Shopping Sites

Let’s talk about refrigerator magnets. I’m in the kitchen considering my sad spread of questionable leftovers when I notice the phone number for Thai delivery on the freezer door right before me. Done.

Now let’s talk about bookmarks. Like many, I get my news online, and once I found a couple sites I trusted, I bookmarked them and the pursuit was over. Whenever I’m looking for the latest, I’m there in two clicks.

Convenience may seem like the obvious driver here, but I think it’s much bigger than that. I like to have “my” things. “My” delivery place, “my” news, “my” coffee shop. Apps satisfy that same innate desire for the routine and reliable. People used to fill up their address books with their go-to spots; now they download their apps. It’s the same concept as the good ol’ refrigerator magnet, but with much better real estate. I spend more time than I’m willing to admit hovering in front of the fridge, but not nearly as much as I spend on my phone.

Small businesses have begun to pick up on the trend. The early adopters were restaurants, gyms, and other industries with an obvious reason to buy in: immediate return on investment with minimal effort. Now scores of industries have jumped on board, and the question is no longer, “Can I make money from a mobile app?” but “How do I get mine?”

Recently, we’ve seen a huge spike in apps for golf courses, hotels, politicians, plumbers -- you name it, and someone has an app for it. Small businesses that didn’t have an obvious need for an app before certainly have one now: the competition already launched theirs.

As the demand has increased, so have the capabilities. Apps aren’t just the ordering tools they used to be. Now you can promote your favorite charity, post a question about a clogged toilet, watch your candidate’s latest speech, and send an absence note to your kid’s school all while scoring your golf game from your phone. Joking, eyes on the green.

But really, that’s not too far from the truth. We all have our “my” places and the magnets and bookmarks to prove it, but our phone screens have become the main pinboards for these favorites as we mobilize our lives. It’s just about adding your pin.

21 Places to Sell Your Products Online

Not ready to launch your own full-fledged ecommerce website? Try these hosted alternative ecommerce services for small or individual online sellers.

10 Easy, Hosted Storefronts and Shopping Carts

Hosted storefronts are an easy way to set-up your own Web store and a good option for small or individual sellers who aren't quite ready to invest in a large ecommerce website. Storefronts -- a managed service -- make it easy to create and manage a store because you don't need any HTML or programming skills, and you can customize the storefronts to suite your business needs.
1.  BigCommerce.  A storefront solution that lets you create your own Web shop -- plus you can sell on Facebook and eBay with BigCommerce.  Extra features include multi-channel retailing, mobile commerce, SEO and easy upselling.
2.  E-Junkie. A shopping cart and digital delivery system for publishers who want to include buy-now buttons to sell digital goods. You store the files on E-Junkie's servers, and buyers receive an email with instructions to download the product after making a purchase.
3.  GoEmerchant. Use it to build an ecommerce store, or you can purchase the Buy-Me Button plan to add payment options to an existing website.
4.  Mercantec E-Commerce Express. An entry-level storefront and shopping-cart service that lets you sell in a number of places including your own site and on eBay.
5.  Miva Merchant offers full ecommerce hosting and just about everything you need to start an online store – all in one package. You can upgrade accounts as your business grows.
6.  Payvment. This Facebook-wide shopping cart system offers an admin area built directly into Facebook to manage your storefront, inventory and sales. You can customize the Facebook Shopping Tab for your Facebook Business Page.
7.  ProStores. An online ecommerce platform that lets you design a storefront that fully integrates with eBay.
8.  Shopify. This hosted service lets sellers accept credit card payments, use their own domain and customize their store design. It also features built-in analytics that helps sellers track progress.
9.  TabJuice. A social commerce platform that you can use to bring products to Facebook. This storefront application adds a customizable shopping tab to your Facebook Business Page.
10.  Volusion. An all-in-one ecommerce solution that lets you design and manage your online storefront; plus it provides tools for marketing, merchandising and CRM.

