Burger King India Let Customers Pre-Order Sandwiches Through eBay

The eBay India listing for the Mutton Whopper. BK India sold 380 vouchers in advance of this coming Sunday’s opening in New Delhi.

Right after announcing a deal with PayPal that will allow customers to buy food without cash or credit cards, Burger King tried out PayPal’s parent company eBay to let customers in India pre-order Whoppers before the restaurants launch in the Asian nation.

The Wall Street Journal’s Digits blog noticed listings on eBay’s India marketplace where users could pre-order chicken sandwiches, and Whoppers (vegetarian or mutton) for 128 rupees (around $2.08) each.

The listings appear to be closed now, but it looks like 380 people purchased the Mutton Whopper in advance of this coming Sunday’s opening of a BK in New Delhi’s Select City Walk Mall.

People who pre-ordered the sandwiches will get a voucher that gets them their food and a free T-shirt. The company says the eBay price is lower than what people would pay at the store.

Given that the process of buying online and waiting for a courier-delivered voucher is a lot more cumbersome than merely going to a fast food joint and paying with cash or plastic, we’re guessing this is just a one-off promotion for BK, which hopes to eventually make a dent in the fast food market in India.

Additionally, PayPal is in the process of being spun off by eBay, so it’s unlikely that this experiment is part of the recently announced partnership between BK and PayPal.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist