23-year-old makes flea market cool, takes it to internet

This flea market is cool. There is no hustle and bustle or tiring walks through multitude of stalls.

It is virtual and just a few clicks away.

Meet 23-year-old Shreya Bajaj, who has brought the flea market online.

She loved travel and picked up interesting things that appealed to her from far-flung flea markets. But when friends became fascinated with them and started asking her where she got the trinkets and other stuff from, she got an idea to start an online flea market.

One year after its launch, her website www.itshandmade.com is one of the most frequented by online shoppers.

She explained how it all began.

“During my travels, I used to pick up interesting things. My friends would later ask me where I got them from and that was when I realised that people are willing to buy but clueless on where to buy from. So I came up with this idea and the name had to sound warm and easy to relate to. Thus began this project,” said Shreya who has just written her CA exam.

The Rs5 lakh flea market sells over 15 to 20 products a day with a difference.

“We don’t stock products. We don’t order and keep them at our warehouse. We just put up the photographs of the products made by artists. When someone buys it, we call the artist and tell them to keep it ready. We have tied up with FedEx and they pick up the product and deliver it to the customer,” she said.

With no cost involved in displaying the products like in a store, the website offers more than 25 categories of products. From bags and jewellery to candles and baskets, it has everything you can imagine to get from a flea market.

“Over 15% to 30% of the products we get are either upcycled or recycled,” she said.

So what happens when a product is broken or damaged before it reaches the customer?

“Every single sale is ended with a phone call. We give the artists tips on whatever can be done to improvise. Sometimes, we customise things. For example, for Christmas, we tell them to wrap the products in Christmas colours. We tell them we want the product in colours which make it sell better. So we have constant improvisation on products and this way, the seller can get better sales and keep customers happy,” she said.

“These artists make the products with a lot of heart and we sell them. They take it too seriously when there is a complaint and they even send a free gift sometimes to the buyers if they get a complaint,” she said.

She feels the site can give a big push to local art which needs to be promoted.

“It is only in markets like Soul Santhe or Kitsch you can find innovative products. But when that is over, they exhibit their products with me,” she said. With a simple but effective business model, Shreya has already seen the success curve move up.

“The model is simple. I take 15 per cent of the cost of the product and the artist keeps 85 per cent. I need that 15% as I have to run the website and also do the logistics,” she said.

She has impressed her friends and family and has also helped many find a way to advertise their products at almost no cost.
“I have a friend who makes some innovative products. She is raising money to become an undersea diver and she sells her products on my website,” she said.

Shreya wants to do this business as it brings her some money and also helps in organising a sector which is not yet organised in a big way.

“It would be cool to tell people that I started a business of my own at the age of 22 about 10 years down the line, right? I hope so,” she said with a smile.