Vijay Sales August 2026: What Each Rung of Your Budget Buys

Four hundred and ninety-nine rupees, fifty per cent off a stated Rs. 1,000, and across all 568 products in the 25 category pages we read there is nothing cheaper. That is a useful thing to know before you shop, because it tells you what the bottom of this shop actually looks like: not a token accessory, but a full-size 1.5-litre kettle with a cordless base and, per the listing, ISI certification and over-heat protection. In practical terms an electric kettle is one of the few appliances that changes a daily routine for almost no money - it boils faster than a gas hob for tea and instant food, and it is the first thing we would buy for a hostel room, a rented flat or an office pantry. What Rs. 499 does not buy is temperature control, a stainless-steel interior or any kind of keep-warm function. Those appear further up this category, which runs to Rs. 3,699 in our pull, and the honest question is whether you will ever use them. Vijay Sales publishes no ratings or review counts on these listings, so nothing on this page carries a rating pill.

• Price: Rs. 499 (stated MRP Rs. 1,000)
• Key detail: 1.5 L, 1500 W - the cheapest product across all 25 categories we read
• Discount: 50% off, which is Rs. 501
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: The cheapest thing in the shop
• Buying logic: the floor of the whole shop

Nine hundred and ninety-nine rupees against a stated Rs. 3,290. The cheapest wireless earbuds in our pull are a Zebronics pair at Rs. 629, and the gap to this one is three hundred and seventy rupees - which is the sort of decision this page exists to frame. What you get for it is a brand with a service footprint in India and, per the listing, fifty hours of combined battery, ENx call noise reduction and fast charging. What you do not get at this price, in any pair we saw, is active noise cancellation: the cheapest ANC earbuds in our 26 rows sit at Rs. 1,599, and if a commute on a bus or a train is the reason you are buying, that six hundred rupees is the more consequential upgrade than this one. We have not listened to these. Vijay Sales publishes no ratings or review counts anywhere in these listings, so there is no aggregate opinion here for us to relay and we are not going to import one from elsewhere and pretend it belongs to this page.

• Price: Rs. 999 (stated MRP Rs. 3,290)
• Key detail: Wireless earbuds - the category floor is Rs. 629, this is the first name brand above it
• Discount: 70% off, which is Rs. 2,291
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: First rung that has a brand on it
• Buying logic: brand over rock-bottom

One thousand one hundred and ninety-nine rupees, forty-three per cent off a stated Rs. 2,100, and it is worth being precise about what the extra money buys. Of the 25 irons we read, the six cheapest are all dry irons, starting at Rs. 619; this is the first steam iron in the list, and it happens to sit at exactly the same Rs. 1,199 as a Havells dry iron on the same page. So this is a clean like-for-like: at this price you choose between a heavier dry iron and a steam one with a water tank and a spray function. Steam matters for cotton and linen, which are most of what an Indian wardrobe is made of, and it matters much less for synthetics, which is why plenty of households are perfectly served by the Rs. 619 option. The listing quotes 1250 W and a two-year warranty. Irons climb to Rs. 12,599 in this catalogue, and the money above roughly Rs. 3,000 goes on higher wattage and continuous steam output rather than on anything that changes the job.

• Price: Rs. 1,199 (stated MRP Rs. 2,100)
• Key detail: Steam iron, 1250 W - the cheapest steam iron here; dry irons start at Rs. 619
• Discount: 43% off, which is Rs. 901
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: Where steam starts
• Buying logic: steam versus dry, priced

One thousand five hundred and ninety-nine rupees, sixty-eight per cent off a stated Rs. 4,995. Smartwatches start at Rs. 1,499 in our pull and run to Rs. 64,999, which is the widest spread of any category we read, and this sits a hundred rupees above the floor. The listing quotes a 1.91-inch display, Bluetooth calling, more than a hundred sports modes and an IP68 rating. Two honest notes about buying at this rung. First, at Rs. 1,599 you are buying a notification mirror and a step counter with a big screen, not a medical instrument; the heart-rate and SpO2 readings on watches at this price are not clinical measurements and should not be treated as any. Second, this rung is nearly the end of the road. Of the 25 categories on these pages, only eight have anything at all under two thousand rupees - kettles from Rs. 499, irons from Rs. 619, earbuds from Rs. 629, speakers from Rs. 799, power banks from Rs. 899, headphones from Rs. 1,199, smartwatches from Rs. 1,499 and, highest of the eight, induction cooktops from Rs. 1,699. Everything else in the shop, including every appliance you would call white goods, begins above it.

