I Don’t Share Desserts: 10/30/14

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?