FlipKart Kids

A commercial for the all new Funschool Pop up pirate intercepted the Dora and Boots adventure. I knew what coming up next.. Mom I want this! Christmas is around and since he has been such a good boy all year I think he has earned this one. We quickly get the tablet. Firstly check out the reviews online. “It looks fun Ma”, he says. Now for the troubling part. To find out the damage. With the FunSchool label I assumed it was a 1000 upwards. But I was in for a sweet surprise. It was available on Flipkart for a steal at 640. Plus free shipping…  Into the cart it went and we await for the little men in blue to come baring our pirate.

Am a chronic deal hunter.. so shopping online for me is a sheer rush. Especially when it comes to buying toys online. I’ve scored some great knock off’s on Thomas tracks, hot wheel cars, tons of reading material, fun worksheets,  his scooter, a wave board, a minion backpack are only a few of the things from our online shopping haul of 2015. One of it was bought on a full price. Trying getting the same deal on your local store.

I love the comfort of shopping on the go. I not only have a hassle free shopping experience, but return too are a breeze. For the last three years that I’ve been a FlipKart shopper I’ve returned a few products and the pickup is quick and the refunds are efficiently reverted.  Try doing that at the local store.. he will ask you to come again cause the returns are only accepted between 12-4, he announces smugly pointing at a dainty sign. 

You shop at the mall you say.. firstly parking is not only expensive but finding a spot on a weekend is a whole other challenge. As you enter the store with the product you are expected to get a gate pass.. which is a painfully slow process. Then get it checked at the customer service counter on another floor altogether. Where they generate a credit note, make you sign the register. This credit note if not used instantly will most definitely be lost. In this fast paced world id rather spend quality time doing something I love rather than spending time in long checkout ques. 

E-commerce has come a long way and FlipKart has been instrumental in changing the shopping scene of India. I remember its humble  beginnings as an online book store and to growing into one of the largest ecommerce website in the country. It has truly redefined they way be buy.

On 19^th December I was at the Indiblogger & Flipkart Bloggers meet @BlueFrog, where they announced the launch of their official kids store i.e. Flipkart kids. We address a lot of issues from getting more variety to maintain safety standards. Am a true Flipkart shopper and can’t wait to  see what’s in stored for the mommy in me.. 

 

Me rubbing shoulder with the Bheem and the official Bheem and the Himalayan adventure  Movie merchandise was a great surprise for my Son.

Upcycled Relics Courtesy Quikr.com

     An upcycle virgin. I was game to lose my title when an invite from Blogadda and Quikr came in. Shop for anything worth 5000 rs from Quikr.com and blog about your experience, the mail read. Hundred bloggers from pan India were invited to be a part of this experience and I was privileged to make it to the list.

      

The search: 

What these figures imply is that am going to be spoilt for choices. With almost a gazillion  categories to browse from and that fact that each one of them could have a treasure waiting to be discovered, I needed to get to business. So I hooked up my phone with a Quikr app and started browsing. 

    Something kitsch, something rare and something affordable, is the only brief I had in mind when I began my search. What caught my attention is that you could build your entire life off of Quikr. Listings for education, jobs, mobile phones, matrimonial, housing, finance, furniture, cars, appliances, babycare, nannies, books, cooks, holiday homes, lawyers , doctors and everything in between. It’s the one place that has it all.The category, Home and lifestyle is where I spent the most of my time. This is where I found all the three products that I absolutely loved and can’t tell you how excited I am about showcasing my purchase. 

My something Kitsch: 

A vintage Spanish trunk, wooden exterior printed with old hotel logo’s and leather stitched edges. The minute I saw it’s add under the bags and luggage listings, I knew I had to get it. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to get in touch with the seller and we froze the deal over the phone. Quikr says they strive hard to keep the trade simple and my experience proved every word of it.

    I wanted to have a real touch and feel of the trunk before I bought it, so I opted to pick it up myself. The guy who was selling the trunk was by the name Deepak Mathur from @Pedder Road. From the little conversation we had, he told me that he deals into used relics that expats from the embassies leave behind when they move to another county. He has a house full of goodies like pasta machines to coffee makers, form sparkling crystals to intricately carved statues.

    I was quite excited to go look at his treasure, which I never would have learnt about, if it wasn't for Quikr. Once he walked me though his entire collection he bought out the dainty little trunk. I have to admit since he didn’t put down size specifications on the listing; it was a little smaller than I had imagined. But the work on the trunk was impeccable, nothing like have had ever seen before. After a little negotiation a sale was sealed on 3000 rs. That’s a whole 1k less than the quoted price. Happy me! My very own vintage Spanish hotel logo trunk. Love. 

Bought under the category: Bags and Luggage

       

     

My Something Affordable:

Just a few traffic lights away from Pedder road were the Hajiali apartments, home to my next purchase i.e. the Crockband bag pack. The reason that I was super excited to have landed this deal is because I personally am huge fan of the brand Crocs, the seller mentioned that the bag was in mint condition and was purchased abroad since it’s not available in India. This little bug retails for 1800rs. In the international market, id be a fool to not pick it up for the mere 700 she was quoting. (p.s. she had also mentioned that the price is negotiable so was hoping to score a bargain)    

     After picking up my trunk I made it to Neha Desai’s place to pick up the bag pack. She was sweet enough to send the package down with her maid saving me the entire awkward trip to a stranger’s house. One quick look at the bag and I noticed a missing charm, but apart from that the bag was in pristine condition. For the fact that the bag was missing a charm she sold it for a flat 500rs. One good scrub and it was good as new, p.s. the little one loves it!

