Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

At a time when the country is hankering for lower denomination currency notes amidst the chaos of currency demonetization, the tech savvy countrymen are breathing relief, all thanks to <keyword id="6357120" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="PayTM">Paytm</keyword>. 
 Now the Noida based ecommerce platform specializing in recharge and payments has just acquired Delhi-based <keyword id="3393722" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shopsity">Shopsity</keyword> in a bid to strengthen its offline retail network. Shopsity follows an online-tooffline model that offers solutions to small retail stores. 
 
While there is no update on the transaction value, Paytm is creating seller-focussed services for its offline merchants. The company is in the process of acquiring merchants to accept payments and plans to go deeper and offer a more engaged platform for interacting with customers. 
 Shopsity co-founders <keyword id="2509279" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Danish-Ahmed">Danish Ahmed</keyword> and <keyword id="625133" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gaurav-Arya">Gaurav Arya</keyword> have joined Paytm's management and are actively working to strengthen seller services for the 8,00,000-strong offline sellers on the Paytm ecosystem. The acquisition will aid Paytm's targof reaching 4 million offline merchants by March 2017, the company claims. 
 “We are working to bring an entire suite of digital services to them,” <keyword id="3916" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ahmed">Ahmed</keyword> told the Economic Times. Shopsity was Ahmed's second venture after he quit as CEO of <keyword id="889290" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yebhi">Yebhi</keyword> in May 2015. "By integrating Shopsity's technology with our advanced seller services, we will be able to offer additional solutions to our family of small offline merchants. I am confident this acquisition will offer further momentum to online-to-offline,” said <keyword id="3723104" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Madhur-Deora">Madhur Deora</keyword>, chief financial officer at Paytm told the ET.

Paytm is just nailing the offline market with its recent acquisition of Shopsity

Revenue from online ticketing on Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (<keyword id="65866" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IRCTC">IRCTC</keyword>) exceeds the total sales of <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> and <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> India combined together. While both Flipkart and Amazon India had claimed to hit an annual gross merchandise value of a billion dollar in the last financial year, IRCTC garnered about $2.5 billion (Rs15,410 crore) through online sale of tickets. 
 
According to a media report, both Amazon India and Flipkart are in talks with IRCTC as they want to exploit its vast database of more than 21 million customers. "Tie-ups with portals like Flipkart, Amazon etc are in the process under which these portals would like to sell their merchandise through IRCTC's portal, it being one of the largest e-commerce sites in the entire Asia-Pacific region," said Sandip Dutta, public relations manager at IRCTC. 
 
However, in spite of having phenomenal web traffic, IRCTC can't boast of a valuation like Flipkart or Amazon. "Being a government company, its slow decision making, red tapism, less innovation leads to non interest by investors, which in turn leads to a lower valuation. Margins of travel are much lower than margins commanded by selling goods online too," said Rakesh Nangia, founder and managing partner of Nangia &amp; Co, a tax and transaction advisory firm. 
 IRCTC had partnered with <keyword id="889290" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Yebhi">Yebhi</keyword>.com last year. But the contract wasn’t renewed after its expiry.

Amazon India, Flipkart May Tie Up With IRCTC To Leverage Its Vast Database

Second year in the running, <keyword id="6355629" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Google">Google</keyword> has chosen the perfect date to start the great online shopping festival in <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>. This is once in a lifetime date, perfect for a once in a year event. <keyword id="45395" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Google-India">Google India</keyword> started the special online event last year. This time more than 200 online retailers are participating in <keyword id="1968281" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="GOSF">GOSF</keyword> who will give consumers special <keyword id="112217" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Discounts">discounts</keyword> and run promotions through www.gosf.In. 
 Google India started this activity to promote online shopping amongst Indians and help more <keyword id="677357" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Online-users">online users</keyword> make a buy on the internet. Last year in this drive, 50% buyers who came to the web festival made an online purchase for the first time. According to Google India the industry estimates suggest that there are close to 20 million online shoppers in India. These are huge numbers and are rapidly growing. 
 Online shopping enables people to shop from the comfort of their home, which most feel is a good thing as far as electronics are concerned. However, even with solutions like try before buy from websites such as <keyword id="889290" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Yebhi">Yebhi</keyword>.com, Indian people are still wary of buying clothes and shoes online. Hopefully a super discount on clothing will change their minds. We are looking forward to some over the top <keyword id="6391790" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="deals">deals</keyword> during this web festival on apparels. 
 The festival will run for three days starting 11 December, 2013. Big names such as <keyword id="777900" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indiatimes-Shopping">Indiatimes Shopping</keyword>, Flipkart, <keyword id="251975" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rediff">Rediff</keyword> and <keyword id="319719" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Myntra">Myntra</keyword> will participate in this web-fest.