• Price: Rs. 1,599 (stated MRP Rs. 4,995)
• Key detail: 1.91-inch display, Bluetooth calling, IP68 - smartwatches start at Rs. 1,499
• Discount: 68% off, which is Rs. 3,396
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: The eighth and last category down here
• Buying logic: the eighth category, and the last

One thousand six hundred and ninety-nine rupees, forty-three per cent off a stated Rs. 2,999. Power banks in this pull start at Rs. 899 and run to Rs. 10,990, and nearly every cheap one is the same 10,000 mAh capacity - which is the trap in this category, because capacity is the number everybody prints on the front and output wattage is the number that decides whether your phone charges fast or slowly. This one states 22.5 W, which is enough for fast charging on most Android phones, in a body the listing describes as ultra-compact; at this capacity, size and weight are the other thing worth paying for, since a brick you leave at home charges nothing. If you want magnetic attachment for an iPhone, that is a separate sub-category here: the MagSafe-style banks in our rows start around Rs. 1,299 and cluster between Rs. 1,499 and Rs. 2,049, and Apple's own MagSafe battery is Rs. 10,990, by a distance the most expensive power bank we found. Buy on stated output and on size rather than on the milliamp-hour figure, because at this rung almost everything is 10,000 mAh - the exception we found is an Ambrane 20,000 mAh at exactly the same Rs. 1,699, which is the one to take instead if you would rather have two full charges than a pocketable shape.

• Price: Rs. 1,699 (stated MRP Rs. 2,999)
• Key detail: 10,000 mAh, 22.5 W, compact body - power banks start at Rs. 899 in this pull
• Discount: 43% off, which is Rs. 1,300
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: The spec people buy on is the wrong one
• Buying logic: watts, not milliamp-hours

Two thousand and fifty rupees, fifty-four per cent off a stated Rs. 4,490, and it is the cheapest mixer grinder on these pages. This is where the Indian kitchen actually starts: a mixer grinder is not optional in most households and it is the appliance people replace most often. Five hundred watts with three jars is the entry configuration, and it will handle chutney, masala pastes and small-batch batter. Where it will struggle is heavy continuous grinding - idli and dosa batter in quantity, or dry spice grinding week after week - and that is exactly what the money above buys. The category median in our pull is Rs. 6,499, and by that price you are looking at 750 W to 1000 W with four or five jars and ball-bearing motors; the ceiling here is Rs. 14,995. Our read on how mixer grinders are priced at a competing electronics chain found the same shape, with wattage and jar count doing the work. If you cook for two, this rung is enough. For a joint family it is not.

• Price: Rs. 2,050 (stated MRP Rs. 4,490)
• Key detail: 500 W, 3 jars - the cheapest mixer grinder of the 27 we read
• Discount: 54% off, which is Rs. 2,440
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: First kitchen machine
• Buying logic: enough for two, not for six

Two thousand two hundred and ninety-nine rupees, thirty-one per cent off a stated Rs. 3,330. Induction cooktops start at Rs. 1,699 here and the whole category tops out at Rs. 4,599, which makes it the tightest price band of any of the 25 we read - a spread of under three thousand rupees from floor to ceiling. When a category is that compressed, the price genuinely is not the decision, and this pick sits six hundred rupees above the floor for preset Indian menus, a timer and, per the listing, automatic voltage regulation. The reason to own one has less to do with cooking technique than with logistics: it is a second burner you can put on a counter without a gas connection, which matters during a cylinder change, in a rented flat, or when you are cooking for more people than your hob has rings. The catch, and it is a real one, is cookware. Induction only works with magnetic-base vessels, so a kitchen full of aluminium pans will need new ones, and that cost is not on this page.

