Flipkart’s OnePlus 3 Phone Offer Ticks Off Company’s CEO

The e-commerce site has slashed the price of the phone by almost Rs 8,000 which even the OnePlus CEO questioned.

(Photo: Reuters)

After e-commerce site Flipkart lined up two major shopping sales in October, it has returned again with major offers for the upcoming holiday season. Announcing its ‘Big Shopping Days’ from 18-21 December, the homepage of the site has a banner announcing the OnePlus 3 phones which it plans to sell at a heavily discounted price.

The phone, originally priced on Amazon at Rs 27,999, is being offered at a price under Rs 20,000.

On clicking the banner, you will be directed to a page selling a soft gold version of the phone at the original cost i.e. Rs 27,999, with the ‘Coming Soon’ notifier.

The ad banner on Flipkart has irked OnePlus’ CEO.

This did not go down well with the OnePlus CEO Carl Pei who later tweeted:

OnePlus also released a statement saying:

OnePlus is focused on creating premium flagship smartphones. We have an exclusive partnership with Amazon in India. We advise customers to purchase OnePlus products only through official channels as we cannot guarantee the authenticity of the products sold elsewhere.

While speaking to Economic Times, Flipkart defended its call saying that it is a marketplace with many third party sellers:

Flipkart is a marketplace which helps sellers connect with customers across the country. All our sellers are mandated to adhere to stringent guidelines. The prices and discounts for all our sales are decided by the participating sellers and brands

(With inputs from Economic Times)