Get Ready For Some Super Deals As Great Online Shopping
Festival By Google Kicks Off On 11/12/13

The Indian e-commerce industry has seen growth, thanks to technological devices. Smartphones and tablets, with the availability of internet connectivity throughout India (including rural areas), have played a vital role in the growth of this sector. 
 
The stage is now set for companies both Indian and foreign, large and small, to get a piece of the market. Companies are revamping their strategy by tailoring their business models to be more versatile and attract a larger portion of consumers. 
 Take a closer look at how brick-and-mortar shops such as <keyword id="134363" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="ethos">Ethos</keyword> and <keyword id="3202927" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chhabra555">Chhabra555</keyword> have also become major players in e-commerce. 
 
A diversification effort 
 
The evolution of business has gone from brick-and-mortar to online retailing, and now to a mix of both. 
 While most retail stores are linking up with online retailers like <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> and <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>, the retail store <a href="http://www.ethoswatches.com/">Ethos Watch Boutiques</a> has set up its very own e-commerce platform to expand its reach. Even the 60-year-old saree brand, <a href="http://www.chhabra555.com/">Chhabra 555</a>, has reached out to a larger consumer base through Amazon and ebay, besides having brick-and-mortar outlets. They also have their own website that acts as a direct link to consumers. 
 
In 2014, the luxury watch brand Ethos received a $1.6 million investment from Sixth Sense Ventures, India’s first consumer-centric venture fund. The luxury watch brand has surged to the top in its niche and has witnessed 37% CAGR over the past five years. The online platform has also converted over 20% of leads into sales. 
 
 
 
New players &amp; game changers 
 
Online retailers are quickly realising that the multisensory experience and ability to have lasting relationships with customers offered by physical stores is unmatched. 
 
Retailers that already have established physical outlets are also making their presence felt online to improve their customer base. The market is wide open and customers are up for grabs. 
 
 
 
E-commerce companies like Amazon, Flipkart, and Snapdeal have expert domain knowledge, experience, and a large bank account to provide stiff competition. They have established themselves online and smaller companies might find it difficult to compete with these giants. 
 
This is where vertical specific businesses, like Ethos, come into play. They offer product specialization and expertise that the larger companies can’t provide without the risk of losing part of their customer base. 
 
Lessons from the past 
 
E-commerce has become one of the <a href="https://www.pwc.in/assets/pdfs/publications/2014/evolution-of-e-commerce-in-india.pdf">fastest-growing sectors in the Indian market</a> having grown at a CAGR of 56% between 2009 and 2014. 
The industry has received billions in funding at all phases of development. The year 2014 saw over 20 private equity deals in the e-commerce sector. Flipkart raising over $1000 million from the likes of Morgan Stanley, GIC, Tiger Global, Accel India, Iconiq Capital, and DST Global and Snapdeal.com acquiring around 637 (million) USD from Temasek, PremjiInvest, and SoftBank Corp. 
 
While some e-commerce companies raked in huge amounts of money, others struggled to stay afloat. Yebhi, an online fashion retail store, looked promising initially, but <a href="http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/yebhicom-struggles-to-stay-afloat/article6318939.ece">slowly faded after only receiving 240 crores</a> since its inception in 2009. 
 
Flipkart, Snapdeal, and Amazon have all managed to raise funds every year. The failure of Yebhi can be narrowed down to three main factors. 
 
● Lack of anticipation: Yebhi failed to take into account the arrival of Amazon and was unable to keep up with their offerings. They tried to change their business models, but weren’t being innovative enough. 
● Insufficient advertising: The company didn’t advertise as much as their rivals and have not had much of a presence in the public eye between 2013 and 2014. 
● Large debt burden: At Yebhi, the motto was to buy first and sell later. This resulted in a surplus of products that they couldn’t move, which led to debt. 
 
In relation to innovation, if Yebhi had taken a different approach to selling, like setting up a physical store and providing fashion expertise, perhaps they could have fared well against the competition. 
 
Retailers need to step up and give their customers both online and specialised in-store services. The retail industry has been witnessing a huge shift in consumers from brick-and-mortar stores to online businesses. But, companies like Ethos Watch Boutiques and Chhabra555 that have retail stores as well as an online platform are making businesses rethink their models in order to reach a broader audience. 
 