• Price: Rs. 2,299 (stated MRP Rs. 3,330)
• Key detail: 1600 W with preset menus and a timer - induction cooktops start at Rs. 1,699
• Discount: 31% off, which is Rs. 1,031
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: The backup hob
• Buying logic: a second ring, no gas line

Two thousand four hundred rupees against a stated MRP of Rs. 12,499 - eighty-one per cent, and no other product in the 568 we read carries a bigger badge. We would treat that number as a description of the listing rather than as a measure of the deal, because a Rs. 12,499 reference price on a 4.2-litre entry air fryer is a claim we have no way to verify and would not lean on. What is verifiable is the price: Rs. 2,400 is the cheapest air fryer on these pages, in a category of 26 products with a median of Rs. 8,624 and a ceiling of Rs. 25,998. The useful comparison is not against the MRP but against the rest of the shelf. At Rs. 2,400 you get 4.2 litres, touch controls and a detachable handle. By Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 10,000 you are into the European and American names with larger baskets, and the Ninja and Instant models at the top of the category are dual-basket machines. For one or two people who want to stop deep-frying, the bottom rung genuinely does the job; 4.2 litres will not feed four.

• Price: Rs. 2,400 (stated MRP Rs. 12,499)
• Key detail: 4.2 L digital - the cheapest air fryer here, and the largest badge in the whole pull
• Discount: 81% off, which is Rs. 10,099
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: Biggest badge in the pull
• Buying logic: the entry basket size

Three thousand two hundred and fifty-nine rupees, forty per cent off a stated Rs. 5,399. This is the first product on this page that is not simply plugged in and used - it is fixed to a wall and connected to a water line, and the installation cost is not part of the price you see. Worth saying plainly before the number looks like a bargain. Water heaters here run from this to Rs. 8,699, and the split within that range is instant versus storage. Instant geysers like this one heat continuously at the tap and suit a kitchen sink or a single wash basin; three litres is not a bath. Storage geysers, which start around Rs. 6,899 in our rows at 15 litres, hold a tank of hot water and are what a bathroom shower actually wants. So the cheapest option here is not a cheaper version of the same thing - it is a different appliance for a different tap, and buying it for a shower would be a mistake. The listing quotes 3 kW and a rust-proof body rated for high-rise buildings, which is a pressure question rather than a heating one.

• Price: Rs. 3,259 (stated MRP Rs. 5,399)
• Key detail: 3 L instant, 3 kW - the cheapest water heater of the 14 we read
• Discount: 40% off, which is Rs. 2,140
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: Cheapest thing that plumbs in
• Buying logic: instant, not storage

Three thousand five hundred and seventy-nine rupees, thirty-seven per cent off a stated Rs. 5,660. Of the 27 fans on these pages, the two cheapest at Rs. 2,299 are personal hand fans, and this is the cheapest ceiling fan - which is the more useful floor to know, because a ceiling fan is the thing an Indian home actually needs. Nearly every ceiling fan in our pull is a BLDC motor model, and Atomberg alone accounts for 21 of the 27 rows with a median price of Rs. 4,499. That concentration is itself information: the shop has largely stopped stocking cheap induction-motor fans at this price point. A BLDC fan draws roughly a third of the power of a conventional one and comes with a remote, which is why they cost about twice as much and why the payback argument is genuine over a fan's ten-year life. We looked at the same trade-off in more detail in our BLDC-versus-cheap-fan read. The fan category here tops out at Rs. 17,999 for a cordless pedestal model.

