eBay India has launched a social group buying feature with a daily deal aimed at residents in Mumbai and Delhi. Each day a different deal will be offered – one in each city – and if enough people sign up then they’ll win the item at a knock down price, as much as a 50% discount.
Known as eBay India Social Shopping the deal will only be honoured if a minimum number of people sign up for it, so buyers are encouraged to share the deal with their friends on social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and via email. If the minimum number of sales isn’t met then all buyers will be refunded and the deal cancelled.
Deals will be for popular restaurants, spas, beauty parlours, retail discount vouchers, holiday packages and experiences and is aimed at residents of Mumbai and Delhi, although if you’re from further afield and intending to visit one of the cities the deals are worth keeping an eye on.
This is an eBay feature not yet seen in the UK, but as always eBay tend to road test features on one or more sites before rolling it out world wide so it’s one worth keeping an eye on.
eBay Social Shopping also opens up eBay to new markets, currently restaurants, spas and beauty parlours aren’t generally trading on the site. Social Shopping offers the opportunity to attract new business sectors to sell on eBay as well as appealing to a different type of buyer.
2 Responses
So ebay are keen to promote a feature in which the price paid is not transparent at the point of sale! I’m not even sure if it would be legal to sell on this basis in the UK.
It’s against the rules for a “normal” seller, and I hope the audit process will be independent and rigorous.
Looks like just another Groupon clone to me. Great innovation there. If I didn’t know any better I’d say this probably has something to do with Groupon recently opening up to that market.