November 11, 2013at 1:07 pmby Enricko Lukman

Back in July, Tech in Asia received word that eBay would open its marketplace in Indonesia this year. Now, the moment has finally arrived as eBay and Telkom Indonesia quietly roll out their joint-venture project called Blanja.com. Savvy observers will note that the website’s name resembles that of BNI bank’s own e-commerce shop, Blandja.com.

Blanja’s website is currently accessible in beta mode and has three main categories: products (which lists out all items from Tsel Store and Social Shop), Tsel Store, and Social Shop.

Tsel Store sells gadgets bundled with Telkomsel offers, while Social Shop serves as Blanja’s C2C marketplace. The entire website is in the early stages at the moment, with only 680 items listed for sale.

Marketplace unfriendly for small businesses?
The C2C social shop doesn’t have eBay’s auction feature, despite being partially under that firm’s management. Instead, vendors list fixed prices for goods and customers make purchases without negotiations or bidding.

In addition, those who hope to be listed as merchants need to first obtain a business permit issued by the government, and they may only sell new items.

This, in theory, could put Blanja at a disadvantage if it hopes to recruit vendors. E-commerce rivals Tokopedia and BukaLapak allow their merchants to sell both new and used items, with or without business permits. This allows both sites to attract a large number of sellers, who thereby offer a wider variety of products, which ultimately attracts more customers.

It’s possible that Blanja has implemented these restrictions out of concern for safety. Even as e-commerce practice in Indonesia continues to mature, there are still wily sellers who look for ways to dupe victims via online marketplaces. Blanja’s merchant filtering might provide buyers with an increased sense of security, which could help the website attract more discerning consumers or people who’ve been burned in the past on Tokopedia or BukaLapak.

On the other hand, the escrow payment system used on BukaLapak and Tokopedia works quite well at the moment, so it remains to be seen if this heightened security will prove beneficial or harmful to Blanja.

Monetizing
Blanja currently lets vendors set up shop for free, and takes no cut from its transactions. While it hasn’t yet implemented any monetization mechanisms, on its terms and conditions page, the company states that in the future, it might start charging merchants commissions, or offer value-added features and services for merchants.

Tokopedia recently introduced its first attempt at monetization by offering gold seller benefits while BukaLapak’s services remain free for all users.

In order to boost sales, Blanja currently offers free shipping to merchants and sellers in Jabodetabek, Surabaya, and Bandung. This is similar to how Naspers’ Multiply promoted its services before it entered the deadpool.

Tough competition
Customer service representatives say that Blanja has been live since September last year, and it plans to make a more public announcement about its presence next month.

It looks like 2014 will be a year during which e-commerce marketplaces duke it out over market share. Blanja, Tokopedia, BukaLapak, and Rocket Internet’s Lamido will all fight to attract buyers and sellers. And let’s not forget that Indonesia’s biggest C2C forum Kaskus also plans to enter the battlefield.

eBay has another joint venture operating in Indonesia: B2C and C2C marketplace platform Qoo10.

(Editing by Josh Horwitz and Paul Bischoff)

eBay arrives in Indonesia
by Inside Retail Asia on November 11, 2013
blanja-ebay
American C2C e-commerce giant eBay has now arrived in Indonesia, opening an online marketplace called Blanja.com there.

TechInAsia.com reports that the online marketplace is a joint venture with Telkom Indonesia and that Blanja’s website is currently accessible in beta mode.

On launch, the website currently offers 680 items for sale and promises to add more.

Unlike eBay’s website, Blanja has no auction feature which allows customers to make negotiations or bidding prior to purchase.

Also unlike rivals Tokopedia and BukaLapak, Blanja only accepts merchants with business permits from the governments. At the moment, Blanja still allows merchants to set up shops without charging them but will also implement monetisation in the future, it says.

Earlier, German online startup incubator Rocket Internet has also launched its online marketplace called Lamido in Indonesia.

HarianTI.com – Situs e-commerce belanja online ternama, Ebay mulai melirik potensi bisnis e-commerce di Indonesia saat ini. Ebay berkerjasama dengan Telkom Indonesia mulai menghadirkan situs marketplace bernama Blanja.com.

Blanja.com sudah hadir pada September lalu dan untuk sementara ini masih dalam tahap versi beta meskipun sudah bisa diakses. Situs marketplace Blanja.com menawrkan tiga kategori utama yakni Produk, Tsel Store dan Social Shop.

Produk Blanja.com merupakan kategori yang berisi beragam barang mulai dari gadget, elektronik, aksesoris, alat rumah tangga, daily deals sampai dengan fashion.

Tsel Store Blanja.com sebagai kategori yang menjual beragam gadget smartphone lengkap dengan paket yang ditawarkan dari Telkomsel.

Sedangkan untuk Social Shop Blanja.com memiliki fungsi sebagai marketplace untuk sisi C2C Blanja.com.

Untuk ketersediaan barang, Blanja.com menggandeng partner merchant yang berminat berjualan melalui platform e-commerce yang dimilikinya. Untuk saat ini, situs Blanja masih berada di fase awal, dan hanya menjual 680 barang.

Untuk meningkatkan penjualan, Blanja menawarkan biaya pengiriman gratis kepada penjual di kawasan Jabodetabek, Surabaya, dan Bandung.

Meskipun ada campur tangan dari Ebay, hal itu lantas tak menjadikan Blanja.com memiliki fitur lelang seperti yang dimiiki oleh ebay.

Pengguna yang ingin terdaftar sebagai penjual harus punya ijin bisnis dari pemerintah, dan mereka hanya bisa menjual barang-barang baru. Blanja mengimplementasikan aturan ini atas dasar keamanan.

Blanja.com garapan eBay dan Telkom Indonesia tentunya akan mengalami persaingan dengan pemain yang telah menggarap pasar seperti Tokopedia, Bukalapak, TokoBagus maupun Lamido Rocket Internet.

Terkait aksi eBay di Indonesia, sampai saat ini eBay telah memiliki Qoo10 dennga bentuk platform marketplace B2C dan C2C.