Sastodeal has shut down. One of Nepal’s pioneering online marketplaces started in 2011 AD has been out of service for months which raises a serious question of whether it will come back again. What has happened to Sastodeal? Has it come to a sad demise in the face of chronic market competition? Let’s explore.
Sastodeal shut down? It’s “currently” inactive on social networks
If we go by its Facebook activity, Sastodeal’s last post on the US social network was made on January 15 where it extended a wish on the occasion of Maghe Sankrati. It’s the company’s last post on Facebook. Strikingly enough, the company has not posted anything through its other social network handles such as Instagram, or LinkedIn. On X though, it is inactive already for years.
Further, we clicked Sastodeal.com to see if its major web platform is live. But unfortunately, the site is down too.
Trying more measures to reach out to the company for an answer, we opened the app on mobile. While the app launches without an issue, it’s a complete no-show inside the app. When we tapped on brands, categories, Bazar, or anything, it didn’t respond. It was also not possible to create an account. Likewise, the company’s customer service number 01-5970000 is also not responsive.
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Sastodeal founder Amun Thapa is busy with the Khaalisisi startup!
Amun Thapa, the entrepreneur who founded Sastodeal.com has kept mum over the eCommerce platform’s closure. However, it’s conspicuous that he is busy with his new startup Khaalisisi. It’s evident in his official LinkedIn handle and it’s making significant engagements already.
So, can we surmise that Sastodeal is shut down? Well, it appears so. Earlier, Thapa mentioned that felt it difficult after Alibaba ventured into Nepal by investing in Daraz. Candidly, he said that the Chinese conglomerate possesses more resources and funds to accentuate its business that Sastodeal can’t manage.
Still, he resorted to landing investments. In 2021, Sastodeal generated over Rs 112 million from the Dolma Impact Fund. Besides, IME Group and other firms also injected money into the company. It also had an investment deal with NIBL Ace Capital. Thapa was content with his company being the second-largest eCommerce platform in Nepal. However, Thapa has shared that the company faced difficulties after investors took their money back.
It all sounds unbelievable as the company had managed to strike deals with Myntra India in 2020 and Salesberry. These gave an impression of its rather burgeoning market presence and financial capacity. It seems to be the other way around.
Is Sastodeal closed?
Despite all of its digital platforms being non-functional, there’s no confirmation as yet regarding the Sastodeal shutdown. Its founder Amun Thapa hasn’t confirmed or denied its closure.
However, it seems likely that the emergence and dominance of Daraz online shopping in Nepal might have had a profound impact on Sastodeal’s ambitions and market expansion plans. Despite its partnership deals with various domestic and foreign brands, Sastodeal failed to capitalize on the potential while Daraz continued on utilizing its resources to build on its momentum. The “abroad” culture might not have helped it either. Largely, the online shopping culture is a youth-centric thing in Nepal. However, many move to foreign countries for higher education and employment. This puts pressure on companies like Sastodeal which has to do everything with its lesser resources against foreign brands such as Alibaba (Daraz). Maybe there are solutions at the policy level but that requires tangible efforts from the government to save national companies in the face of open market competition.
What’s with the Sastodeal.com shut down might be more to come in the future so let’s assume that everything is self-explanatory. We will continue to update you when there is more information available. int eh meantime, we are trying to establish contact with Sastodeal via available platforms to get any official statement on it being “offline”. When we have it, we will update it right away.
