Ebay India has announced a collaboration with rival marketplace Snapdeal. Well, even though Snapdeal maybe a competitor in terms of being a marketplace, Ebay India is looking at it as an advantage. They recently invested  in Snapdeal, which was previously operating in the deals and coupons space before becoming a marketplace.

So what does this collaboration entail?

Ebay India says that the collaboration will help both these companies grow online shopping in the country. Starting now, selected Snapdeal listings will show up on the eBay India marketplace. This will have a separate section on the page and will be clearly marked as ‘Snapdeal Corner’. These select listings will also show up in eBay India’s search pages. This is not a one way deal though. Select listings on eBay India will also show up on Snapdeal too on a dedicated ‘eBay Corner’.

On eBay India, when a customer search results in no listings, the site will automatically display the Snapdeal expansion box which may have the products that the customer is looking for. The same process will also happen on Snapdeal.

So what does the collaboration mean for sellers on both marketplaces?

The most obvious thing for sellers on both services will be expansion of their potential customer base. Your listings showing up on Snapdeal or eBay India increases your reach automatically and you can thus tap into the unique customer base of both sites. Increased reach coupled with competitive pricing will let you sell a larger volume of products online.

How can you participate in this?

Both eBay India and Snapdeal are doing a pilot test for this currently and it not available for all the product categories. eBay India has said that it will ultimately be bringing this feature to all sellers selling products pertaining to all the categories that they have to offer. However, at the moment the program is limited to select merchants picked by eBay and Snapdeal. After gathering feedback and improving the collaboration, both the companies will open it up for everyone.

What about different terms and conditions on both sites?

eBay India says that if the customer after availing this option, transacts on eBay India, then the eBay Guarantee will come into the picture and if the customer transacts on Snapdeal and he/she will be subjected to TrustPay’s terms and conditions. Also, a customer can buy on both platforms as guest as well as a registered customer, so you shouldn’t be worried about different registration and buying processes.

It is too early to say right now if this will work properly or not but it does seem beneficial to online sellers on eBay India and Snapdeal.

What do you think about this new collaboration? We would love to hear your thoughts on this. Do share them in the comments.