India seen as next big e-commerce market for global players

Bangalore

CRAIGSLIST could learn a thing or two from Quikr. The Indian equivalent of the free classifieds service publishes product ratings, handles payments and shipping and - crucially - releases payment only after a buyer gives their purchase a once-over and a virtual thumbs-up.

In so doing, the site that lists for sale everything from smartphones to cars is trying to solve problems familiar to every local flea-market bargain-hunter: the typically loud and messy business of haggling, unwieldy transport, and a distrust of smaller merchants.

The app's manifold services illustrate the extent to which local companies have to innovate and tailor their approaches in a hyper competitive market.

"We are trying to make it as easy as buying something new," said Pranay Chulet, whose eight-year-old Quikr is backed by Warburg Pincus and eBay Inc. "Instead of the Western 'we'll connect you and you go figure the rest' approach to classifieds, we Indian-ised …