4 Online Auction Sites and General Marketplaces

11.  Atomic Mall. An online marketplace that features fixed-price, make-an-offer and Web store listings.
12.  Bonanza. Sellers create booths of items (similar to a Web shop) and list products at a fixed-price. Buyers can also submit an offer to purchase.
13.  Ebay. The world’s largest online marketplace with more than 94 million active users. On eBay you can list items via auction or buy-now format, and you can also manage your own eBay-hosted storefront.
14.  Etsy. An online marketplace offering Web shops for handmade and vintage items and also supplies for making handcrafted items.

7 Free-to-List Classified-Ad Sites

Free local classified-ad sites are a good choice for online sellers who have larger items that are difficult to ship. Most general categories on classified sites don't charge a fee to list, but special categories (such as adult services) are usually fee-based.  Classified-ad sites take no responsibility for the transactions and you deal with local customers face-to-face to complete a sale.
15.  Backpage. Covers more than 400 cities and regions from the United States, Canada and Mexico. Backpage is free for posting ads; the adult entertainment and personals categories are fee-based.
16.  Craigslist. Choose a location site from cities located in the United States, Canada, Asia, Americas, Europe, and other International cities. Most classified ads on Craigslist don't cost anything to place, but some specific sections for some cities do carry a fee, such as job postings, brokered apartment rentals, and adult services.
17.  eBay Classifieds (Kijiji). eBay Classifieds in the United States (and Kijiji in Canada) is an eBay-owned network of classified sites for specific countries including the United States, Canada, China, Taiwan, Germany, India and others. 
18.  Facebook Marketplace. On Facebook, Marketplace, which is operated by Oodle, helps people buy and sell items in a trusted environment (e.g. within your network of friends).
19.  Hoobly. Integrates a local classifieds market into a national marketplace. This lets consumers look for general ads and then be more specific about location. Ads placed on Hoobly are free; however you may opt to place a Premium Ad, which is posted to a paid area.
20.  OLX. An established online classified site available in more than 96 countries in 40 languages. Ads are free, but the site offers paid options that appear at the top of search results.
21.  Oodle. Pulls millions of listings from all over the Web. Consumers can place an Oodle ad for free, by creating an online account. When you post to Oodle, your classified ad may also be posted to hundreds of other sites.

Technology to change the world

Flipkart has a very heterogeneous stack for a relatively young technology company (2.5 years).  

The  technology choices are made by each team, using the principle "Which  tool solves our problem best". There is no central group of  people/architects who dictate the technology stack. 

Flipkart  runs all its software on Linux - Debian. The website is primarily built  on PHP. There are a lot of behind the scene services and systems, apart  from the Website. Most of them run on the JVM but are not necessarily  built on Java, though Java is very popular. 

For  storage, MySQL is the most popular choice. Memcached is the primary cache layer.All the top NoSQL datastores have been evaluated at Flipkart and  some are used in production.

In  my two years at Flipkart I have worked on projects on Java, a pure  Python project and in my last project at Flipkart we used Scala. We developed quite a bit of code base in Scala. 

There are projects at Flipkart, which use Hadoop and related software.

Quick tips to flip your partner’s heart

Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
It’s Valentine’s Day.
So whatcha gonna do?

Yes… it’s that time of the year when the whole planet is on a love buzz. And if you ever enter a mall this time around, it’s hard to disregard the blinding red-wrapped bouquets or heart-shaped chocolate boxes. No offence but a bit too mushy for my liking.

It’s not enough that love itself is complicated—with all the serotonin, oxytocin and the likes of it doing funny things to you. But a day dedicated to it! Oh man/woman… This is when you need to be extra careful.

We decided to hop onto the V-Day bandwagon and dole out some expert advice of our own. So if you are the kind who likes to give surprises to your partner, here are 5 spontaneous romantic blunders that you need to avoid.
Blooming allergies

The one time of the year when the flower industry grosses max. It’s tempting to get a bouquet of roses on this day, but make sure your partner is not allergic. Else right after you splurge on those blooms, you may end up splurging on antihistamines as well.

Geek-out a bit

For those thinking about getting something along these lines, read up on the geek speak. Xbox or PlayStation might sound like just names to you, but for the serious gamer, they are po-ooo-les apart. And this applies to most gadgets. Since you have a few more hours, it’s worth investing some time to snoop on your partner’s preference before shelling out months of savings on something that won’t really succeed on bowling them over.

