How reverse auction e-comm marketplace Jinglebid ‘clicked’

In 2018 when Sudarsan Babu first discussed creating an e-commerce platform where sellers had to bid for consumers with the lowest price, serial entrepreneur Krishnan Naranapatty was not sure if the idea would work.

Eureka moment

Then came the Eureka moment. Not once but twice. Last year, when Naranapatty wanted to buy a new refrigerator, he spent a whole weekend in Chennai summer hopping from one showroom to another in search of a particular model and the best deal. He finally got the best deal in one of the leading retail brand stores. Similarly, when Naranapatty’s son lost his phone just a night before his exam, it was a local mobile phone vendor who ensured a new mobile phone is delivered within two hours.

These two instances convinced Naranapatty that the time was ripe to implement Babu's idea.

At the height of the pandemic in May 2020, the duo, along with other two co-founders- Srivas Anantharaman and Venkatesh Kannan- launched Jinglebid, a reverse auction-based e-commerce platform that connects buyers with local sellers to enable best deal for consumers with instant delivery.

“It's not always the price, sometimes it is the convenience of getting something in less than two hours,” said Krishnan Naranapatty, CEO and Co-founder of Jinglebid.

“On one side we are putting the power on consumer hands by making sellers bid with their best deal and on the other is the concept of hyperlocal,” Naranapatty added.

Jinglebid started with three segments: consumer electronics, mobile phone & accessories and computer hardware. In November 2020, it also added an automobile segment which has rapidly grown since then.

“In May 2020, we did ₹4-lakh worth of GMV (gross merchandise value) and by April 2021 we have already touched ₹7-crore of GMV on the platform,” said Naranapatty.

How does it work?

A buyer looking for a mobile phone or TV or any other consumer durable product can simply login into Jinglebid and place an auction for the desired product. Once the auction is started, the bid goes to the nearest sellers, who then quote competitive prices and offers for the product. The buyer can then accept the most attractive bid and proceed with the payment option. The product is then delivered within a couple of hours at the doorstep.

Jinglebid has already onboarded over 1,400 verified sellers across Tamil Nadu under various product categories. Naranapatty claims the platform has 50,000 customers across Tamil Nadu. It recently expanded into the Bengaluru Market.

“We have already tied-up with home appliances retailer Sathya and we are talking to players like Shah’s, Giria’s and several other big and small retailers,” said Naranapatty.

“We are also talking to brands directly to check how their dealer network can participate in these auctions. A large laptop manufacturer has already shown their interest in this concept,” Naranapatty added.

As the company is looking to penetrate deeper into Tamil Nadu and Karnataka markets, it plans to raise funds by September 2021. The bootstrapped company has so far raised $9,00,000 in Angel and Seed rounds.

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