Samsung ranked top brand on eBay India in 2012

Samsung outsold Nokia and Apple in 2012 to become the top selling phone brand on eBay's Indian website.

According to the 2012 census of the buying habits of Indian eBay shoppers, Samsung was the most popular brand on the website ahead of rival Apple. The U.S. company trailed Samsung by one or two places in the top five cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Bangalore, and Chennai.

Nokia dropped to fourth spot, after being ranked first last year in the most active Indian cities on eBay in 2011: Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Jaipur, Chennai, and Hyderabad. The rankings also saw the debut of Sandisk at number five.

Local phonemaker Micromax stayed in the top ten, but slipped a spot to ninth.

In terms of overseas transactions, the United States topped the list with its top purchase from India being diamonds, while U.S. sellers to India had the most success with smartphones.

China was India's fourth largest transaction partner. The top item sold to Indian shoppers were fancy rings, while Chinese buyers found the most interest in crystal decorator pieces.

The research findings were based on an analysis of all online buying and selling transactions by Indians on eBay between July 1, 2011 and December 31, 2012.  Retail export and import transactions between global eBayers and Indian eBayers were also analyzed.