Amazon has launched a new service in India that aims to make it simpler for individual users to sell secondhand goods like books, video games and electronics.
Amazon will charge a fee for each item sold based on its value, and will pick up the item, pack it and even ship it as part of the deal. Amazon's increased focus on individual sellers in India is an interesting move in one of its most competitive markets. The pilot program is currently operational in Bangalore.
The new program is certainly not a threat to more established sellers but it does shed some light on Amazon's future growth plans in the region.
The US retailer is looking to challenge Flipkart which offers selling services to VAT-registered small businesses, but not individuals. Amazon's new "Sell as Individual" service will undoubtedly differentiate Amazon and may even provide it a roadmap as it expands into other markets.
Amazon says it will charge the sellers Rs 10 (15 cents) for every item they sell below Rs 1,000 ($15), Rs 50 (75 cents) for every item, sold between 1,000 to Rs 5,000 ($75), and Rs 100 ($1.5) if the item sold costs more than Rs 5,000.
The company has been testing the waters in the used goods space for quite a while. In June 2015, for example, its Junglee website (which it introduced in 2012) launched a pilot service to allow users to sell their old products.
