Caught in the Act: Flipkart Tries to Raise MRP to Offer Discount
E-commerce giant in trouble after customer points out that MRP of a product was increased to offer discount.
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When it comes to discounts, it is hard to beat online shopping portals. From “flat % discounts” to weekly, monthly and even end-of-season sales coupled with discount coupons – sometimes the offers on these websites seem almost good to be true.
A popular suspicion is that prices of products are at times intentionally raised and a discount is then given on the higher price. However, a Flipkart customer seems to have witnessed this first hand.
An annoyed Mani Sankar Sen took to Facebook on Thursday and posted a screenshot of a pair of women’s scandals available on Flipkart. The MRP as written on Flipkart was Rs 799 with a “50% off”.
Sen noticed the strap of the scandal which had the original MRP printed as Rs 399 and not RS 799 as claimed by Flipkart.
He posted a screenshot of the page on Flipkart’s Facebook page.
Dear Flipkart Team... When ever we think of online shopping, we definitely check your site first for the product availability. You have built huge brand value in India. But these incidents damage customers’ trust factor, as well as your brand value. Please see the picture attached...”
– Note by Mani Sankar Sen
Flipkart responded with: “Sorry about this Mani. Checking on this... will have this rectified at the earliest.”
The post has gone viral with nearly 2,500 shares and 300 comments. Though some mocked the e-commerce giant by saying that each piece of the pair cost Rs 399 respectively, there were those who felt such schemes were meant to “fool” customers.
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