Bizarre accidents do happen around the world, some are extremely funny rather some are like WTF ! One such scene comes from New Zealand, where an e-commercial website is selling a typical Indian Charpai in the form of ‘Vintage Indian Daybed’ for a whooping ₹41,000. Yes! you heard it correct a charpai for 41k in New zealand that through an ecommerce website.
A Charpai For 41k
It’s all about “marketing” as capitalists would sum it up. A New Zealand retailer has taken a very common Indian household item, given the image of the item a spin, and marked up the price.
For those unfamiliar with ‘charpai’ or ‘charpoy’ as it’s called in some places, it is a bedstead of woven webbing or hemp stretched on a wooden frame on four legs, common in India.
A New Zealand brand, ANNABELLE’S, is selling the common Indian string cot, as ‘Vintage Indian Daybed’ complete with the old white bedsheet tossed over it in India. The difference? The price difference between the cost in India, and the ‘Vintage Indian Daybed’ is at least 10 times.
Anabelle’s Marketing Skills
Described as a “One-of-a-kind” and “Original” the ‘charpai’ is currently on sale, at $800.00 NZD or Rs 41,211.85. For comparison, a ‘charpai’ at a local market near you will cost about a thousand bucks, at most. Even on Amazon India, the prices of ‘charpai’ go as low as Rs 800, and stretch to a maximum of Rs 10,000 for really fancy designer ones.
When one looks closer onto the picture which the site has posted, you can realize it is the same ‘outdoor cot’ kept in houses in rural India for guests in the courtyard, or the same cots used as seating for ‘Dhabas’ in North India.
In an FAQ section on the website, it explains how “On trips to India, China and Indonesia, every piece is handmade, old and unique so not being able to see the proper colour and finish in person is a real challenge.” A lot of other products also seem to be procured from India, in a separate blog post which mentions ‘New Arrivals from India’ in June 2020. Indeed this is hilarious, it’s like selling Puchka or Panipuri in New zealand for $1000.
