7 Indirect Beneficiaries of Online Selling Portals

Not to say again, buying and selling of goods through web sites is a talk of households. The business which seemed to be a walker like tortoise is now running like a panther. In India before 15 years an ordinary man could sell his products or used articles through baazi.com only. Other web sites were there but not very popular. Seeing the current customer base and rising trend in sales of “baazi”, ebay.com bought the portal itself rather than creating its own image first. So the first beneficiary was a performer web site which showed their performance and got a good foreign investor or an existing large foreign online selling portal. I am not much discussing the history of emergence of online selling goods in India; rather I would like to mention the beneficiaries who eventually became the ultimate beneficiaries. Major beneficiaries are:

• Courier Companies: Courier companies have grabbed the opportunity to deliver goods traded through online goods selling portals like amazon.in, flipkart, myntra, jabong, ebay, rediff, etc. Some companies like Amazon advertise that they can send goods within 24 hours. Flipkart also advertises about quick delivery. ebay also takes word from sellers about delivery period and holds them accountable. So we can easily imagine how couriers companies are getting business and how they should be efficient. Big players like dhl, bluedart and first flight etc. have already branches across nation so they took the ultimate benefit of this opportunity. Even middle sized courier companies like shyam courier, express, overnite etc. take leverage of their associated companies. People working in MNCs do not have time to go to market and purchase gift for their love, kins, and friends. Online purchasing is one of the most suitable options which directly give effect to rise in business of courier companies. If somebody has a big family across India along with their relatives, opening a courier company can be a good option.
   
• Stationery:  Online goods are first packed, sealed, covered and then addressed. Bare minimum stationeries required are – Thermacol, paper, cartons, card board box, pen, pencil, tapes, glue, cards, paper waste, packing paper, computer cartridges etc.  These bare minimum things are pushing demand forward
   
• Stock Market:  Online portals have already engraved their roots in India and now they are thinking to get themselves listed.  However, their business model and thinking are totally different from traditional businessmen like Ambanis, Tatas, Birlas etc. They are quite young and different thinker. Mostly people who are quite young and college outs join this business. These companies are offering Stock Options to their employees. Seeing the rising trend of the business, private equity, venture capitalists, and investors are pumping in their money. They are eyeing on the big opening at Stock Market for their exit route. But one of the best beneficiaries would be employees who have opted or will opt for ESOP (Employees Stock Option Plan). This is also an opportunity for young aspirants. They must go for this plan
   
• Small Business: There are still crores of people who do not want to buy goods through online media. However, they just see which goods at what rate are being sold. They just see the quality and description of goods and purchase goods from a nearby shop who cannot afford to advertise such goods. But the same is going both ways. A person goes to market and purchase same or similar goods through online portals at deep discount. But currently it is the small businessmen who are more benefitted as they do not need to publicise their products
   
• Banks: Credit Card payments, online fund transfer are now day’s chargeable services. Sometimes people forget to pay their dues on time and they are slapped with an interest @ 36 % p.a and penalty which is completely enjoyed by bankers.
   
• Users of Internet: Online shopping viewers are now informed buyers!! They have seen the goods , they know about goods,
   
• Birthday boys and Girls: People are now getting gifts without fail. Friends living abroad or at distant places can now send gifts of their choice. Beneficiaries are people who celebrate their birthdays, anniversaries etc.
   

There are other direct and indirect beneficiaries, will talk about them later on !! Please add some points to enrich my and viewers knowledge