(The article is authored by <a href="https://plus.google.com/+UtkarshSahu9?rel=author">Utkarsh Sahu</a> is digital strategist with over three years of writing experience for business magazines, such as Business Insider, Huffington Post, Tech Radar, etc. He admires technology with paradigm-shifting attributes, and digital marketing, social media and content are his current beat. An analytics enthusiast, he likes to break down key performance drivers of a robust digital marketing campaign. You may connect with him on <a href="https://in.linkedin.com/in/utkarshsahu9">LinkedIn</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/UtkSahu">Twitter</a>.) 
 
(Cover Image: Thinkstock)

Here's how brick and mortar stores are evolving to cater to a larger audience

Six years ago, Flipkart, the poster child of Indian <keyword id="35621" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="e-commerce">e-commerce</keyword>, began to scale a new way of shopping in the country. Since then, inspired by a buoyant middle class rapidly adopting the Internet, other e-com sites have started mushrooming. 
 I distinctly remember placing an order on an e-commerce site in those early days and feeling excited and giddy like a schoolgirl when the order came through in one piece. But the icing on the cake was the innovative <keyword id="611547" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Cash-on-Delivery">cash on delivery</keyword> (COD) instead of pre-paying for the article through a credit card – something I used to do in the US. 
 Most of us now realise the opportunity at hand. About 140 million Indians are currently online, which will go up to 350 million over the next 4 years. A rising and aspirational middle class will possess increasingly higher disposable income. Research pegs the current size of the <keyword id="863306" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="E-commerce-Industry">e-commerce industry</keyword> at $1.8 billion, going up to $13.5 billion by 2017. So it makes immense business sense to start an e-commerce venture today. 
 Yet, at a systemic level, rare is the venture that has been able to raise Series A <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword>. The coming together of opportunity and <keyword id="107737" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Entrepreneurship">entrepreneurship</keyword> should have ideally made the perfect combination. Then how did we reach a stage where entrepreneurs are actually hesitating to start <keyword id="1105147" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="E-commerce-companies">e-commerce companies</keyword>? 
 Lurking in the shadows of these sites were men who controlled what matters most in developing an industry – <keyword id="6354840" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="money">money</keyword>! Investors, seeing early adoption coming along, started funding anyone who ran a <keyword id="1935380" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="dotcom-business">dotcom business</keyword>. In fact, a couple of renowned <keyword id="6357097" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="venture-capital">venture capital</keyword> firms had put their associates on a brief to contact and meet every founder running an e-commerce portal in the country! 
 
Founders loved it. They were being courted by investors who, trying to follow largely western and Chinese analogies, wanted to pump in money into these ventures even though (and here comes the surprising part) they had no envisaged plan for profitability. 
 Hence, it became a virtuous cycle – show us customers and early traction, and take away the money. Never in the past had so many young founders (most of them without any experience in growing companies) got access to <keyword id="1013332" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="risk-capital">risk capital</keyword> in the country. Everyone was invited to the party and everyone wanted to get in. 
 
But by late 2011, investors started realising for the first time that the people investing with them (yes, they have bosses as well) wanted to see, at the least, a path to profitability. Suddenly metrics such as cash burn rate and contribution margins on an order have started becoming important. It isn’t only about customer acquisition; customer retention impacting the bottom line has also come into the focus now. 
 
Over the past 2 years, as an advisor to start-ups in the Internet sector, I have noticed how raising risk capital has become increasingly difficult. Many founders still banked on the easier ride leveraged by their predecessors, but they had been unable to come up with viable ventures. One entrepreneur, who recently contacted me for advice, kept insisting that he doesn’t need to show early traction to raise capital. When I protested, he duly named many entrepreneurs who had, perhaps, raised capital in an easier environment and how he was better than them. 
 But investors today are wary of anything in e-commerce. In fact, one investor with a leading <keyword id="413887" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="VC-firm">VC firm</keyword> confided in me his firm’s efforts to stay away from this sector. As a result, it will be challenging for founders to raise capital until about the end of 2015. 
 But all is not bleak. There is no dispute regarding the opportunity. While North America, Europe and China have e-commerce websites with significant scale, India is seen as the last bastion. With more people coming online every day and consumption patterns changing, the growth potential is, indeed, immense and entrepreneurs can still start <keyword id="1472369" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="e-commerce-ventures">e-commerce ventures</keyword> that will attain significant scale in the next decade. 
 
This offers immense opportunity to create viable, inherently profitable ventures, which can deeply differentiate themselves from competition. In fact, the heavy adoption of mobile in India presents the greatest opportunity in this respect. So much so that it may be wise to gravitate towards mobile-first strategies, figuring out how to appeal to consumers whose first screen to discover this digital world will be a low cost smartphone. 
 
