Quikr expands its Doorstep service to process intercity orders

The move comes after Amazon sinking its teeth into the second-hand goods market through Junglee

Online classifieds platform Quikr has expanded its Doorstep services to allow customers to buy and sell used goods across cities, even as US retail giant Amazon sinks its teeth into the second-hand goods market through Junglee.

Quikr began testing its Doorstep service that offered customers in the same city an e-commerce-like experience of buying and selling used goods. The service offers to handle payments, packaging and shipping of goods on behalf of the seller for a commission.

The expansion of Doorstep will mean buyers and sellers can be in different cities, making it the first company to offer such a service. Amazon, through its platform Junglee today offers a very similar service for intra-city transactions, with the added benefit of the massive visibility its e-commerce platform offers.

"Historcially, these transactions have been limited by where and when a buyer and seller could meet, exchange products and money. Intercity takes this smarter solution and amplifies it exponentially by bringing cross-country supply to buyers and demand to sellers," said Anurag Saran, Chief Product Officer at Quikr, in a statement.

Quikr says 30 per cent of used mobile sales on its platform are already happening between cities. Apart from mobiles, which are small and easy to ship, the company is also seeing demand for shipping fashion, electronic accessories and collectibles across cities. By opening up to intercity transactions, both the demand and supply for products will go up, giving the company more business.