…and one ring to bind them

This one is chiefly for the guys. We all know that girls love accessories (yes, yes, we know we are stereotyping). And being your constantly confused self (been there), you might subconsciously get a ring as a gift (done that)—thinking it’s a cute and easy buy. Well guess what brother?! To most, this is an official proposal, so be sure you mean it, because the ‘duh’ face can’t save you later.

Take it all the way

A candle light dinner, an unforgettable gift, a long drive… imagine you had it going well so far. And when it’s time for a movie, you pull out your favorite flick—a DVD of The Conjuring. Why not… after all, it’s all going well so far! BUZZZZ! Wrong buddy. End your day with a movie that your partner would like (and if it’s The Conjuring, well lucky you!)

Avoid doing nothing

While there are loads of things you shouldn’t do, there is one thing you must! Do something. Get a box of chocolates, write a mushy poem, sing a lousy song… whether it works or not is irrelevant. At least give it a shot and you will be remembered for trying.

So folks… Keep these micro-tips handy and make sure you make the most of this Valentine’s Day. And while we are wallowing in love, take a sneak-peek on how we are celebrating this Valentine’s Day at Flipkart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj-ICIIcQR4

How to Dress for All Those Summer Work Events

Summer is the time when many companies try to mix it up and make a real effort to keep employees happy–since they’re sitting in an office all day while staring outside at the sunshine. This includes corporate retreats, outings and parties. A barbecue at your boss’s house is very different than a happy hour with your co-workers. And what about a boat party? How the heck do you look professional when your hair and skirt are blowing in every direction? Well we talked to some experts, so you don’t find yourself in a string bikini at a party with no one in bathing suits.

Jenny Cao-Wu of career fashion site Freshionable said:

For off-campus gatherings in general, I think the main concern when it comes to summer fashion is the risk of revealing too much skin. Rather than wearing shorter skirts or tops that bare a lot of skin, young women should stick with clothes that feature classic silhouettes, but updated prints (floral and geometric prints are very on trend) or accents like a neon trim. The right prints and accents can make the outfit look and feel more modern, while classic silhouettes like the A-line dress will be appropriate in all settings.

But just because you have to be more buttoned-up than usual, it doesn’t mean you can’t wear what you want.

Nicole Busch is a Style for Hire stylist, handpicked and trained by Stacy London of “What Not to Wear.” She told Levo, “When attending a casual work function, this is a great way to express yourself. But remember, you are still representing yourself and your company.”

The Boat Party

Jennifer and Rahiel, co-founders of SpoiledLittleLAGirls.com, said play with the nautical look and grab a simple white t-shirt you don’t mind getting a bit damp with a pair of striped shorts. Complete the look with a parka to keep warm as the sun sets, and a bib necklace to add some sparkle. Ahoy!

Heather Crotty, Director of Marketing for TransVoyant.com, says make sure the amount of skin you are showing is appropriate (watch the cleavage and skirt length) because you never know who you will run into at these events (e.g. executives and clients that you are trying to impress). ”Wear something that is comfortable and fits with the event because nothing will kill your confidence level more than struggling with high heels at a lawn party or fighting to keep a flowy skirt down on a breezy boat trip,” she told Levo.

The Barbecue/Park/Garden Party

Jennifer and Rahiel, of SpoiledLittleLAGirls.com, say this is the time to bring out the pretty sundresses and cardigans! As long as the hemline is appropriate, you can have a lot of fun here with prints. The most important thing is to feel confident and comfortable.

Sara Zamikoff, of Emporium, says her number one rule is NO FLIP FLOPS.

There are no circumstances in which flip flops are appropriate for a work event. Swap out the Havaianas for an embellished flat—particularly one with a peep toe. Sandals and wedges are also appropriate footwear. For an easy go-to outfit, the sundress is always a classic piece. You can layer it up with a scarf or cashmere cardigan for a more demure look. Just keep in mind that you never want to show too much cleavage.

Another great way to look chic and stay cool is shorts. You’ll want to make sure they hit you slightly above the knee and don’t show too much skin. Pair with a blouse, flats and some statement accessories.