Rediff was one of the first major website portal of India and undoubtedly one of the first to have an ecommerce presence but it has been a bad shape for quite some time. The teltel sign is quite simple in case of rediff.. as you enter the portal you see an advertisement popup. This is very annoying and a sure short sign of a sinking boat.

Having said that, it hardly is any surprise that the portal’s shopping area is doing any better. Just the user interface is so dated.. a century old (in internet time) together with shady photographs of products. Part of the reason is that Rediff acts just as a market where buyer and seller meet. Rediff does not seem to moderate any content posted by the seller and hence it at a major disadvantage vs its competitors.

To give you an example, have a look at the image below… i was searching for a US POLO Mens Watch and happend to find it listed on Rediff… except that you cannot see the watch’s face.. now comes the question… would you ever buy this watch from Rediff and would you think of Rediff as a trusted seller?