A week after shutting down the operations of eBay.in, Flipkart on Wednesday launched 2GUD, an independent marketplace for refurbished goods.
This marks Flipkart’s first foray into the refurbished goods market, in which rival Amazon has been present since it launched the ‘Amazon Renewed’ programme last year. The refurbished goods market is estimated to touch $20 billion in the next 5-6 years.
2GUD will initially offer smartphones, laptops, tablets and electronic accessories, with 400-plus categories to be added soon. It will sell used and returned/used products restored to “full functionality”. Each product will go through 47 checks and certified/graded by experts at Flipkart’s partners. All products will have a 3-12 month warranty. 2GUD will be available on mobile web initially, but will subsequently be available on the desktop and mobile app platforms.
“With 2GUD, we have removed the trust deficit that exists in the refurbished goods market and are offering customers yet another avenue to access quality products at the most affordable prices,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart.
eBay.in down?
The development marks the end of eBay.in’s 14-year e-commerce journey in India that began with the acquisition of Indian marketplace Baazee.com for $50 million. In April 2017, Flipkart had acquired eBay’s India operations in exchange for equity; eBay had then invested $500 million in cash in Flipkart.
However, in May this year, after Walmart announced its decision to acquire 77 per cent stake in Flipkart, eBay sold its stake in the Indian e-tailer for about $1.1 billion. It intends to re-launch eBay India with an initial focus on cross-border trade opportunities.
eBay.in was one of the pioneers of e-commerce in India along with Indiaplaza.com, Indiatimes.com, and Rediff.com, much before Amazon, Flipkart or even Snapdeal had entered the market. “Although it’s early days for e-commerce in India, we believe there is great opportunity over the long term,” Meg Whitman, President and CEO of eBay, had said in 2004 after acquiring Baazee.com.
So is it curtains for eBay in one of the world’s top three consumer markets?
“Not at all. The eBay model has been very successful globally and continues to be successful even today,” said a former top executive at eBay.in.
“When later entrants into Indian e-commerce such as Amazon can succeed, there’s no reason why eBay, which understands the India e-commerce market very well, should be written off,” the executive added.
“eBay.in’s steady decline was because it lost its India-focus as a consequence of the large-scale global restructuring during 2009-2011, a time when it should have been pumping in hundreds of millions of dollars into India to create awareness and build a brand that Indian shoppers could relate to. eBay will re-launch operations in India either through an acquisition or on its own steam,” observed the executive.
Last year, eBay Inc, which operates in over 30 countries, delivered $9.6 billion in revenue.