Online bookshop First and Second.com's run-down Okhla office in New Delhi seems to reflect the company's fortunes.
But its young CEO Misha Dange explains that things are improving. "We're moving out of here soon," she says. The IMT Ghaziabad alumna joined in April 2004 and claims to have improved the performance of the six-year-old company that was on the brink of closure.
"There's no other Indian site that specialises only in books. On an average we get about 4,000 hits a day and we offer a choice of over 3 million titles," says Dange.
To improve online book sales, Dange has tied up with Internet Service Providers and distance learning institutions.
Since Indians are reluctant to use their credit cards online, the company tied up with Reliance Web World and Hughes Escorts Communications Ltd so that buyers could order books online but make payments at the collection centres owned by the two ISPs.
"Since gaming is a huge hit even among adults, we will soon add it as a separate product category," informs Dange. The site has been upgraded recently and an '80 % Discount store' has been added.
However, before the marketing initiatives were launched, Dange had to take care of the company's mounting liabilities.
Since its offline retail outlets were not viable, they were closed down. Dange, who has worked with Daewoo Motors, Escotel and Sodexho earlier, claims that liabilities have reduced and the company's turnover touched Rs 14 crore (Rs 140 million).
"Venture capitalists are keen to invest in the company," she says.
Set up in 1999 by the Jajodia group, with interests in Assam Tea Company, oil and gas, the site was supposed to be the desi version of Amazon.com offering consumers the convenient option of buying books online.
But as the dotcom bubble burst, the company's fortunes also declined. The efforts may be commendable but it may take a while before consumers start logging in big numbers.
