Dear friends and associates:

In the recent past, consumer businesses worldwide have discovered the phenomenon of group buying. One deeply discounted deal on a product or service is made available to local consumers; if enough people buy within a set deadline, everyone gets the deal, else the deal is off. Just like one-click shopping and the social web, we believe that group buying is a great feature that many digital commerce businesses should incorporate in their platforms over the next few years. Chaupaati has taken a step in that direction by partnering with Brown Paper Bag to launch ThePotluck.in starting with Mumbai. To start, we will announce one cool deal in the lifestyle category every weekend targeted towards the hip & trendy Mumbai socialites. The launch deal on Friday, May 21 was FREE couple entry at Prive Colaba, one of the hardest clubs to get into in Mumbai. The deal closed at midnight on Sunday, May 23 with 43 coupons sold!

We would love to get your thoughts, opinions and feedback about this business; and products or services that can be offered at 50-80% off in return for an advance payment towards a minimum commitment. The current reach of ThePotluck.in is tens of thousands of elite professionals and business families in Mumbai, and growing virally every day. The idea is to catch the attention and grab the loyalty of these consumers with imaginative deals rather than use discounting to reach a different consumer set. If you would like to partner with us, get featured, advice us or participate in any other way, we would immensely value your patronage.

Enjoy ThePotluck.in - The weekend’s here, big deal!

Chaupaati team

So what was that thing about the gazelle waking up in Africa and the lion waking up and the gazelle running and the lion running faster? And the moral went something like - It doesn’t matter if you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better be running.

In any case, this June Chaupaati will complete two years of our product going live. Like any startup, we made several iterations, added features, deleted features, adapted new technologies, changed business model, went through our lows, went through our highs, and everything else that would keep us alive. In essence, when the sun came up, we were running. (Note to self: Ask Kashyap to post a comprehensive note on our two year journey trying to crack the phone commerce scene.)

The reason I came out of my hibernation to post on this blog is this: the Chaupaati team is pretty excited with our new service offering - phone pe deal. (Well, it isn’t exactly new. But it really is newly packaged. Also, it should answer all questions on “how we do what we do” at one place). So …

phone pe deal is a service offering for exclusive brands who wish to create a direct sales channel across India over the phone and web. While brand reach through media and word-of-mouth is widespread, market reach is limited because of limitations of brick-and-mortar retail and distribution channels. phone pe deal is a way to fill that gap and acquire new customers in a risk-free and profitable way. Leading brands offering children’s products, magazine subscriptions and appliances are using phone pe deal to provide customers across India with a more convenient and accessible way to purchase their products from the comfort of their home.

Please visit the website and let us know what you think. Also check out case-studies on how brands like Amar Chitra Katha and Infomedia 18 are using phone pe deal. As always, we value your feedback a lot and are happy to hear from our users.

Hello people! We are happy to announce that all Infomedia 18 magazines now have a simple phone subscription mode. Now you can subscribe to all your favorite magazines like Better Photography, Entrepreneur, Overdrive etc. by simply calling 098-3333-1947 and completing your order on phone. The hotline number is also advertised on the eshop of Infomedia’s website and is powered by Chaupaati’s phone pe deal service.

Infomedia 18 magazines reach over a million readers per month through 40,000+ news-stands and outlets across 400+ cities. All issues carry the hotline number that helps their readers to subscribe on phone. Infomedia is India’s first magazine house to adopt and promote a simple phone based subscription system. So spread the word and subscribe through phone. And stay tuned for more such awesome announcements! Here are some of the many ads that flash our number …

Chaupaati is now the all-India phone shop for consumer durable products of Videocon brands. Besides home electronics and appliances offered under brand Videocon, this includes small home appliances by Kenstar, living room products by Sansui and Akai, and home appliances by Kelvinator and Electrolux. You can now conveniently order any of these products by calling 922-222-1947 or going to chaupaati.in, and get it shipped to your doorstep anywhere in India within 7-10 days. With this alliance, Chaupaati and Videocon hope to bring affordable electronics directly to your home, saving you the hassle of long queues, carrying bulky items, or going from shop to shop to find the right product and the right deal. Finding the product for your budget and needs is now just a phone call away.

Videocon Group is a $2.5 billion global conglomerate, and is one of India’s largest manufacturers and suppliers of consumer electronics, home appliances and power products. Videocon’s extensive network of distribution and logistics ensures delivery in all major Indian cities with direct warranty from the manufacturer. Since the product is directly sourced from the company, customers get great discounts for the products of their choice. The customer support and after sales service of Videocon is offered for all products purchased through Chaupaati.

The products on offer through Chaupaati include entertainment products like LCD TV’s, Color TV’s, DVD players, audio systems & home theater systems; home appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, inverters and geysers; and kitchen appliances like microwave ovens, mixer grinders, multi processors, rice cookers, toasters, irons.

Chaupaati’s mission is to aggregate commerce between consumers and businesses in India and make it easily accessible. Chaupaati is a phone commerce company that helps Indian businesses and consumers buy and sell products by phone. Chaupaati helps leading consumer brands build a pan-India direct-to-consumer phone commerce channel using its flagship service Response Process Outsourcing.

With this partnership, Chaupaati and Videocon hope to make a range of durables easily accessible to consumers all over India, through the convenience of the phone. Call 922-222-1947 anywhere in India to find the products and deals that are right for you.

For all you Chaupaati fans out there, your prayers have just been answered. You have been buying and selling on Chaupaati and getting your weekly dose of “phone pe deal”. We know you have always wanted to wrap yourself with Chaupaati even more, without having to roll in the sand, though that could be fun too. Toube Bas has just baked a hot new Chaupaa`Tee with cheese on top.

We are avid supporters of Citizen Vigilante and have come up with a Tee that instructs fellow vigilant citizens to take prompt action when caught in a situation where something is on fire, someone is not being a good citizen, or other known sticky situations. While making people more socially responsible, we continue to satiate the need to buy and sell stuff when all you have in your hand is a mobile phone and your utter loneliness.

The T-shirt is brought to this world by our cool friends at Toube Bas, who also brought us Runveer , another attempt at motivating fellow citizens to be warrior-like runners. Check out the new Chaupaa`Tee . You may order it online or call 922-222-1947 (where else!) to get it shipped to your doorstep before you step out in the crowd the next time with the intention of saving the world. Only this time, you are better equipped.

Late Lateef is not your friend’s granduncle who passed away last summer. It is you, who means well, yet forgets to send gifts to your loved ones in a timely manner. You call them and promise to do better the next time, but sometimes there is no next time. Chaupaati has now made it convenient for you to send a gift to your friends and family anywhere in India, from a selection of your favorite brands.

Ferns N Petals is a premium gifting service that offers exclusive gifts for all occasions, and never fails to deliver on its promise. We tried them first and loved how hard they work to bring a smile on the faces of your loved ones. We could not find an address in India where they did not deliver, and their express delivery reaches most major towns of India within the same day (for orders before 2p)! You can browse the FnP catalog by calling Chaupaati on 922-222-1947 or clicking on FnP gifts, and then complete your order online or by phone to ship the gift with a personal note.

Similarly, a range of products like comics by Amar Chitra Katha & Tinkle, sweets by Bikanervala, T-shirts by Toube Bas, Natural products by Adya and more may be gifted through Chaupaati with just a few minutes on the phone or online. Did we make it easier for you procrastinators to send gifts last minute, or harder for you to have an excuse the next time you default?

Tell us what else you would like to see in the catalog.

Chaupaati - phone pe deal

922-222-1947

You are a small business. You have a neat product line up. You probably have a retail showroom. But you also have tie-ups with logistics partners who can deliver your products anywhere in India.

Does your business have an online store where customers can buy your products? Importantly, does your business have a phone store where your customers can call to order and pay?

Chaupaati enables small and medium scale businesses to create a phone + web store in less than 15 minutes. Just log on to www.chaupaati.in/post and create ads of your products (remember to select the ‘I want to sell’ option). Your customers can discover your products by logging on to www.chaupaati.in or by calling 922-222-1947. Once they select the product, they can pay using credit card, debit card or net-banking on web and using a credit card on phone.

On successful completion of order, we’ll send you order and delivery details in real-time. Just ship the order to your customer and settle collections with Chaupaati at the end of month.

Adya International, Bikanervala Sweets and Toube Bas are some of the small and entrepreneurial businesses who’ve set-up their phone stores on Chaupaati. We hope many more businesses will find value with our system.

