OnePlus 3 for Rs. 18,999 on Flipkart? OnePlus takes no guarantee [Updated]

Update:

Flipkart has revealed that the OnePlus 3 will be available for Rs. 18,999 at 4 p.m. on December 18. The mystery around how the e-commerce giant is managing continues, even after OnePlus co-founder called out Flipkart's offer when it first advertised. 

Buyers benefit from this as they will be saving Rs. 9,000 on OnePlus 3. 

Original story...

Flipkart is heavily promoting its upcoming Big Shopping Days sale, which is set to start from December 18 and run through December 21. As expected, the e-commerce giant offered a peek at the offers that will be given on products including smartphones like Moto E3 Power, iPhone 6S series, Samsung Galaxy On8, LeEco Le 2, Lenovo K5 Plus and others.

Everything seemed fine until Flipkart pulled a surprising stunt. It has put up a banner on the homepage of its website hinting at OnePlus 3 sale for less than Rs. 20,000. This is not only a steep discount of Rs. 8,000 on the handset's regular price, but also against OnePlus' exclusive partnership with Amazon India to sell OnePlus 3 in the country.

The company's co-founder Carl Pei was just as surprised and tweeted out to Flipkart CEO and co-founder Sachin Bansal, saying "What's this? We're exclusive with Amazon."

Is that a genuine mistake on Flipkart's end or the retailer somehow managed to secure some devices to sell during its Big Shopping Days sale? We'll find it out soon enough.

In response to Flipkart's bold advertising, OnePlus India said, "OnePlus is focused on creating premium flagship smartphones. We have an exclusive partnership with Amazon in India. We advice customers to purchase OnePlus products only through official channels as we cannot guarantee the authenticity of the products sold elsewhere."

Well, there you have it. OnePlus -- the makers of the OnePlus 3 -- have backtracked from this sale and do not take any guarantee on the authenticity of product.

International Business Times, India, reached out to Flipkart for a statement, since Bansal hasn't responded to Pei's tweet yet, and this is what the company's spokesperson had to say.

"Flipkart is a marketplace which helps sellers connect with customers across the country. All our sellers are mandated to adhere to stringent guidelines. The prices and discounts for all our sales are decided by the participating sellers and brands"

Let's say, this is true and the sale is happening. Well then, it would be one hell of a deal for buyers as OnePlus products are usually not treated with such steep price cuts. But Flipkart clearly notes that OnePlus 3 at less than Rs. 20,000 will be available in limited quantities. Also, the only variant listed there is the soft gold, 64GB one.