Buying smartphones in flash sale? Read this
Many smartphone makers are adopting a tactic of flash sales to sell their new launches. Only limited number of units will be put for sale and prospective customers compete with each other for an opportunity to own one.
So far such a tactic has been working very well for brands trying to sell their new launches. Thousands of phones get sold within seconds and those who couldn't buy will curse their bad luck and wait for next flash sale.
Is it a good idea to buy new launches in flash sales? or via registrations? This post shares my thoughts.
Possible concern 1: Not properly tested phones. Today manufacturers are under pressure to launch high spec phones with low price range and launch them fast. This means brand will not have time and patience to spend on thorough testing of the phone. No one really cares about durability of a phone these days, as everyone is happy to change phones every year, but many minor issues that creep into production batch can seriously hamper your smart phone experience. So, when you're buying a new model via registration/flash sale, you might be unknowingly work as free tester to the brand- paying for an under tested phone, using it and then giving your feedback (read complaints), which company will take from online forums and fix in subsequent production batches. (same happened with Mahindra XUV500 also)
If you end up getting a defective phone, getting a replacement will be a pain as phones are in short supply. Some irritating behaviors may not be pegged as defects, but will annoy you for life or till it gets fixed in next firmware update.
Another concern is if you try raising a voice online that phone has some defects, you might get bullied by fans or your concern will get buried in a sea of positive reviews. Other may think "He is cribbing because he couldn't buy it"
Possible Concern 2: Complicated process: Buying a phone in flash sale is a complicated process. You should register, wait for specific day and time, be one of the first to hit buy button, Unless you're lucky or super smart, in most cases you won't manage to buy it. There're sites that have come up giving tips and tricks on how to buy mobiles on flash sales. If you try to register again you may face humiliation that you're not allowed to register.(3 months later once there is enough stock, a phone may be automatically added to your cart asking you to buy now, as if doing a big favor) Sometimes you're assigned a wait-list number indicating where do you stand in the long queue...This reminds us of early days of Bajaj scooters where prospective buyers had to wait for years to get one allotted. But are today's smartphones really worth all that hype? Personally I would prefer to wait for 6 months for all the hype to die down, various defects come to light and fresh batch of phones are now in market ready to buy, without the super complex process.
Possible Concern 3: Misled by hyped marketing: Money companies save in quality testing is spent on marketing initiatives to create lots of hype about the product. This makes us ignore known shortcomings or known cons of the product. In a normal condition we might compare a phone with other phones in the price range and pick one. In a flash sale, it is hyped to make us believe getting to own this phone is a life time opportunity, so no one does serious comparison or deep study (if at all available). I advise caution.
Further, in a flash sale, success of sale could be wrongly deemed as a certificate that product is great, irrespective of its actual quality. If 50000 phones are sold in 1 second, it is great sales. But by no means a certificate that product is great, because feedback from these buyers are yet to come in.
Unlike Bajaj scooters of the past, today we have problem of plenty. There is no shortage of options in smartphone market. So in all probability you will find a decent alternative already in market for those being sold via flash sale.
Your joy of successfully buying a newly launched phone is anyway short-lived, because within few weeks there is a better model in the market at cheaper price range. So it is better to buy a proven phone after proper research, than falling pray to hype created by flash sales.
Your thoughts please.
Similar: Humor CET like counselling for selling smart phones * Mobile Apps: Too many updates * My post on net neutrality * Seagate Backup Plus Slim
So far such a tactic has been working very well for brands trying to sell their new launches. Thousands of phones get sold within seconds and those who couldn't buy will curse their bad luck and wait for next flash sale.
Is it a good idea to buy new launches in flash sales? or via registrations? This post shares my thoughts.
Possible concern 1: Not properly tested phones. Today manufacturers are under pressure to launch high spec phones with low price range and launch them fast. This means brand will not have time and patience to spend on thorough testing of the phone. No one really cares about durability of a phone these days, as everyone is happy to change phones every year, but many minor issues that creep into production batch can seriously hamper your smart phone experience. So, when you're buying a new model via registration/flash sale, you might be unknowingly work as free tester to the brand- paying for an under tested phone, using it and then giving your feedback (read complaints), which company will take from online forums and fix in subsequent production batches. (same happened with Mahindra XUV500 also)
If you end up getting a defective phone, getting a replacement will be a pain as phones are in short supply. Some irritating behaviors may not be pegged as defects, but will annoy you for life or till it gets fixed in next firmware update.
Another concern is if you try raising a voice online that phone has some defects, you might get bullied by fans or your concern will get buried in a sea of positive reviews. Other may think "He is cribbing because he couldn't buy it"
Possible Concern 2: Complicated process: Buying a phone in flash sale is a complicated process. You should register, wait for specific day and time, be one of the first to hit buy button, Unless you're lucky or super smart, in most cases you won't manage to buy it. There're sites that have come up giving tips and tricks on how to buy mobiles on flash sales. If you try to register again you may face humiliation that you're not allowed to register.(3 months later once there is enough stock, a phone may be automatically added to your cart asking you to buy now, as if doing a big favor) Sometimes you're assigned a wait-list number indicating where do you stand in the long queue...This reminds us of early days of Bajaj scooters where prospective buyers had to wait for years to get one allotted. But are today's smartphones really worth all that hype? Personally I would prefer to wait for 6 months for all the hype to die down, various defects come to light and fresh batch of phones are now in market ready to buy, without the super complex process.
Possible Concern 3: Misled by hyped marketing: Money companies save in quality testing is spent on marketing initiatives to create lots of hype about the product. This makes us ignore known shortcomings or known cons of the product. In a normal condition we might compare a phone with other phones in the price range and pick one. In a flash sale, it is hyped to make us believe getting to own this phone is a life time opportunity, so no one does serious comparison or deep study (if at all available). I advise caution.
Further, in a flash sale, success of sale could be wrongly deemed as a certificate that product is great, irrespective of its actual quality. If 50000 phones are sold in 1 second, it is great sales. But by no means a certificate that product is great, because feedback from these buyers are yet to come in.
Unlike Bajaj scooters of the past, today we have problem of plenty. There is no shortage of options in smartphone market. So in all probability you will find a decent alternative already in market for those being sold via flash sale.
Your joy of successfully buying a newly launched phone is anyway short-lived, because within few weeks there is a better model in the market at cheaper price range. So it is better to buy a proven phone after proper research, than falling pray to hype created by flash sales.
Your thoughts please.
Similar: Humor CET like counselling for selling smart phones * Mobile Apps: Too many updates * My post on net neutrality * Seagate Backup Plus Slim
I wait for flash-sale models to come to regular sales. By that time there will be user feedback too. I don't buy mobiles as soon as they are launched.
ReplyDeleteDestination Infinity
Good approach, Rajesh
ReplyDeleteNot that I have participated in flash sales, but I didn't think about this. What you say makes sense.
ReplyDeletei tried buying phones in these flash sales but never succeeded.. more of hype like u say
ReplyDeleteadorable! i love this
ReplyDeleteIts our assumptions but i don't think that it would be possible concerns. Now a days lots of SmartPhones are available exclusively and bought in large stock so in few conditions this types of possible concerns happens.
ReplyDelete