• Price: Rs. 3,579 (stated MRP Rs. 5,660)
• Key detail: 1200 mm BLDC with remote - the cheapest ceiling fan here; a personal fan is Rs. 2,299
• Discount: 37% off, which is Rs. 2,081
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: The one that pays itself back
• Buying logic: running cost over sticker price

Six thousand four hundred and ninety rupees, nineteen per cent off a stated Rs. 7,999 - one of the shallower badges on this page, on the cheapest product in its category, which is a good reminder that the two things are unrelated. This is a solo microwave, and the word matters. Solo means it heats and defrosts and nothing else: no grill element, no convection, so it will not brown, crisp or bake. Reheating last night's dal and softening butter is the entire brief, and for a great many households that is all a microwave has ever done. If you want to bake or grill, convection models start around Rs. 10,990 in our rows and the category runs to Rs. 27,990. Twenty litres is the standard small capacity and fits a dinner plate comfortably, not a full casserole. The listing quotes 700 W heating and a stainless-steel body. This is also the rung at which the shop's big appliances start appearing at all - microwaves, water purifiers, air purifiers and the first refrigerator are all clustered between Rs. 5,999 and Rs. 9,000.

• Price: Rs. 6,490 (stated MRP Rs. 7,999)
• Key detail: 20 L solo, 700 W - the cheapest microwave of the 27 we read
• Discount: 19% off, which is Rs. 1,509
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: Where the white goods begin
• Buying logic: solo means solo

Six thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight rupees, fifty-one per cent off a stated Rs. 14,000. This is the cheapest of the 27 water purifiers we read, and it is the pick on this page where the wrong choice costs you the most, so read the specification rather than the price. It is a UV purifier with a mineral cartridge and no reverse-osmosis stage, and the listing itself says it is suitable for municipal water. UV kills bacteria and viruses; it does not remove dissolved solids, hardness or heavy metals. If your supply is borewell or tanker water, or if the local TDS is high, this appliance will not fix it and an RO model is what you need - those start around Rs. 9,990 in our rows and the category median is Rs. 17,290, running up to Rs. 78,999 for a hot-and-cold RO unit. The honest sequence is to find out what comes out of your tap before you spend anything, because the Rs. 3,000 you save at this rung is worthless if the machine cannot treat your water, and an RO on already-soft municipal supply is money spent on filters you did not need.

• Price: Rs. 6,898 (stated MRP Rs. 14,000)
• Key detail: UV, no RO - the cheapest water purifier here, for municipal water only
• Discount: 51% off, which is Rs. 7,102
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: The one to check your water first
• Buying logic: UV or RO, not price

Seven thousand four hundred and ninety-nine rupees, twenty-eight per cent off a stated Rs. 10,400. Air purifiers are the smallest category we read - eleven products against 27 televisions - which is what a seasonal appliance looks like on a shop's shelves in August rather than in November. The floor is Rs. 5,999 for a Levoit mini rated to 183 square feet; this one is rated to 310 square feet, which is the number that actually matters and the one to check before anything else, because a purifier sized for a study will not clear a living room no matter how good its filter is. True HEPA H13 is the meaningful filter grade for particulate matter. Two things to price in that the sticker does not include: filters are consumable and need replacing roughly annually, and a purifier only works in a closed room, so it is a bedroom appliance rather than a whole-home one. The category here runs to Rs. 49,000, and the top of it is mostly dehumidifiers, which are a different machine for a different problem - moisture, not particulates.

• Price: Rs. 7,499 (stated MRP Rs. 10,400)
• Key detail: True HEPA H13, rated for up to 310 sq ft - air purifiers start at Rs. 5,999
• Discount: 28% off, which is Rs. 2,901
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: Seasonal, and priced like it
• Buying logic: match it to the room

Eight thousand nine hundred and forty rupees, twenty-five per cent off a stated Rs. 11,990. This is the cheapest of 27 refrigerators, and it is important to see what the floor of that category actually is: 47 litres, which is a bar fridge or a hostel fridge, not a household one. It has a reversible door and, per the listing, silent operation and an eco-friendly refrigerant, and it will hold drinks, a few days of leftovers and not much else. The category median in our pull is Rs. 30,790 and the ceiling is Rs. 181,390, so this sits at the very bottom of a very tall ladder - and we have seated the other end of that ladder deliberately in chapter five, where a 251-litre frost-free double door costs Rs. 26,990. Three times the money for more than five times the volume, plus a freezer worth the name and no manual defrosting, is the single clearest illustration on this page of why the floor price of a category tells you so little on its own about what you should budget.