Bought under the category: Bags and Luggage

    

My something unique: 

With little money still in my kitty, I was feeling indulgent. There was a sling that had caught my attention that I had bookmarked it on the app. The seller was from design house that dealt in designer bags at wholesale rates. I narrowed down my choice on a one black classic sling for 1400rs. A quick call to them and I leant that the design house was really close to my husband’s office. The next day during lunch dear husband agreed to pick it up. Looks swanky don’t you think??

Bough under category : Fashion Accessories.

  

The Quikr Interface Experience

The Desktop site was easy to navigate. Too many ads can be intimidating so am glad they have kept it clutter free. Ranges and filters make it easy to find exactly what you are looking for.

The Mobile site is the one that I had most problems with. I didn’t have an app loaded on my phone and since I was in a no wifi zone I decided to make do with the mobile site to get the ball rolling. The issue with the mobile site was that for e.g. I was looking a mobile listing #45, I decide I didn’t like it and want to continue where I left off but, the back button took me to listing #1 and I had to scroll down to catch up where I left off all over again. The whole do over was quite painful and I hope they can squash this bug.

The Android App was a breeze to work with, easy navigation, responsive and swift. All my purchases were made via the app, because it made connecting to the buyers hassle free. The only glitch I faced with the app was that it crashed a few times. And when I clicked on a few ads they didn’t open and took me back to the listings page. Apart from that the app experience was the best for on the go shoppers like me.

The Quikr Alert: 

A little tool to keep you updated with what you are looking for. For instance if I have a phone in mind, then I can fill up the form and setup an alert. So the next time a phone with the exact specifications that am looking for becomes available then the app will send me a reminder informing me about the same. Now that is neat! I’ve just created an alert for a used iPhone6. Let’s see how long before this one rings in...

This review would be incomplete without a sellers perspective. 

Below are screen shots of their responses about doing business with Quikr.

  

Tips before you Quikr:

Remember that you are dealing with individual sellers and not Quikr, so tread carefully. If you do opt to personally pick up the products personally like I did, then its best to meet the seller in a public place or take along a chaperon if your pick up is from someone’s residence. Check and then double check before you buy. You don’t want to be ripped off now do you?

    Quikr thrives on the philosophy that, one person’s trash is another’s treasure!  

It truly is Buyer and seller ka perfect match! I’ve personally scored great steals and treasures with my Quikr experience. 

Hope you find the same.

Happy Upcycling u’ll!

This post is a part of Quikr.com activity at BlogAdda.com

#foodcoma at the Sunday lunch market, Renaisance,Mumbai.

I apologies for the lack for foodgasmic pictures in the post. There were some epic diet crushing pictures on my camera but the technologically challenged me managed to delete them without a trace.   

1^STJune2014

12.30pm.

I negotiate with my gut, it just refuses to agree with my heart. Three portions of chocolate marquise, a spoonful of walnut and maple pie,  two golgappas, a portion of aloo tikki, some Fusilli and mushroom in Alfredo Sauce, a portion of gunpowder dosa, a piece of dhola and a mini Samosa, red thai curry, some fried applams along with three spoonful of perfectly seasoned briyani…  that’s all I can do for now..   

1.30pm.

I need to work off some of that food. A market clubbed with a brunch. Sounds like such a perfect combination. It’s a shame they only plan to do this only on Sunday for the month of June. These popup stores prove to be some of the best places to hunt for one of a kind things. Small Fry Co had a great mix of talent showcased at the market. I loved some of the stuff at the popup bazaar  and I recommend you should have started stalking them like, yesterday!

  
Teekhii Chhurii

Funnily the girl behind this label also happens to be my school friend. This was the first time I bumped into her in what felt like in ages. Get this, she is a B’school graduate who gave the suit to follow her calling*respect*

She is behind the revival of Sanji, an ancient art form of intricate hand carving on a single piece of paper.
It is  generally used to depict old Krishna centric tales of devotion. But with Teekhi Chhurii, Pooja Ajmera is putting her own personal spin Sanji. Instead of Krishna, her muse is Bob Marley!
Apart from the great ready to buy pieces you can also custom make you project. Your loved story, incorporating its miniscule details, carved and captured all in an 8*10 frame. It’s a find!

 The travellers trove

 Two girls run this quintessential handmade jewellery label. I am generally really picky of what I buy but just  five minutes at their quirky little stand and I had already made up my mind. Statement pieces under budget is how I would like to define The travelers trove. love*

JusDivine 

Think health juices, but minus the additives, minus the monstrous blades that produce heat and oxidize the  marketing jargon until I sampled one of their cold press juices.

Carrot ,beetroot , spinach ,gooseberry and ginger. One of the many crazy combinations they offer. Loved how I could distinctly taste each and every ingredient on my pallet. Pre-order and have them delivered at your doorstep!

 

QTfun,

Fantastic  role-play toys that all pack up into a box, perfect on the go toys. I contemplated buying one of their plane sets. But in the end it was too quite to resist. Not sure if I bought it from my 3yr old or myself. They are that desirable.
Great quality and build, highly recommended!

3.00pm.

Well, all that retail therapy did help in making room for more. More desserts. One piping hot jelabi, a kullahad full of rabdi, three more chocolate marquise and am quickly slipping into a #foodcoma !

If you plan to head to the experience this for yourself, I have three tips for you,
1# starve yourself , it’s a shame if you can’t try it all
2# always start with the desserts first.
3# don’t go home without the chocolate marquise. *sighs and craves some right now*

I had the head chef  Danish Merchant  come over to give my compliments over the fantastic food and arrangements of the brunch, he in turn sent me back home with a doggie bag full of desserts and a top secret recipe of the decedent chocolate marquise *heaven*

Great food, amazing music and fantastic experiences, that’s how I would define my Sunday @ the Lake View Cafe , Renaisance,Mumbai.

Get you marquise fix here:

A secret 5star chef's secret dessert recipe.