Togofogo.com a successful online marketplace for buying and selling Box-opened, refurbished and certified pre-owned Mobiles, Tablets and Laptops. With its rigorous Quality Checking process (QUTrust), vast brand portfolio and Pan-India trading its pioneering to be one of the top refurbished mobile E-tailing portal. Speaking to Mr. Soumitra Gupta, Founder and CEO of TogoFogo.com as he tells us about Togofogo and his vision to address the gap of refurbished market in India.
- Team Estrade: Tell us about yourself and what led you to form Togofogo?
Soumitra Gupta: Togfogo.com is an online marketplace for selling and buying unboxed/excess stock, refurbished and certified pre-owned mobiles and tablets. It is a comprehensive platform that enables cross-city transaction at a pan-India level where buyers and sellers from across the country can transact.
We realised that there is huge scope for the refurbished market in India with the current offerings falling short on many accounts. In the current scenario, the local second-hand markets lack the reliability factor because they are still largely fragmented and unorganized. While new e-commerce platforms are faring slightly better, even they don’t offer any warranty for used goods. This situation meant that there was a need for intervention from a player that facilitated the buying and selling of unboxed gadgets and pre-owned products with a seller guarantee. So, we got our resources and decided to address this need gap with Togofogo.
“The shelf life of a brand new product in today’s date is also as long as the refurbished ones. Therefore the trend of purchasing open-boxed and refurbished products is catching up fast”
- Team Estrade: How does Togofogo work? What is the process required to refurbish products which makes it different from open-boxed and surplus products?
Soumitra Gupta: At Togofogo, we operate on a different principle. We repair electronic goods, run quality checks and sell them with a warranty on discounted rates. Thanks to this new approach and the entry of players operating in this space, the industry is experiencing healthy competition. The many ventures have successfully instilled a positive image for refurbish in the minds of the consumers. Moreover, the shelf life of a brand new product in today’s date is also as long as the refurbished ones. Therefore the trend of purchasing open-boxed and refurbished products is catching up fast.
Togo Fogo’s USP is its extensive 75 point quality check for all products, which is called the process ‘QU trust’. Apart from offering company warranty to the buyers, we also provide fully integrated logistics support to the sellers. The secure and hassle-free remittance is furthered by the easy payment options, be it online or COD. Maintaining complete transparency in transactions, we have enhanced our customer service with an all-inclusive help desk support with a 3-day return policy.
Refurbished products mostly comprise electronics and electrical equipment that have been previously returned to a manufacturer or vendor for various reasons. Refurbished products are usually tested for functionality to rule out defects before they are sold. Products returned by customers for reasons as simple as a refund, without opening the box or using the item at all, also fall in the refurbished products category. Such products may not necessarily be impaired and therefore can be sold. Because these can’t be sold as new items, they are offered as refurbished products – often at discounted rates. Other reasons that render certain products as ‘refurbished’ are shipping of exterior damage, demo units, opened box, production defects and the like.
“The refurbished mobiles-only market size is expected to reach USD 14 billion globally by 2017, according to Gartner Research”
- Team Estrade: Is refurbishing industry booming in India and what is its scope?
Soumitra Gupta: This is a $15 billion market that has a business advantage of working on a highly scalable model. Industry experts suggest that refurbished goods or refurbish are a sensible purchase-decision considering technology keeps evolving and gadgets become outdated within months. They believe that it is not only a cost effective option but also a way of saving national resources, environment and sometimes ‘Forex’. In fact, in India’s Forex, IT hardware and related goods form the 3rd largest national outflow.
Thriving on its cost effectiveness and standards of processing products for sale, the refurbished mobiles-only market size is expected to reach USD 14 billion globally by 2017, according to Gartner Research. The Indian market in this category is expected to touch USD 3 billion by 2017.
- Team Estrade: Why buying refurbished product is a sensible choice and for whom?
Often gadget enthusiasts wish to upgrade to newer technology but are inhibited by budgetary constraints. Refurbishing platforms enable them to keep up with the latest and satisfy their love for gadgets without burning a hole in their pocket. Togo Fogo’s Certified Preowned product is a sure shot hit amongst customers who used to purchase used phones without any warranty or quality check forget the repair. The product is backed by superior refurbishment by Aforeserve, extensive quality check certification by Qutrust & 1 year warranty by Warranty Bazaar.
“We want to introduce Certified Preowned Mobiles & Tablets to consumers who purchase used phones without any warranty, service or certification”
- Team Estrade: How many refurbished products is Togofogo selling right now and in which all categories?
- Certified Preowned – Avgas daily stock is more than 3k
- Box Opened – Avgas daily stock is more than 2.5k
- Refurbished – Avgas daily stock is more than 1.5k
- Team Estrade: Can you shed some light on your roadmap for next 2 years? Are there any future expansion plans in the pipeline?
Soumitra Gupta: We want to introduce Certified Preowned Mobiles & Tablets to consumers who purchase used phones without any warranty, service or certification. Togofogo aims to create a dynamic marketplace where buying & selling of used phone is done with proper warranty, certification, return policy etc. This it is a resolution in this organized sector with heavy potential.
We have plans to create the biggest ecosystem especially in preowned sector in C2C platform where consumers can directly sell or buy used mobiles pones with certification and warranty at competitive price online with ease.
TogoFogo: Pioneering in its space