These are the ventures that will not only find it easier to raise capital but can also develop viable businesses in the next 36-48 months. Innovation around this space and cross-pollination of the changing reality with traditional e-commerce principles could be the need of the hour. 
 
About the author: Jatin Modi runs FrogIdeas, a digital strategy and marketing firm. Earlier, he was also the head of strategy at Yebhi. Twitter@PoornViram.

Why
E-commerce Is Going Through Dark Days In India

Shopping is a lively experience. While many do it as a stress-busting exercise, some do it because they just feel the need to buy. With the Festival of Lights just around the corner, most people are out on a shopping spree. But this Diwali could be a bit different for the majority of <keyword id="44446" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="retailers">retailers</keyword> and <keyword id="1073727" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="e-tailers">e-tailers</keyword> across the country as they engage with a tech-savvy and digitally informed crowd. 
 Interestingly, not all shoppers are geeky millennials (born after 1980) looking for the coveted Gold iPhone or the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch at mega-retailers. Instead, ‘digitally driven’ customers (who might have already done their research online) are invading every nook and cranny – right from top notch electronics outlets to sparkling jewellery stores and <keyword id="1915266" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="neighbourhood-shops">neighbourhood shops</keyword> who have stocked up on traditional Diwali ware including dry sweets, clay diyas, crackers and rangoli materials. 
 The domestic retail market in India is worth an annual $500 billion and about 45 million small merchants are now operating here. Yet, catering to a connected and high-spending consumer community is a big challenge, especially with so many big-box retailers, hypermarkets and e-commerce mammoths around. If you own a shop, a brick-and-mortar one, here are 9 quick-fix <keyword id="514572" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tech-Solutions">tech solutions</keyword> that may help you drive in more customers this shopping season – without spending a fortune on branding, marketing or revamping your current outlet/s. 
 
Push your store online – the more eyeballs you get, the better 
Unless they know you are there, people can’t find their way to your business. Setting up a digital store only takes a few minutes, thanks to numerous e-commerce enablers like the SmartStore from Bigfoot Retail, Infibeam-run Build a Bazaar and more, all of whom offer DIY solutions. Then there are online marketplaces like Amazon India and Flipkart where SMEs can register as third party sellers/franchises and business is bound to boom. 
 
Leverage the location advantage – mobile is the watchword If you are selling designer diyas or sterling silverware in Delhi, not too many in Kerala will be interested. But trust the NCR crowd to turn up for the sale if you have done some <keyword id="1915279" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="geospecific-advertising">geospecific advertising</keyword> and <keyword id="1915281" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="geofencing">geofencing</keyword>. With the world going mobile and India no exception either, apps are aplenty to help shoppers find the best local deals – be it shopping, sightseeing, movies or dinner. As most people love to keep track of deals, coupons, product information and freebies, it makes sense to leverage the location advantage and hook your local customers via mobile. 
 Local promotion will also turn big on <keyword id="6354632" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Social-media">social media</keyword>. For instance, Twitter will soon allow companies to promote tweets to people who are near specific latitudes and longitudes. You can also take a call on Big Data analytics that will give you access to demographic details, shopping patterns and social behaviour – so that you can send most relevant marketing messages. 
 
Enhance In-store experience – build a ‘physical’ Web 
This may take some time and a little investment, but works well in the long run. The mantra is to create a ‘physical’ web that replicates one’s online experience within the brick-and-mortar outlet. An amazing example is the recently launched Android Land store in Bangalore and NCR. Set up interactive kiosks for product browsing, comparisons and access to consumer reviews; provide in-store inventory search and finally, allow customers some hands-on time to understand product functionality. Put together, it will feel like a seamless navigation between Web and physical environments, done interchangeably to meet one’s shopping needs. In case you are running a hybrid model, offer a bouquet of services that will combine both online and offline features. 
 
Speed up shopping with a smile – tech tools can help 
Unlike the previous breed of shoppers, the current lot doesn’t shop by printed specs or gut feelings. In fact, you are sure to find one or the other spending ages on the smartphone or tab, comparing features and pricing. Another could be walking around the store, trying to track you via Google Maps. And those deep into social shopping could even try and get peer reviews before making a purchase. 
 
