Interview With Allen Vasquez of CgeNa.Com

Posted on August 7th, 2009. Written by Rico.

CgeNa.com is easily one of the most useful local websites I’ve ever encountered. It recently scored a coup when Nokia Philippines tapped it for the N97 pre-order period. Marketing dude Allen Vasquez talks about the site, its operation, and why the gadget price comparison service currently leaves out the tiangges.

So, in one sentence, what is cgena.com?
CgeNa.com is the only price comparison website in the Philippines.

Who came up with idea for cgena.com? Who manages the website?
The idea started from a group of young and dynamic people at Rakso Computer Technology, which also manages the website. It has been a struggle for us to know the local prices here in the Philippines, specifically Metro Manila. CgeNa will help you canvass gadget prices you intend to purchase from malls (SMs, Robinsons, Ayala Malls), without leaving the comfort of the internet.

You said previously that you actually send people out to get prices from stores. Which areas are you guys currently concentrating on?
Yes, we send out people to gather prices to different malls, we cover 100% of major malls in Metro Manila. We concentrate on authorized retail shops, we tried to include “tiangge” stores before but it went bad for us – users complain of inaccurate information.

For the participating shops, they can fax or email us the forms provided to them, otherwise, our people can collect them. If you are a store owner/manager who wants to participate, you can email us at support@raksoct.com.

When will cgena start covering areas outside Metro Manila?
Right now, we have a nationwide listing of all Nokia Stores. For those shops outside Metro Manila who are interested may contact us. We hope to expand by the end of the year or first quarter of 2010.

Any new features visitors should watch out for?
We are currently improving our Online Shopping services – which will make it more convenient and secured purchasing your favorite gadgets. You should also watch out for our events and promos.

According to your site, what are the most in-demand items?
CgeNa’s most popular sections are:

1. Mobile Phones
2. Computers and Laptops
3. Digital Cameras
4. Mp3 Players.

While Top 5 overall are all touch screen phones in the following order:

1. Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
2. Samsung Preston S5603
3. Samsung Star S52333
4. Nokia N97
5. LG KP500 Cookie

So why should people visit cgena.com?
Allow me to answer it this way:

• If you want to waste time canvassing prices and walking around the malls, DO NOT visit CgeNa.com
• If you think you know all current gadget prices and information, DO NOT visit CgeNa.com
• If you want to pay for higher prices when purchasing something, DO NOT visit CgeNa.com

Allen apologizes for his picture, complaining that “not even computers can change the way I look”.