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Tuesday 17 October 2017

Old Phone EnCash karo Ash Karo #CleanupCashout

Whenever I buy a new phone or a laptop I always put away my old gadget in the rear shelf of my almirah as I never knew a better way of getting rid of them.
Since I am a big fan of technology I regularly update my devices as a result my almirah is overflowing with old gadgets.
When there was no more space left to put away the old laptops and mobiles I had no other option but to get rid of them.
I visited my local market where I met a shopkeeper who dealt with buying and selling of old mobiles and laptops. I showed him my mobile and he offered me a ridiculously low price.



 When I argued that it was only 6 months old he argued back that everyone wants a new phone and there are not many takers of a second hand phone. The price that he offered was ridiculously low and even at that price the shopkeeper insisted that I leave my phone with him and I would get paid after he sold it.


I was in no mood to either sell my phone at such a low price or leave it siting endlessly in that dusty mobile shop. I thought me and my phone deserved a better deal. So I left the shop disappointed.

My best friend suggested that I try selling my phone online as there are so many online websites that help you sell stuff you do not need.
I listed my phone for selling online and quoted a reasonable price for it. Here the response was better.
From next day itself I got a regular flow of calls. The problem was that the calls came during odd hours as well as during night.(despite my having specified the timings to call)
The buyers had all sorts of queries
The flow of calls would go as follows day and night
Ring Ring
Me: Hello
Would Be Buyer: you want to sell your phone
Me: Yes
Would Be Buyer: So why do you want to sell it?
Me: Because I got a new phone
Would Be Buyer: Why did you get a new phone?
Me: I saw this new phone and I liked it
Would Be Buyer: As if he did not understand it interrupts me- So your phone is not working
Me: No it works fine
Would Be Buyer: So how much you want for it.
Me: I tell the price (though I have already published it online)
Would Be Buyer: What is the model
Me: I tell the model
Would Be Buyer: And the color
Me: Black
I ask him back did you not read the listing on the site
Would Be Buyer: I saw so many listings so got confused
Would Be Buyer: I don't like black don't you have a white one
Me(agitated by now):Look I am not a shopkeeper who has 50 phones to sell this is the only piece I have
Would Be Buyer: Then give me in xyz Rupees (He simply slashes my price by half)
Me: Cannot give you in that price
Would Be Buyer: Soch Lo (Think again) I cannot give you more as I do not like the black color.
Me: Cannot give you at that price and the Would Be Buyer disconnects the phone.




That was the first of one hundred twenty three (123) calls that I received not only from my own city but from the far off places as well.

This went on for about a week and a unique pattern developed. At that point in time I was located in Delhi and I got calls from as far of places as Kashmir to Kerela.
It seemed the whole country wanted to buy my phone.

I discovered a new law of sales and marketing.
The further the buyer was from the product that is my phone the keener they were that I courier the phone to them. However these “Would Be Buyers” were quite clueless as to how they would pay me.

For that week it seems the national pastime had become to call me and make me repeat the details and the technical specs of my phone.
For me it was a one week long course in sales and marketing
My takeaways from this course:
#The buyers interest are inversely proportional from this distance of the product that is my phone. The keenest buyers are those who are at the other extreme of the city or country and who probably cannot come to complete the sale.
#There are plenty of people who are just their to chit chat and not much interested in making a purchase. Perhaps these are the equivalent of the window shoppers.
#There are those who are direct or indirect incarnations of rats: Their only question is “Phone Ka Bill hai Kya” Do you have a bill of the phone. I call them incarnation of rats because they always use the term “Bill” and never a “receipt” These buyers were only interested in the bill and nothing else. For the sake of mathematical statistics I tried both options. Whether I said I had a bill or claimed that I did not have a bill the deal never went ahead with these kind of buyers.




