CosmicPanda
CosmicPanda

Why are Indians still stuck in the freebie or cheap mentality ?

I’ve always had this question on why Indians are very stingy when it comes to paying money for premium products. I agree there are Indians especially in the young generation who aren’t shy from spending for quality products but the masses are still stuck in the bargaining or cheap mindset.

When we look for cars the first thing we probably check is kitna mileage dega ?

When we look at a premium product we compare it to a copy or a product that does not offer the same quality or service that a premium product offers.

What are the reasons to it and when or how can we come out of it. This is one of the reasons we have got the “slave / miser ” label outside our county and why we’ve got weak passports which make it difficult to take a vacation like citizens of other countries .

22mo ago
Talking product sense with Ridhi
9 min AI interview5 questions
Round 1 by Grapevine
DancingPancake
DancingPancake

Who denied your visa?

CosmicPanda
CosmicPanda

I’ve never been denied a visa but it’s what happens to a lot of people.

Secondly what I meant was now let’s say someone from the UK or any other country in the west wishes to travel to a country they don’t really have to go through the hassle that we as citizens of India have to go through.

We’re stuck with the whole visa process and that’s not easy either. It’s a process which takes patience , money and even racism cause you’re a Desi.

Doesn’t look like even though how hyped the foreign trips by our PM or the words of our Foreign Affairs Minister there’s been any improvement.

To the rest of the world we’re just the cheap labor that has no self respect to fight for anything.

FluffyNugget
FluffyNugget
Plivo22mo

Too much Indian bashing… You should explore asian continent more and realize this is common. Cultural shift happens over generation so you’re just born at wrong time

PeppyRaccoon
PeppyRaccoon
Vercel22mo

I'm tired of this daily RR against Indians

JumpyMarshmallow
JumpyMarshmallow
Google22mo

X (passport) in India is bad. Indians also do Y (are stingy). Thus, Y causes X. Logic 101.

WobblyNugget
WobblyNugget
Swiggy22mo

Average Pay per capita

CosmicPanda
CosmicPanda

Yeah makes sense but this mentality is stuck even with people who have the resources but are stuck in a stingy mindset.

You see HNI’s bargain over a few 10’s / 100’s of rupees with vendors etc.

WobblyNugget
WobblyNugget
Swiggy22mo

Simple answer is deal with it. India's mindset is calculate value for money, then sort by cost asc and value for money desc - that will give the best options to take....

I don't see anything wrong there.

If there is a scope of bargaining why shouldn't anyone. Negotiating is an art - creates win win situation for everyone.

Just because you feel embarrassed or are bot good at it - doesn't mean other shouldn't do it.

Savings are important - and nobody is using unethical means to increase their stature in a negotiation. The seller can always deny if they didn't like the offer

Pleasr accept and move on with life.

BouncyNugget
BouncyNugget
Adobe22mo

Short answer - It's because of one's upbringing. I also see a lot of Indians buying premium products without bargaining /thinking about the value it adds, example iphone, Kindle.
I personally check if I need the product, look for value that it can add, check alternate options and then make my decisions. Example - I've been using my current android phone for around 6.5 yrs, I've just replaced battery once in these years.

BouncyNugget
BouncyNugget
Adobe22mo

btw I do not see it as cheap mentality.

CosmicPanda
CosmicPanda

I’m not saying that all Indians are cheap or we don’t really buy the so called “big” brands . My point here is that most Indians tend to overlook the value of the service provided and compare it to something which does not offer the same service but has one or two components.

JumpyMarshmallow
JumpyMarshmallow
Google22mo

Weak passport is because of a certain ‘stingy’ attitude of Indians? Lol, definitely not. Also stingy is an attitude not unique to Indians or south asians but is a stereotype of other east, south east asian nations and china. But their passport is stronger. What explains?

CosmicPanda
CosmicPanda

The reason other countries make us go through this tiring and horrible process is due to the fact that we have a huge population of skilled people who don’t really have the opportunities in India and they fear that they would stay back after coming in as a tourist.

Apart from that they believe that Indians don’t tend to spend much as tourists compared to other nationalities so the way they make up for it is with the visa processes and the fee.

Other countries you might want to take a check as when they go as tourists they do tend to spend significantly higher and nationalities like Japan and China do spend premium for quality products and services.

There is a reason we’re a developing market or an ignored market for the top companies compared to those countries and hence why we’re not taken seriously.

SillyPretzel
SillyPretzel

Fucktards like you want money to show off. Only the middle class mentality needs money to show off to give the impression of being rich.

