals and write about them. This way, I’m mostly aware of the launch price of products, price cuts and more. But when brands like Amazon India and Flipkart host such big sales, I’m often disappointed with some deals that are misleading. Take an example of the Amazon Fire TV Stick. It is usually available for Rs 3,999, but during the sale period, the price is dropped to Rs 2,799, which is good.
There is iPhone XR that is available for Rs 49,999 which is pretty interesting. I had also been looking to buy a wireless noise-canceling headphones (Sony WH-1000XM3). But at Rs 29,999, it was out of my budget. During the Prime Day sale, it is available for Rs 23,490, and with HDFC bank card discount, I can fetch it for under Rs 22,000. Sure, I’m making a saving of Rs 8.000. But there are products that are misleading the price and discount, and this is the exact reason why I am not sold into this deal mania. Below are some examples.
Amazon India
Samsung Galaxy M40, Galaxy A20
The Galaxy M40 was recently launched in India for Rs 19,990. With Prime Deal, Amazon is showing a price of Rs 20,490, and a 2 percent discount, after which it will be available for Rs 19,990. But hey, this is false marketing. You can’t show MRP (maximum retail price) and then show MOP (marketing operating price) just so that buyers think it is a good discount.
Let me give another example. The Galaxy A20 was launched for Rs 12,490. A few days later, the price was slashed by Rs 1,000. Around mid-June, Samsung gave yet another price cut of Rs 1,000 taking the price down to Rs 10,490. But surprisingly, Amazon is selling the device for Rs 11,490. So, you end up paying Rs 1,000 extra, than getting a discount.
Xiaomi Redmi 6
The Redmi 6 was launched in India for Rs 7,999, and now it is available starting at Rs 6,999 on Amazon India. This is the price for the base model. The top model with 3GB RAM and 64GB storage was available for Rs 9,499. But the Amazon Prime Day listing shows a price of Rs 10,499 and a discount of 33 percent after which the price comes to Rs 6,999. Sure it is a good price, but the discount is misleading.
OnePlus 6T
Soon after introducing the OnePlus 7 in India, the OnePlus 6T got a price cut from Rs 32,999 to Rs 27,999. The price cut was announced over a month ago. So, at Rs 27,999, there is nothing new in the deal.
Metz TV
The LED TV sales have suddenly started booming, thanks to brands like Xiaomi, iFFALCON, TCL offering television sets at aggressive pricing. German brand Metz recently launched 32-inch HD TV for Rs 12,999. The Amazon Prime Day listing shows the price of Rs 30,999. Following a 60 percent cut, it is available for Rs 12,499. Sure, there is a Rs 500 discount compared to the launch price, but the 60 percent discount figure is completely misleading.
There are other smartphones like the LG W30, Oppo Reno 10X Zoom and more that are on sale. While they are available at the launch price, the Amazon Prime Day listing discount is again misleading.
Flipkart
Motorola One Power, One Vision
Motorola launched the One Power smartphone was launched for Rs 15,999 via Flipkart. It is now available for Rs 10,999 which is a neat Rs 5,000 discount. But the Flipkart listing shows price of Rs 18,999 and flat Rs 8,000 off, which is incorrect. Similarly, the One Vision was launched for Rs 19,999. But the listing shows a price of Rs 22,999 and a discount of Rs 3,000.
Realme 3
The Realme 3 is available on Flipkart starting at Rs 8,999. But on Flipkart, the listing price is Rs 10,999, and after Rs 2,000 discount, you get it for 8,999.
Xiaomi Redmi Go
Xiaomi launched its Android Go smartphone, the Redmi Go for Rs 4,799 (1GB RAM + 16GB storage). But again, the listing on Flipkart is misleading with a price of Rs 5,999, with Rs 1,200 discount.
Poor exchange bonus
You can also avail exchange bonus, but I didn’t find it too appealing. I was looking to upgrade from my 3-year-old MacBook Air to a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. If I sell the MacBook Air on Cashify, I get around Rs 18,000 to Rs 21,000. However, with exchange bonus on Amazon India, I just get Rs 5,000 which is completely disappointing. Similarly, a Pixel 2 XL will fetch me just Rs 10,000 on Amazon India whereas with Cashify, I can get up to Rs 15,000.
Only cashbacks and upfront discounts to the rescue
The only actual discount that you will get is with the bank offer and cashbacks. If you have an HDFC bank credit or debit card, you get flat 10 percent discount, maximum of Rs 1,750. It could come handy to lower down the effective cost.
Look around and research for better deals
They say, looks can be deceiving, and that’s exactly the case here. What may look like a killer deal, may not actually be a deal. If you are actually looking to save some money when buying a new phone or TV or any other product, research is important. Simply look for the price cuts and launch prices of products to get a better idea if you’re actually getting a deal or not.
Another good option would be to go out an look around for deals at nearby stores. With the increasing competition and aggressive pricing, you might just find a better deal at offline retail stores. It will also give you an opportunity to try the smartphone before you buy. Also, you don’t need to wait a couple of days till it gets delivered. You can walk in the store and walk out with a new phone in a few minutes.