After being Mumbai’s phone classifieds for about 14 months, Chaupaati is now happy to be India’s phone classifieds. As usual, search or post best deals on computers, electronics, home appliances, furniture, automobiles, real estate, repair services and pretty much anything from anywhere in India; and directly connect with advertisers by SMS.

In our goal to get you the best deals on phone, we also help you buy comics, books, movies, flowers etc. in one convenient phone call and pay using credit/ debit card over IVR.

Call +91 922 222 1947 or log on to www.chaupaati.in. We are always eager to hear from our customers. Please feel free to share your feedback with us.

At Chaupaati, we built a platform to allow consumers at large and unorganized businesses to offer local deals over the phone. We received a great response for buying and selling of a variety of household durables and household services. Over 7,000 advertisers have now used Chaupaati to advertise their products and services, and connected with over 50,000 consumers within their locality. Now consumer brands and corporations have started using Chaupaati as a medium to reach out to consumers with their deals and offers as well.

The complete catalog of Amar Chitra Katha, Tinkle, Karadi Tales, etc. for comics, books, games, audio and video content is now available on Chaupaati to parents and youth across India. Amar Chitra Katha was an introduction to Indian culture for a lot of us when we were kids, while the stories of Suppandi, Shikari Shambhu and Kalia entertained our families all ages alike. It is gratifying to bring the same joy to the ACK fan base across India on a daily basis.

Yatra.com, a leading travel company, is offering phenomenal fly and stay packages to Goa and hotel packages for Lonavala, Matheran, Shirdi and Goa through Chaupaati. You’ve got to love the recession when hotels and flights are available at roughly half the rates of a few months ago. It’s probably a good time to take a break from the stress of a slow economy anyway, and discover the prettier side of the monsoons. We hope that this is the beginning of many more travel deals and last-minute packages on Chaupaati.

BigFlix.com, a leading video rental company, is offering exclusive BigFlix plans for Chaupaati users. If you could watch all episodes of classic series such as Ye Jo Hai Zindagi, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge, Flop Show, Umar Shareif plays within a month for Rs.300, with the convenience of getting it all delivered and picked up one by one at your doorstep, would you take it? We will find out this month. Unlimited disc plans are available at upto 10% off MRP.

Chaupaati strives to bring you the best deals, no matter where they come from. Big brands, small businesses, people like you & me, or anyone who likes to see that smile on your face. We promise many more coming soon. In the meantime, enjoy your phone pe deal…

Dear Friend:

Two patients need blood in Mumbai every minute. Mumbai needs over one million units of blood every year, but has a shortfall of 400,000 units. With 16 million people in Mumbai, less than 5% of all eligible donors have actually donated blood, ever. Mumbai has the largest number of blood banks in India, yet most people do not show up at blood donation camps simply because of inconvenience or fear of needles. If you donate blood once every 90 days, between the age of 17 to 55, you alone can save over 400 lives.

Blood is needed by accident victims, organ transplant patients, cancer & heart patients, and those suffering from HIV, anemia, leukemia and other blood ailments. In an emergency situation, the blood used is always from the stock available on the shelves before the event occurs. Mumbai is no alien to natural or man-made calamities. Yet, most people step forward to donate only after an unfortunate tragedy has passed. Mumbai has some of the highest numbers of victims and patients in the country. Hospitals and blood banks across the city constantly need blood and platelets across all groups.

An hour of your time can save up to 3 lives. But that is not the only reason for you to give us that hour on Wednesday, July 1 at Rotary Service Center on Juhu Tara Road (near SNDT college). Here are four more:

* You would get a certificate that entitles you to a unit of blood from GD Goenka Blood Bank when in need
* You would get a wall clock telling your friends for years to come that you donated blood
* You would join actors Paresh Rawal and former miss India Swaroop Sampat in this initiative
* You would instantly lose 1KG of weight and gain a few inches of self-esteem

Juice and biscuits would be served, and if you call 922-222-1947 to RSVP and tell us the time that is convenient to you, we can arrange for your transportation as well. Please mark your attendance on the Facebook event. If you cannot make it to the event yourself for any reason, the least you can do is pass this along as an e-mail to your friends who can.

Here’s wishing you good health!

Rotary Club of Bombay West
Inner Wheel Club of Bombay West
Rotaract Club of NM College, Mithibai College, Andheri and Bombay West
Chaupaati Bazaar 922-222-1947