• Price: Rs. 8,940 (stated MRP Rs. 11,990)
• Key detail: 47 L direct cool - the cheapest refrigerator of the 27 we read
• Discount: 25% off, which is Rs. 3,050
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: The floor of the biggest category
• Buying logic: a bar fridge, not a home one

Nine thousand two hundred and ninety-nine rupees, thirty-one per cent off a stated Rs. 13,490. Soundbars in this pull start at Rs. 3,990 and run to Rs. 99,999, with a median of Rs. 13,999. We have seated this one rather than the floor model because of one specification: HDMI ARC. A soundbar connected over ARC is controlled by the television's own remote and volume, and one connected over optical or aux generally is not, which in daily use is the difference between a device you use and a device that annoys you. The 2.1 configuration means a stereo bar plus a subwoofer, which is where the actual improvement over a television's built-in speakers comes from. The reason this pick belongs on a budget page: every flat panel in chapter four and five has a thin chassis with small downward-firing drivers, and dialogue clarity is the first casualty. Rs. 9,299 against Rs. 40,690 for the 55-inch is a small share of the total to fix the most-noticed weakness of the bigger purchase. We have not listened to it.

• Price: Rs. 9,299 (stated MRP Rs. 13,490)
• Key detail: 2.1 channel, 120 W RMS, HDMI ARC - soundbars start at Rs. 3,990
• Discount: 31% off, which is Rs. 4,191
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: The cheap fix for a flagship problem
• Buying logic: buy it with the television

Fourteen thousand seven hundred and ninety rupees, forty-nine per cent off a stated Rs. 28,739. The washing-machine category here starts at Rs. 10,990, but every one of the four cheapest models is a semi-automatic - two tubs, you move the wet clothes from washer to spinner by hand, and you fill it yourself. This is the first fully automatic on the list, at 6.5 kg and top-loading, and the roughly Rs. 3,800 gap over the cheapest semi is what buys you a machine you can walk away from. That is the decision at this rung, and it is a lifestyle question rather than a specification one: a semi-automatic uses less water and less electricity and costs less, and it needs you standing next to it. Six and a half kilograms suits two to three people. The category median is Rs. 23,990 and the ceiling in our pull is Rs. 49,990. Front loaders, which are the gentler and more water-efficient design, do not appear until much higher up - we have seated the cheapest Bosch one in chapter five at Rs. 37,990 for exactly that contrast.

• Price: Rs. 14,790 (stated MRP Rs. 28,739)
• Key detail: 6.5 kg fully automatic - the cheapest fully automatic here; semi-automatics start at Rs. 10,990
• Discount: 49% off, which is Rs. 13,949
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: Fully automatic starts here
• Buying logic: the machine you can leave alone

Fourteen thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine rupees, forty-four per cent off a stated Rs. 26,999. Televisions were the widest category we read by absolute spread: 27 models from Rs. 13,490 to Rs. 309,990. The floor is a Sansui 32-inch at Rs. 13,490 and this sits Rs. 1,509 above it, for Google TV as the operating system - which is the specification we would spend the difference on at this end, because the platform decides which apps you get and how long the set stays useful, and it is not something you can upgrade later. A 32-inch is a bedroom, kitchen or hostel-room television. It is HD rather than 4K, and at this size and a normal viewing distance that is a defensible trade rather than a compromise: 4K on a 32-inch panel is largely wasted. What you should not do is buy a 32-inch for a living room because it is cheap. The size question is the one that matters, and we worked through screen size against panel type in a separate read.

• Price: Rs. 14,999 (stated MRP Rs. 26,999)
• Key detail: 32-inch HD QLED, Google TV - televisions start at Rs. 13,490
• Discount: 44% off, which is Rs. 12,000
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: The small-room television
• Buying logic: a second-room set

Sixteen thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine rupees, twenty-nine per cent off a stated Rs. 24,000. This is the cheapest of 22 tablets, and the floor is worth pausing on because it is higher than most people assume: there is no Rs. 8,000 tablet in this shop. The specification is a 10.1-inch WUXGA screen, a Helio G85, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage and Wi-Fi only - no cellular. Two consequences. Four gigabytes of RAM in 2026 is the entry configuration and it will show in how many apps stay open at once, so this is a video-and-reading device rather than a work machine. And Wi-Fi only means it does not leave the house usefully unless you tether it. The category median is Rs. 37,499 and the ceiling Rs. 64,999, and the honest comparison is against the phone in the next card: Rs. 21,999 buys a 5G phone that does everything this tablet does plus telephony, and Rs. 16,999 buys a bigger screen and nothing else. Buy a tablet because you specifically want the screen size, not as a cheaper computer.

