Amazing dotcoms and easy buys

FORGET IT - the usual old way of buying stuff. Or do it once in a while for a lark. The in-thing is to do it without lifting a finger. Or lifting that one finger just to click on the mouse or pick up the telephone. Wait. And hey presto! there you are! What you want is right in front of you.

The genie has left the bottle to move over to the web. And has spread his tentacles far and wide, rushing to do your bidding, if you are ready to do the paying. Though in India the virtual market is not really big, webmasters are hoping that the group of net-based shoppers will keep swelling.

Books, cassettes, CDs, VCDs, DVDs are the hottest selling property, at least in terms of value. An independent study recently placed Chennai after Bangalore and Mumbai in patronising e-trade, according to Mr. Vaitheswaran, Vice President, Marketing, Fabmart. This `desi' avatar of some of the big global names began selling books and music online and has moved onto selling computer hardware and software, even platinum jewellery!

The latest on their site is a movies section. Or rather, to be politically correct, movies was a minor drop box on their music section for around three months now, but the movie baby was born in late May. The store, in its exclusive movie section, will sell VHS cassettes, VCDs and DVDs. From Classics to the latest releases with the now famous Fabmart bargains.

The largest collection is of English movies, from Ben Hur to X- Men, Hindi movies, from Padosan to Kaho Na Pyar Hai, with a smattering of regional language movies in Tamil, Telugu and Marathi. The regional base will be enlarged in the near future, Mr. Vaitheeswaran says. Plus an interesting book-movie combo section, which offers a book and its corresponding movie at a 20 per cent discount.

But how many people buy VCDs or the more expensive DVDs? Admitting that the volume might be less than the number of people who would buy books online, he also adds that as far as the net goes, the profile of people who are shopping is completely different. ``We're not talking economic constraints when it comes to the web. If they are already buying on the web, a DVD is not going to be a problem'' he says. And for movie lovers, there are really no stores that cater exclusively to this taste. ``Video cassettes and CDs can be part of bookstores or music stores, but not many people can help an avid movie collector''.

And he must be right, because at the movie store, the cash register is ringing nearly 50 times a day, going by their sales records. They take a minimum of 50 orders per day, which is expected to grow phenomenally as the word spreads. For the first time Fabmart is co-ordinating the entire operation from Mumbai. While online payment is now the only `hassle free' mode, the group is also examining the possibility of launching the `cash on delivery' option.

COD is the only way EasyBuyMusic does it. And through five different options: A toll-free number (1600116969), tie-up with RPG cellular services (609), broadband, WAP and Internet (www.easybuymusic.com). Chris George, CEO, EasyBuyMusic says CDs and cassettes (from the renowned music houses: HMV, Magnasound, BMG, Virgin and Sony) are available through multimedia buyer options, free of delivery with the cash on delivery payment.

``The idea is to trigger impulse buying and expand our base through multimedia selling,'' is the theme he says. The service has been activated in nine cities, Chennai figuring among them.

Even as the net does grow and encroach, the most popular means of making a `perfect buy' in the city remains through the telephone. Nothing like putting your feet up, picking up the telephone and saying ``I want this'', is there?

By Ramya Kannan

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Section  : Southern States
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