By the end of week 2 my whole office had come to know that I have advertised for the sale of my old phone and by the number of times I have repeated the technical specs of my phone everyone from the office boy who moves the files around to chotu the tea wala knew the specs of my phone by heart.
I have not sold the phone still but having graduated in dealing with these Would Be Buyers I was beginning to get the hang of how to classify the buyer into categories he or she fell into.
It is that phase of life for the seller when he she gets into this groove of life and begins to make peace with the situation. You get used to this ordeal and begin to feel a sense of calm and peace.
Little do you realise that this is the calm before the storm as I discovered when
my phone number got discovered by a new species, the pesky tele-callers, callers who wanted to sell me everything from a credit card, a loan to  slimming pills.
I become the easy target for them and despite having my number registered with the DND services and blocking innumerable numbers the sellers find a way to dodge my defense and call me from a new number every time.
I find my self defenseless and it is now that I discovered a new selling service called https://www.cashify.in/ that I can access through an app as well.
What it did for me is something beyond my wildest dreams for
#one
it let me find about the best price of my mobile phone
#two
I can sell my phone in 60 seconds.
#Three

The phone was picked up from my door step and hard cash delivered to me then and there.
It all happened seamlessly and without any hassles.
With one phone sold and money in my pocket I have understood the principal of #CleanupCashout

At https://www.cashify.in one can easily sell old gadgets at the best possible price as they provide an Instant Quote.
Once you as a seller accepts the price offered and agrees to the terms, there is an assured sale and a  Hassle free Doorstep Pickup and on the spot payment for your old devices.

Can selling your old gadgets get any easier then that?


Diwali is the perfect time to clean up and get rid of the old stuff.
So why not #CleanupCashout those old gadgets and make some space and money this Diwali.

It is so simple to sell your old electronic gadgets that I am ready to sell all my old phones and gadgets through https://www.cashify.in/


Dear Readers you can use the coupon CLEANCASH to get an additional Rs.250 on the sale of your gadgets.


Saturday 7 October 2017

Shop till you drop in London & Europe and take a tax refund

If you are travelling to the United Kingdom or Europe on a non EU passport that is you are not a EU citizen then you are eligible to claim a VAT tax refund on the bills you pay at stores.

London offers some of the most amazing sales and Paris and rest of Europe has deals not to be missed.


So what is VAT refund?
Whenever you buy anything at a store look at the bill. Along with the amount it would be written VAT and some amount next to it.
As a person who is visiting on a non EU or British Passport you are eligible to claim the amount of VAT as a tax refund.

So what does one need to get a VAT refund.
1) Carry your passport with you to the store (The store may want to see it before iniatiating the VAT refund process)
2) At the time of making the payment or later tell them you want a tax refund. The store most likely would guide you to a department that would look at your passport or proof of identity that you are eligible for a tax refund.
You need to show them the receipts of the stuff you have purchased. They would fill a form for you and you need to furnish your details such as name, address, passport number etc.
Make sure that the store signs and stamps the form as without this you would not be eligible for a VAT refund.
Make sure you reach the airport much earlier then you are supposed to for catching your flight out of EU/England as you would need time to get your tax refund processed.

When you reach the airport : Look for the tax refund department .
make sure you carry the form given to you by the store, the receipts and the goods on which you want a tax refund. So do this before you checking your bags

An officer at the department might want to look at the form, receipts and the goods before processing your refunds. A lot of airports have tax refund machines that have automated the process of a tax refund.

At the time of filling up the tax refund form you may get an option of giving your credit card details. Providing these details enables the refund to directly credit back to your credit card. This way you are saved the trouble of changing currency at the last minute.

Your tax refund is processed at the last port from which you leave the EU or UK.
Say for instance You travel from your country to
London ====>Paris====>Rome====>Switzerland====>Austria ====>London
So you would not have to get the tax refund from each of these cities/ countries. Instead collect all the form and get the tax refund processed from the last port of departure before going back to your country.
In the example above London (UK) happens to be the last port of departure so approach that particular tax refund department.

So when I take a taxi even the taxi receipt had a VAT on it can I claim that too?
No VAT that can be claimed is on goods and not on services so go ahead and shop till you drop but make sure you get your VAT refunded before you leave for your country and save big on your shoppings.
Happy shopping.

Besides tax refunds in UK and Europe there are other places around the world where you can get a tax refund Let me know if you are interested and I would do a post on it here.