Its taken me a long time... But here I am!

Let me start my long pending blogging sojourn by posting the results of one of my favourite activities - buying books!

:)


A real time comparison of FlipKart.com, Indiaplaza.in and Rediff Books. Note that this is a real-life comparison and the books were actually ordered. There are other sites in the Indian market but they did not pop-up on a Google Search among the top 10 and need more marketing! :) I have also heard of FirstandSecond and (later) Odyssey360 but after I checked prices, safe bet that the best deal on any book is at any one of the three sites I am reviewing.


Sincere apologies to those online stores that I am still not aware of! Send me a note and I will buy books from you next to make up! :)


Day 1: 19th April 2010:


Ordered books for less than Rs. 500/- each. Here is what I ordered:

• Rediff Books: ID: 58XXXXX / Ordered: Wikinomics & My name is Red / Account got created automatically and sent on email!
• FlipKart: ID: OD00419XXXXXX / Ordered: Panic! : The Story Of Modern Financial Insanity by Michael Lewis / Had to create an account while ordering!
• IndiaPlaza.in: IN1904XXXXXX / The Future just happened / The Monk who sold his Ferrari / Account has to be created!

All three - same credit card - same email - same address for delivery.

And here is my first-hand experience with the process:

1. Ease of search: Nothing different among the three. Only mention is that IP (IndiaPlaza) has an Author and Book name search wihcih could be useful if you are particularly looking for a difficult title.
2. Order confirmation: FlipKart (FK) sends instant confirmation of order. Same with IP. Rediff Books (RB) sends account creation email 15 mins later - Never sends order confirmation but you can login to check status.
   
3. Site load times: IndiaPlaza takes the longest time to load. Feels unsafe - probably bad site design. Finally starts working well after 20 mins and registration was confirmed instantly after that. Looks like there was some down time. No issues with FK and RB.
   
4. Registration: Don't like the Register bit on FK and IP. But surprise, Rediff makes your email your login and sends you a password with the confirmation! I think that was a better way to handle it!
   

Overall impression at order stage:

1. Speed: Rediff was the slowest on the confirmation emails. No SMS received while the other two sent them instantly.
2. Web Interface: All interfaces were OK. Indiaplaza was the worst but also had the most detail.
3. Delivery charges: Rediff and FP offered free delivery. IP charged for the first book @ Rs. 31/-
4. Pricing: All three companies have different prices for different books and you really have no advantage sticking to one website. (This is what got me into this comparison exercise in the first place! ;)) This paves the way for more competition if they specialize in and offered better rates on some categories.
5. Re-order: Did a re-order with FK and bought "Fragile Things" - Went through like a breeze once I logged in - pulled all my details except for the credit-card, of course. To be fair, did not try this with the others.
   

Lets see how they deliver now! Rediff and IP have promised 3 day deliveries. FlipKart 7 days for the particular book. (Am not sure about this now!)



Day 2: 20th April 2010:

Rediff: Stole the limelight today by having one of the books shipped to me. Wikinomics got here first from Crossword.

FK and IP: Sent notifications that one book each had been dispatched.



Day 3: 21st April 2010:

Panic comes in next from FlipKart. No other.



Day 4: 22nd April 2010:

The Monk who sold his Ferrari from IndiaPlaza.in: (Ya ... Ya - I still have not read it and will post my review about the book later!)



Day 5: 23rd April 2010 - Nothing comes!



Day 6: 24th April 2010:

FlipKart completes order by delivering Fragile things on the 24th April - Wow!

Two more books left... One each from Rediff and IndiaPlaza.

No issues yet and all deliveries have been OK and accurate.



Note on Packaging:

• FlipKart by far has the most economical, neat and slick packing! It has a single-layer printed-cardboard (nice branding!) pack with a computer-printed sticker for delivery details.
• IndiaPlaza is a close second. Came in the courier's protective cover (which is really good if it were raining!) within which there is a nice plain card-board cover within which the book lies.
• Rediff does two layers of protective plastic packing.... though unimpressive - it still keeps the book safe.

Verdict on packaging: Nice to use FlipKart if you are gifting - cool packing. Else, all vendors did a good job of securing the goods! :)


More coming...