• Price: Rs. 16,999 (stated MRP Rs. 24,000)
• Key detail: 10.1-inch Wi-Fi only, 4GB/64GB - the cheapest tablet of the 22 we read
• Discount: 29% off, which is Rs. 7,001
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: Last category to open below Rs. 20,000
• Buying logic: a screen, not a computer

Twenty-one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine rupees, forty-three per cent off a stated Rs. 38,499. Twenty phones on these pages, from Rs. 13,499 to Rs. 159,999, and the floor deserves a footnote: the two cheapest, at Rs. 13,499 and Rs. 13,999, are both 4G handsets. The cheapest 5G phone we found is Rs. 21,999, which is this one, and that Rs. 8,500 step is the real entry cost of a phone you will not want to replace in two years. What the listing quotes is a Dimensity 6300, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a 6500 mAh battery and a 50MP dual camera. The battery figure is the one we would weight most at this price, because processors at the bottom of the 5G range are much of a muchness while a 6500 mAh cell genuinely changes a day. Note also what this chapter as a whole shows: at Rs. 21,999 you are buying the entry model of an expensive category, whereas the same money at the Rs. 2,000 rung bought the top of several cheap ones. Vijay Sales's own flagship pre-order page is the other end of this shelf.

• Price: Rs. 21,999 (stated MRP Rs. 38,499)
• Key detail: 5G, 6500 mAh - phones start at Rs. 13,499, but that entry model is 4G
• Discount: 43% off, which is Rs. 16,500
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: Where 5G actually starts
• Buying logic: the 5G entry price

Twenty-five thousand nine hundred and sixty rupees, thirteen per cent off a stated Rs. 29,990 - and note that this is one of the smallest badges on the page sitting on one of the most expensive picks, which is the pattern this whole read is built to work around. Eighteen dishwashers, floor Rs. 25,960, median Rs. 60,994, ceiling Rs. 72,990. Only laptops have a higher entry price in this shop, and that is the single most useful fact about buying a dishwasher in India: there is no cheap way in. Eight place settings is the compact size, suitable for two to four people, and the listing specifically claims suitability for oil and masala stains, which is the standing objection to dishwashers in Indian kitchens and worth taking seriously rather than dismissing. What the price does not include is installation and a water inlet, and what the running cost includes is detergent, salt and rinse aid, none of which are on this page. The 13-to-15 place machines that suit a larger household start around Rs. 29,990 and quickly reach Rs. 50,000 and beyond.

• Price: Rs. 25,960 (stated MRP Rs. 29,990)
• Key detail: 8 place settings - the cheapest dishwasher of the 18 we read, and the category floor
• Discount: 13% off, which is Rs. 4,030
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: Highest floor but one
• Buying logic: no cheap way in

Twenty-six thousand nine hundred and ninety rupees, twenty-nine per cent off a stated Rs. 37,990. We have put this directly against the Rs. 8,940 bar fridge in chapter three because between them they make the argument of this page better than any percentage could. Three times the money buys more than five times the volume, a frost-free system so you never defrost it by hand, a proper freezer compartment rather than an ice box, and a smart inverter compressor, which modulates rather than cycling on and off and is the thing that keeps the running cost down over a decade. For a family of three or four, 251 litres is the sensible size and the Rs. 8,940 model is not a smaller version of it - it is a different appliance. The refrigerator category here has a median of Rs. 30,790, so this pick sits just below the middle of the shelf, and it climbs to Rs. 181,390 for a side-by-side with a screen in the door. Frost free and inverter are the two specifications we would not give up; capacity above 300 litres is a household-size question rather than a quality one.