Not all shoppers will go to that extreme, but many feel irritated if they are hurried by human assistants before their personal browsing is over. Keep a discreet distance till then or better still, provide some technology touch points to speed things up. Your sales staff can be on the floor with handheld devices through which they can accept payments and assist people with product search, specs comparison and more. Or how about self-help barcode scanners like iScan that allow customers scan their merchandise? It means they need not spend time in check-out queues as their purchased items are scanned and billed automatically. 
 
<keyword id="1468988" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Showrooming">Showrooming</keyword> hurts – but this TV commercial has a solution 
We recently came across a TVC that shows a young couple hurrying out of a store (presumably to find better pricing elsewhere) and the sales person asking them back. He then displays a full price comparison on a handheld device and proves that the store offers the best deal. What the couple did is popularly known as showrooming – the act of checking out a product in a store and then buying it online for a lower price. According to a recent IBM study, it is a growing trend in the country and there is a higher incidence of showrooming in China (26%) and India (13%) than in the US (7%). 
 
Although it hurts most retailers, there are ways to curtail it – in the same way the TVC suggested. The trick lies in creating an exciting customer experience through hi-tech tools, hands-on product experience and personalised services. In brief, retailers must understand consumer interests and expectations in a bid to develop curated experience for all. And a well-aligned, multi-channel approach (Web, mobile, tab and physical store) is the way to win today’s consumers who love convenience over everything else. 
 
Cash and swipe are last-century relics – go for <keyword id="1915270" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="mobile-PoS">mobile POS</keyword> 
For small-format consumer retail, mobile payment can be a great option as it has greater acceptability among young shoppers, does away with checkout queues and helps one handle just about any transaction anywhere. Business owners can also accept payments via credit/debit cards without paying high transaction fees. You only need to pay the m-payment enabler, which is usually a small percentage of each transaction. Although Near-Field Communication (NFC) is the best bet for m-commerce till date, a whole lot of home-grown companies are now providing cost-effective software solutions/apps that can turn even a simple feature phone into a POS terminal for swiping credit/debit cards or even for some simple bank transactions. 
 
Showcase things upfront – it speaks of integrity 
That’s the best way to win customer loyalty in a highly competitive scenario. Don’t just say you are the best in the town – prove it with your products and services. Amazon is the role model here – even for those retailing offline. After all, business values like speed, efficiency and transparency can boost your venture no end. What’s more, there are cool tools to prove it to your customers as well, as e-tailing major Myntra.com has recently showcased. During its Diwali sale, the e-commerce site was offering special prizes for top spenders and had in place a real time leader board – so that customers can track their positions online and find out if they had won. Apple does the same when a deal is going in iTunes Store and the message is clear enough. A transparent model puts your customers in the driver’s seat and shows you have a cherish-worthy value system. 
 
To stay ahead of competition – re-invent your business 
Every business has its quirky moments and out-of-the-box thinking (even with some risk elements) can really get the market going for you. Take a hint from fashion e-tailer Yebhi.com or online jeweller CaratLane.com, both of whom offer a try-and-buy service and bring home the store experience. Lenskart.com has gone one step ahead – it not only offers home try-on, but will also get your eyes tested at your doorstep. 
 So think differently about your business. You should be ready to give something new to your customers every 6-8 months. <keyword id="3670298" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Small-retailers">Small retailers</keyword>, too, can think along new lines which can gain them good traction. For instance, a local grocery shop we knew in Bangalore used to mail new recipes every Sunday if people ordered from the store and that worked out fabulously. 
 
Meet your customers fast – you need to build a relationship 
That’s what Yelp’s Jeremy Stoppelman did and he did it face to face to understand what kind of people were using the revamped Yelp and what they were looking for. The company still holds these get-togethers, but you can keep things simple and do it via social media. 
 
That’s one must-not-skip strategy exercise nowadays as brands are built through storytelling and connected customers want to get involved in a meaningful way. It means they want to share their stories, opinions and insights which are both relevant to your business and a pronounced assertion of their own self. So keep your finger on the social pulse and build your business around it to ensure crowd following.

You Searched For "Yebhi" and got 6 results

Paytm is just nailing the offline market with its recent acquisition of Shopsity

BI India Bureau

Amazon India, Flipkart May Tie Up With IRCTC To Leverage Its Vast Database

BI India Bureau

Get Ready For Some Super Deals As Great Online Shopping Festival By Google Kicks Off On 11/12/13

Sulabh Puri

Here's how brick and mortar stores are evolving to cater to a larger audience

Guest Author

Why E-commerce Is Going Through Dark Days In India

Jatin Modi

9 Tech Makeovers That Can Lure Festive Shoppers Back To Local Stores

Sanghamitra Mandal

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides