Snapdeal sellers retaliate, miffed with the etailer’s unjust penalties

Online Marketplace, Snapdeal which currently has around 250,000 merchants selling on its platform has brought out a number of initiatives over the last 12 months to positively impact them.

We now hear that Snapdeal has de-listed 23 sellers, as they were apparently found carrying out unethical business practices. The punishment was based on analytical data gathered from Snapdeal’s new portal interface. The new interface not only resolves disputes, but also allows Snapdeal to manage the seller payment cycle more effectively.

“Sellers are a crucial part of Snapdeal’s ecosystem and we believe that our sellers play a critical role in creating a great experience for our customers. We are continuously working towards creating an enabling environment for these entrepreneurs. At Snapdeal, we are extensively using technology to improve the experience for our sellers- our seller UI upgrades, including Sherpalo are continuing efforts in this direction,” said Anup Vikal, CFO, Snapdeal.

Sellers take to Social Media to vent frustration

Snapdeal Sellers are using facebook, twitter and WhatsApp to shout about the reported wrongs against them by the online marketplace. The sellers claim that Snapdeal withheld inventory and also charged fines for minor issues such as broken goods or delays. Worse still some sellers are reported to have had money deducted for prior overpayments made by the marketplace, without any warning.

• A seller accused of selling fake goods was penalised despite reportedly carrying out 8 crores worth of business on Snapdeal.

• A seller who has visited the Snapdeal headquarters to protest has now launched a Facebook group called ‘The Ecommerce Hustle’.

• The sellersuraksha.com website has also been created by another bemused seller.

• A Jaipur based seller Sanjay Thakur who runs Cyber Space has started a WhatsApp group, to reach out to other Snapdeal sellers.

“If Snapdeal can charge them so heavily for minor mistakes, then even the sellers should be able to penalize Snapdeal for the mistakes from the company’s end,” said Sanjay.

On Twitter sellers have tried to establish contact with Snapdeal’s SoftBank investors Nikesh Arora and Masayoshi Son. Ratan Tata who has ploughed funds into Snapdeal was also contacted. Snapdeal CEO Kunal Bahl among other executives were communicated through email, by the sellers.

Are you facing any similar issues with Snapdeal? Let us know!