• Price: Rs. 26,990 (stated MRP Rs. 37,990)
• Key detail: 251 L frost free double door - three times the Rs. 8,940 fridge, five times the volume
• Discount: 29% off, which is Rs. 11,000
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: The fridge a household actually needs
• Buying logic: the other end of the ladder

Thirty-seven thousand nine hundred and ninety rupees, thirty-nine per cent off a stated Rs. 61,990. This is the second deliberate pairing in this chapter. The Rs. 14,790 Voltas Beko in chapter four is a 6.5 kg fully automatic top loader; this is an 8 kg front loader at two and a half times the price, and the difference is not marketing. Front-loading machines tumble clothes through a smaller volume of water instead of agitating them in a full drum, which uses substantially less water, is gentler on fabric, and - at 1200 rpm here against the much lower spin speeds typical of top loaders - leaves clothes drier, which matters enormously in a monsoon month when nothing dries on a balcony. What you give up is cycle time, which is roughly double, and the ability to open the door mid-wash. The listing adds anti-wrinkle and anti-stain programmes. Washing machines on these pages run from Rs. 10,990 to Rs. 49,990, and the front loaders occupy the top half of that almost exclusively. If you have hard water or a family's worth of laundry, this is where the money is well spent.

• Price: Rs. 37,990 (stated MRP Rs. 61,990)
• Key detail: 8 kg front load, 1200 rpm - front loaders are the expensive half of this category
• Discount: 39% off, which is Rs. 24,000
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: The upgrade the cheap machine is measured against
• Buying logic: water and fabric, not features

Thirty-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety rupees, forty-one per cent off a stated Rs. 67,990. Twenty-two laptops, and this is the floor - the highest entry price of any of the 25 categories we read, which is the headline fact of this chapter. But the specification is where the honesty has to be. This is an Intel Celeron N4500 with 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and a 15.6-inch HD - not full HD - display. A Celeron is an entry processor and a 1366-by-768 panel is a low-resolution one, so this machine is for browsing, documents and video calls, and it will feel slow at anything beyond that. The category median here is Rs. 90,499, and the Ryzen and Core-series thin-and-lights that most people actually want start around Rs. 48,599 and cluster between Rs. 52,990 and Rs. 75,999. We would rather someone knew that this rung exists and what it is than bought it expecting a work machine. Our read on three laptops sharing one price elsewhere makes the same point about specification over sticker.

• Price: Rs. 39,990 (stated MRP Rs. 67,990)
• Key detail: Celeron N4500, 8GB/256GB, 15.6-inch HD - the cheapest laptop of the 22 we read
• Discount: 41% off, which is Rs. 28,000
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: The highest floor in the shop
• Buying logic: the floor, and its limits

Forty thousand six hundred and ninety rupees, forty-six per cent off a stated Rs. 74,990. This is the most expensive product on this page and it is a useful place to end, because it is not remotely the top of the shop: televisions here run to Rs. 309,990 for an 85-inch, and the category median is Rs. 35,290. Set against the Rs. 14,999 32-inch in chapter four, this is roughly two and a half times the money for a screen with about three times the area and four times the pixels, and at living-room distances the size is the upgrade you actually perceive. The listing quotes a 4K HVA panel, HDR10, Google TV and Dolby Audio. Two things to keep in proportion. Sixty hertz is the standard refresh rate at this price and 120 Hz panels, which matter for gaming, sit considerably higher up this shelf. And the built-in audio on a bezel-less panel this thin is the weak point of every set in this price band - which is why the Rs. 9,299 soundbar in chapter three is the most sensible companion purchase on this whole page, at less than a quarter of the cost of the television it sits under.

• Price: Rs. 40,690 (stated MRP Rs. 74,990)
• Key detail: 55-inch 4K HDR - two and a half times the 32-inch, and the whole point of this chapter
• Discount: 46% off, which is Rs. 34,300
• Rating: none published - Vijay Sales's category pages carry no ratings or review counts
• Role: Top of this read
• Buying logic: size is the upgrade