IRCTC is still the biggest ecom site despite their UX and UI and all that; it simply solves a problem people want solved more than all the other stuff. India's ecom isn't about the fluff and the sub-millisecond response time; it's just about doing something right, and the success stories like Naukri or IRCTC or whatever have gone that route.
RBI isn't limiting stuff for no reason - multi factor makes Indian CC sites a much better alternative than abroad, honestly, where you can get overbilled and then have to go to court/claim etc.
Merchant account and TDRs are negotiable, anything above Rs. 100,000 a month ($2,000) can get you below 3%.
Logistics aren't such a bad deal - have worked with vendors who now have great options and assurances for ecommerce players.
Indians feel guilty for exuberance? I disagree. Having lived in Delhi and Mumbai and Bangalore, I see no end of ostentatiousness (if there is such a word).
The arrest on posting online is being addressed, and the law is ill-thought-out and if we put heads together, we can change things.
People pay in cash: so what. They will buy online if you give them stuff cheaper. If ECom sites stupidly decide to charge near-market rates, and they will die. It's cheap (in price) that works, and if you are that, they will pay you in whatever way you want -- cheque, cash, card etc. (See IRCTC: they don't take cash online, they don't do CoD, yet...)
Vijay's article has the correct tone that we should focus more on customers than investors. However, you need money to make money, sometimes the customer who wants you is a customer you just can't reach, because you don't have the money to show him your wares. And thinking "big" is now possible because there is money available for the investment, instead of waiting for organic growth.
RBI isn't limiting stuff for no reason - multi factor makes Indian CC sites a much better alternative than abroad, honestly, where you can get overbilled and then have to go to court/claim etc.
Merchant account and TDRs are negotiable, anything above Rs. 100,000 a month ($2,000) can get you below 3%.
Logistics aren't such a bad deal - have worked with vendors who now have great options and assurances for ecommerce players.
Indians feel guilty for exuberance? I disagree. Having lived in Delhi and Mumbai and Bangalore, I see no end of ostentatiousness (if there is such a word).
The arrest on posting online is being addressed, and the law is ill-thought-out and if we put heads together, we can change things.
People pay in cash: so what. They will buy online if you give them stuff cheaper. If ECom sites stupidly decide to charge near-market rates, and they will die. It's cheap (in price) that works, and if you are that, they will pay you in whatever way you want -- cheque, cash, card etc. (See IRCTC: they don't take cash online, they don't do CoD, yet...)
Vijay's article has the correct tone that we should focus more on customers than investors. However, you need money to make money, sometimes the customer who wants you is a customer you just can't reach, because you don't have the money to show him your wares. And thinking "big" is now possible because there is money available for the investment, instead of waiting for organic growth.