CosmicPanda
CosmicPanda

Lol how did you come at this conclusion 😂

I’m not even telling people to go buy Buggatis and Lambos instead of buying a City. All I’m saying is maybe understand why certain products and services cost a bit more and to stop comparing it with products in the same category which don’t.

See as I work in sales this is what I get to hear from people. Company B is giving it for 10k why is your product priced at 50k. They don’t want to hear the benefits they only hear the price.

SillyPretzel
SillyPretzel

So let me tell you how marketing works. Have you seen those swanky t shirts from Gap or Ralph Lauren or H&M costing upwards of 2000 or 3000 compared to the ones from local shops selling at meagre 300 to 500 rupees? Guess what. They all are manufactured in a small city called Tirupur in TamilNadu. Slapping of a brand doesn't make the quality go up. Those who understand sales and marketing know how to avoid the benefit of the label. Those who don't fall in the trap of spending entire salaries to buy the next iPhone.

SnoozyWalrus
SnoozyWalrus

Tbh @RichDadsPoorSon . I would love to give a nuanced answer on this. India is a traditionally savings led culture&economy country. We value every penny to the core. We are aspirational also but our aspiration stems from others owning superior brands than us, we want to earn them and buy the same.

Where west wins here is their product is positioned very good quality and they know the right way to market it. Their creativity knows no bounds unlike us where sometimes we get restricted due to society and other issues.

Hence when Western Products are used by rich people of the country (India) the people below who value savings more, aspire for the brand.

Indian Savings and Value Mindset is only for indigenous products and for hyped western products we save aggressively and open our wallets. 😃

Btw, passport power has nothing to do with mindset of people 😃

Hope you find your answer 😃

WobblyPotato
WobblyPotato
Nvidia22mo

Maybe because we keep lowering the bar for "premium"?

Everyone thinks they sell a premium product. They don't. What is the differentiating factor of your product and how large is the market for that?

CosmicPanda
CosmicPanda

Example would be restaurants , cafés or even anything in the service sector.

You would see people comparing them from different segments just cause they offer the same commodity. However the service provided would be different. Hence the change in price.

WobblyPotato
WobblyPotato
Nvidia22mo

This is why the market is important. I get my coffee from third wave. In my building of 120 flats, I may be the only one. Their service and product are good but the market is 1/120. So why crib about the remaining 119? Why market to them blindly and then be disappointed?

And then there's CCD. They aren't even qualified to market as premium. They still opened CCD lounges some year's back.

In your example, "would be" is the critical part. Unless the "would be" becomes "is", you don't deserve premium tag.

WigglyWalrus
WigglyWalrus

Because we refuse to pay for hype that Goras, Kalas And Peelas would. Simple as. Your rant comes off as childish, privileged even.

Go to the most basic of the family value purchase rules: Pay for Value you derive, not what they want you to believe you derive. Any Indian worth their salt would only buy things they think will suit them.
Copy or not, patented or not, if it gives me value, only then I will buy it.

Degradation of the same value will result in people becoming idiotic wrt spend, and have debts with zero savings.

And if someone calls Indians misers, you've not met Jews and Nigerians in your life lol.

However, if you are so thin skinned to racism, maybe you should stfu and live in places where your brown sahib schizo rants would be heard from and clapped for.

MagicalDumpling
MagicalDumpling
Myntra22mo

Whats wrong with being a value chaser? And how is that linked to visa process?

Fyi, you will find similar value chasers even in other countries.

CosmicPanda
CosmicPanda

You would find them wherever you are. However the ratio of it is lesser as well as it somehow seems to be deeply ingrained in our minds.

In fact most people feel guilty when spending huge amounts of money for something that might actually be worth it.

Discover more
Curated from across
Office Gossip
by CosmicPandaAssistant Manager

Indian customers act the most entitled when they’re worth the least

Not an Anti India or Indian hating post but I work in sales and I’ve discovered that Indians act so entitled as if they’re some high and mighty royals who have transcended from heavens above when interacting with anyone who’s calling the...

Top comments
user

Me dumb clown, no string together sentence in English. You selling? Me customer? You want me lick your ass? Me not li...

user

You seem to be under the illusion that the world works the way you've imagined/studied. Every market is differen...

Office Gossip
by CosmicPandaAssistant Manager

Why are Indian consumers so annoying

I’ve done business with both Indian clients as well as International clients and I’ve found that dealing with Indians regardless it being vendors , govt officials or clients and customers it’s always a hassle and their thought process is...