If you’ve not heard the mention of Xiaomi or the rage of thousands of fans on their Facebook page when they were unable to make their purchases via the online store…my friend, where have you been?!
Who is this Xiaomi?
Xiaomi is a privately owned electronics company who happens to manufacture smartphones in China. They penetrated the Malaysia market only in May 2014 and off the bat teased consumers with their online sales strategy.
What rush are you talking about?
Xiaomi Malaysia decided to release only limited quantities of their Mi3 smartphone and 10,400 mAh powerbanks via their online store. They sold like hot cakes in 17 minutes!
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And the cakes became sold out even faster (15 minutes) when they brought in another batch of limited quantities.
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The above batch was the 1st time in my life I had actually joined such an online sale where you’re at the edge of your seat, just to be sure you may be 1 of the few to complete the order successfully.
Though my aim was the powerbank, I found it quickly had been sold out. Then when I happened to check whether the Mi3 smartphone was still available, it was! For that 10-20 seconds, I was stuck between the decision of being a hero to just buy it or, leave it.
Knowing that scalpers are gunning to make a profit versus owners who truly wanted the device, I decided to purchase the Mi3 with hopes someone I know personally may want it.
And yes, I had 1 friend who knew someone who really needed it. Lucky fellow is enjoying the new Xiaomi Mi3 now. 🙂
Back to the Xiaomi Malaysia rush. They didn’t stop there, many fans were still raging that they couldn’t complete their orders in time. So what happened was Xiaomi Malaysia did a sale only for their 10,400mAh powerbanks – which was nuts.
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In less than 2 minutes, it was sold out online when the product was made available to the Malaysian consumers. -_-
I also took part in this round of sales, but browsed away empty handed this time because I was too greedy.
Too greedy thinking of the additional 4 units I wanted to buy at the same time for my other friends whom I know wanted it. And that had been my biggest flaw here. I could’ve completed my order of 2 units (maximum per person) first, then make the roundabout but I didn’t.
By the time I made the roundabout, I saw the infamous rabbit telling me all powerbank units had been sold out. T_T And to make matters worst, my 2 units were still in the shopping cart. *wails*
Must know before joining the Xiaomi Malaysia online sale
From this experience, I picked up a few tips you must know before you join the next sale tomorrow for the 10,400mAh and 5,200mAh powerbanks.
- MUST have very fast internet (mine’s 20Mbps)
- Create free Xiaomi Malaysia online store account.
- Login to your account 5-10 minutes before the sale.
- Complete your own order first to avoid personal disappointment, like myself above.
Another tip shared by a fan was to activate the browser’s autocomplete. However, know that this will only work for you if you’ve used the autocomplete before, after activating it.
You can start preparing for the next rush – tomorrow.
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Should I buy the 10,400mAh or 5,200mAh?
Well, here are the pros and cons between the 2 models for me.
| Description / Capacity | 10,400mAh | 5,200mAh |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | Around 250g | Around 155g |
| Output current | 2.1A | 1.5A |
The bigger the capacity, the heavier it is. But the bigger capacity, has a higher output – resulting in possible faster charging rates. However, 1.5A is sufficient to save the day when your car dies and your phone is down to the last percent after texting while driving.
My recommendation is think of how will you use the powerbank. If you’re carrying it everywhere, lighter would be better. If you’re storing it in a fixed place, then bigger capacity is better. If you don’t mind carrying the additional 250grams around, then the bigger capacity will be a winner. Capiche?
Good luck for tomorrow! *thumbs*
Updated June 10, 2014
The 10,400mAh units were sold out much faster than the 5,200mAh units. My observation was the bigger capacity sold out within the first 1-2 minutes.
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