Flipkart, India’s largest e-commerce marketplace, today announced the launch of ‘2GUD’, its first ever independent platform for refurbished goods. The product portfolio of 2GUD would initially include smartphones, laptops, tablets and electronic accessories, and several more categories will be added soon.
Although a few players cater primarily to the Customer-to-Customer segment, the refurbished goods market in India is still largely unorganized. With the launch of 2GUD, Flipkart is taking its values of affordability, accessibility and availability to the refurbished market, while also addressing the critical problem of trust and convenience.
To bring down the barriers of trust and affordability, 2GUD takes care of quality assurance through a vast selection of certified products. The post purchase warranty of 3 to 12 months for each product will be serviced through an extensive network of service centers across the country. Additionally, users will always be assured of convenience in payments and logistics. The roll-out of the platform is via mobile web initially, but will soon be taken across other channels including desktop and mobile app.
Further, while existing refurbished sellers take the classifieds route, which insists on interactions between buyer and seller, 2GUD with its robust structure, completely removes the hassle of buyer-seller interaction.
“As a market leader, Flipkart has always tried to solve for India and offer a more fulfilling shopping experience in every aspect. With 2GUD, we have removed the trust deficit that exists in the refurbished goods market, and along with the added convenience, are offering customers yet another avenue to access quality products at the most affordable prices,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart
“The refurbished goods market has remained highly fragmented and unorganised despite its size, primarily due to complex processes, and missing assurance on the quality of products. Unlike existing C2C platforms, 2GUD offers an organised space devoid of regular buyer-seller interactions, which simplifies the process for both parties. 2GUD further leverages Flipkart’s capabilities in the service and support network to make it the preferred destination for certified, great-quality refurbished products,” said Anil Goteti, VP, Flipkart, who will be heading 2GUD along with Flipkart Marketplace.
2GUD will remain a distinct and separate platform aimed at value buyers, while Flipkart shall remain the preferred online shopping destination home for new goods. The launch of 2GUD as the first choice for quality refurbished goods allows Flipkart to focus on acquiring new customers in a different segment, and further cement its leadership position in the Indian e-commerce space.
