January 5 | 2023
meanbuy, A Journey into effortless and flexible Cross-Border Shopping in India with Meanbuy, journey of meanbuy, cross border ecommerce, leading cross border ecommerce,
A Journey into effortless and flexible Cross-Border Shopping in India with Meanbuy
A business is like a family unit. Every contributing member is significant. Every event is a milestone. Every day teaches a new lesson. And there’s never a dull moment.
Meanbuy is one such business. The company was born in the winter of 2017 in a coffee shop in Hyderabad, as an effort to provide a smoother, more flexible process of online shopping, wherein the customer has control over their purchases. This gave birth to the concept of Wait and SaveTM, wherein the longer the chosen wait time, the lower the price of the product. Customers have the freedom to choose a price and delivery date that works best for them. The interesting thing is, no other online shopping platform offers such a possibility.
A small team was formed and the members worked relentlessly to create the foundation of Meanbuy, a cross-border e-commerce platform that has a characteristic that no other online shopping platform offers – flexibility.
After months of hard work, the team marked the first year of their journey by completing a humble 100 ORDERS a month. A limited range of gadgets was featured on the product list – watches, headphones, and speakers – all sourced internationally. As the demand for their unique products steadily grew, they sensed that their returning customers needed something more, and their new customers needed to see variety right off the bat. It was time to broaden the prospects.
The idea to provide customized gifting options was explored next. Meanbuy began to offer customized LED lamps, water bottles, and picture frames. Customers could plan ahead and have their gifts delivered when they needed them, along with gifting items from the existing product range. Orders steadily climbed, and by the beginning of 2018, the 500 ORDERS PER MONTH mark was crossed.
Slow and steady wins the race, they say, and Meanbuy was steadily growing. But no one could anticipate the upcoming roadblock that lay ahead. In early 2019, Covid-19 hit the planet, and Meanbuy, just like everyone and everything else, was hit hard. The world had come to a standstill, and so had Meanbuy’s order flow. Just as the company had found its footing at a cool 1200 orders a month, international shipping suddenly stopped, and their number of orders took a steep nosedive. This is where resilience came into the picture and the team began to look for alternate ways to keep Meanbuy above water.
They quickly realized that in troubling times like these, the members of the community needed to become each other’s biggest strength. The team began to find contact local vendors that needed to sell their inventory and listed their products on Meanbuy. As soon as the lockdown lifted, locally sourced products such as personalized stationery, electronics, and décor items ruled the website, and the zero-order situation climbed up to a low, but comparatively better, 50 orders a month.
Consistency was the key, and the team continue to put in their best efforts during the most strenuous of times. As Covid restrictions were slowly lifted, Meanbuy’s product range was broadened, delivery services were improved, payment gateways were opened up and efficient customer service was established. With an ambitious captain and dedicated crew, the ship had made it through troubled waters, and Meanbuy successfully survived to tell the tale.
This month, after 4 YEARS in the running, Meanbuy has successfully hit the 3000 ORDERS MONTHLY MARK, with at least half of that number being returning customers. Working round the clock on the website, the team has made the company a cross-border e-commerce phenomenon. At this point, Meanbuy leaves no stone unturned in bringing its customer's countless choices in technology, décor, and fashion from all over the planet. Watches, lamps, ceramics, tunics, hats, wall décor– the list is endless! Besides that, the team provides every customer with personalized attention – their customer service will call to confirm the order, provide updates on the order status and also confirm that the package has indeed been delivered. Looks like the customer really IS king here!
Over the years, Meanbuy has grown to become a tight-knit team of 15 EMPLOYEES, each one relevant in its own way. The team works 6 days a week to ensure that the platform stays updated, deliveries remain reliable and the product range is fresh and versatile.
Meanbuy was built to provide customers with what they truly deserve. And holding to that, Meanbuy does not compromise on certain aspects. Quality checks are a must for every product before it is packed and shipped out. All products are genuine, and the company deals with manufacturers, to ensure the best prices. The most interesting point is that even though products are shipped from outside of India, customers are not charged for customs, taxes, or any other extra costs that may arise during international shipping. In other words, customers pay only what is shown on the order page.
When asked whether he could tell us the secret to Meanbuy’s success, the team stopped us in our tracks. “If we accept that we have been successful, we’ll become complacent. There’s still a lot more we need to accomplish.” Meanbuy intends to provide international shipping soon and expand its customer base to countries in the western hemisphere. Plans even lead to the release of a mobile application for the website. Bringing the world to your doorstep, when you want, how you want – it’ll be exciting to watch as Meanbuy becomes a household name the world over!
