There is a lot of confusion around whether Flipkart will actually conduct the OnePlus 3 sale at an unbelievable price of Rs 18,999 or not. Amazon India and OnePlus have jointly confirmed that it has no hand and guarantee in the device's sale on Flipkart, but consumers are just as excited to buy the OnePlus 3 for its steep discount.
Read: OnePlus 3 Review
After teasing the OnePlus 3 sale on the preview page of Flipkart's Big Shopping Days sale for under Rs 20,000, the e-commerce giant revealed on Saturday the offer price along with the sale date and time. Considering it is true, the OnePlus 3 sale would be available for Rs 18,999 instead of its original price of Rs 27,999 on Flipkart until 4 pm Sunday or until stocks last.
Given the Rs 9,000 flat cut, we wouldn't be surprised if the sale lasted merely for a few minutes, or even seconds. But all that's considering Flipkart actually goes through with the sale.
Let's look at the facts, which work against the sale from happening on December 18. First of all, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei was taken by surprise when Flipkart put up a banner of the OnePlus 3 sale on its website. Pei's tweet to Flipkart CEO and co-founder Sachin Bansal went without a valid explanation.
Pei then tweeted that it would never betray the trust of its customers by dropping the prices significantly.
This is the problem. For premium brands, trust is everything. We would never betray trust by dropping prices like this. https://t.co/NvhIgUa1Op
— Carl Pei (@getpeid) December 16, 2016
We wouldn't blame Flipkart completely on this either as the company's spokesperson said that "the prices and discounts for all our sales are decided by the participating sellers and brands." So, you might think Amazon India has anything to do with it. Not likely! Why would a rival company strike a deal to sell a product it has exclusive rights over. Moreover, it would be an incentive to attract shoppers by giving the same offer on its own site.
On official terms, Amazon India has no clue as to what is happening. The e-tailer said that it cannot "guarantee the authenticity of the products sold elsewhere." Now, that's a strong statement to put enough doubt in buyer's minds. We have received multiple queries on the Flipkart's promotion sale like "Is the product genuine?", "Will it be covered under manufacturer's warranty?" and more. Frankly, we are just as surprised and trying to get into the crux of the matter.
But our investigation has led to some interesting revelation. Shortly after Flipkart revealed the price, sale date and time of the OnePlus 3 on its site, there is no sign of the product's availability on its website. Did Flipkart decide to back out of the sale or is it waiting for the said time to begin its sale? We'll find out soon enough.
If you are just as curious as we are, login to Flipkart at 12.01 am on Sunday to see if the OnePlus 3 sale kicks off. We'll be watching closely on when the product goes on sale and how long the sale would last, if it ever will.
