An expert demands specific criteria and conditions for wholesaling in the market

Consumers: stores offering "wholesale" goods at prices that exceed "retail" by 20%.

Consumers said that wholesale stores offer products at prices higher than those offered in retail outlets by rates exceeding 20%, despite the fact that the main reason for consumers' demand for wholesale stores is the reduced prices that are lower than their counterparts in retail outlets.

In turn, a sales official confirmed to "Emirates Today" that many "wholesale" goods are discounted, especially those with large sizes, referring to the presence of higher priced goods on the part of some employees, or the similarity of names or brands.

He called on consumers to check the commodity price from the outlet first, to rectify any unintended error.

Consumer complaints

In detail, consumer Ahmed Mansour said: “It is known and assumed in wholesale stores that they offer goods at reduced prices, compared to retail stores, but he was surprised that these stores sell some products at higher prices.”

Mansour explained that «a wholesale store sells five packages of specific paper napkins for 90 dirhams, while it buys one package at 15 dirhams at the retail price, meaning that its retail price reaches 75 dirhams, which means an increase in the price at wholesale of 20%.

He confirmed that he also found that the store sells three large packages of known cheese for 42 dirhams, despite the fact that its price in retail stores is 36 dirhams, an increase of 16.7% for the wholesale store.

Mansour called for increasing oversight and imposing penalties in cases of price hikes, especially for wholesale stores, pointing to the main feature of this type of store, which makes consumers accept it, as it sells goods at lower prices than those offered in retail outlets, given that the consumer buys Bulk quantities of them.

Preconceived conviction

In turn, consumer Khaled Mustafa said: “Consumers may not notice that some wholesale stores offer products at higher prices than their counterparts, retail outlets, referring to the consumer's preconceived conviction that wholesale prices are lower than retail.

He told "Emirates Today" that a wholesale store displays a group of five sterilized packages for 34.55 dirhams, at a time when the same group buys from a retailer at 28.75 dirhams, meaning that the wholesale price exceeds the "retail" by 20.2%.

Mustafa called for tightening supervision and imposing penalties on violating wholesaling stores, considering what they do is a behavior that falls within the context of deceiving consumers, who trust that wholesaling stores are cheaper, which is what actually happens in some of the committed stores.

High speed

In the same context, consumer Sarah Al-Shami reviewed her experience, saying: “She prefers to buy her needs in general from wholesale stores, as she buys large quantities so that she does not have to shop frequently every few days.”

She added, "I noticed that some products and commodities in wholesale stores are sold at high prices, compared to their prices in retail stores, or the same without price differences."

She pointed out that she bought six packages of food cans from a well-known brand for 30 dirhams, only to discover that one package is sold in a single retail outlet for 4.25, meaning that the total price of six packages is 25.5 dirhams, which means that the wholesale outlet imposed an increase in its percentage. It's 17.6% in price.

It also confirmed that it had bought some detergents and most foodstuffs from wholesale stores, at prices comparable to the retail store, without a price difference in favor of the "wholesale".

Error and similarity

In addition, a sales official at a wholesale store, Aaron Jomar, said: “Many of the goods that are sold in wholesale outlets are discounted, especially those with large volumes, while some are sold at the same price in retail outlets, given that some suppliers do not always agree to Selling at lower prices ».

He attributed the presence of goods in wholesale outlets at higher prices to the mistake of some employees, or the similarity of names or brands with other goods, so consumers get confused.

Check the price

In turn, the sales official at another outlet, Masoud Anal, said: "The prices of many commodities are low, especially when their sizes and quantities are large."

He added: “With regard to goods of normal sizes, their price is similar to their price in retail outlets,” indicating that selling goods at higher prices than the retail market is not widespread, and this is due to the desire of some merchants to increase their profits, in light of the high demand for some goods during The "Covid-19" pandemic.

Anal called on consumers to check the price at the point of sale first, to correct any unintended error.

Standards and conditions

In addition, retail expert, Davy Nagpal, called for setting clear and specific standards and conditions for wholesale sales, with periodic inspections and control of wholesale stores, in order to verify price levels, and so that the merchant does not write the phrase "wholesale" to attract consumers only , Although prices may be the same or higher as shown in the retail market.

Nagpal called on consumers to be vigilant and to have the ability to compare prices between sales outlets, with the necessity to submit complaints to the concerned authorities, in the event of any unjustified price increase.

“Economy”: controlling prices in a way that guarantees the interest of the consumer

Finally, the Ministry of Economy confirmed that although the economy in the country is free and does not interfere in determining the prices of commodities, it controls prices in a way that guarantees the interest of the consumer, in the event that the markets witness unjustified high prices.

The ministry explained that it dealt with about 14 thousand various complaints by consumers at the state level during the year 2020, and carried out more than 171 thousand inspection rounds, which resulted in more than 4000 violations, calling on consumers to contact the ministry or the competent local authorities, to register any complaint. Reporting any improper commercial practice related to consumer protection in the country.

The Ministry stressed that updating the legal and legislative frameworks devoted to consumer protection is an imperative to keep pace with the rapid changes that the world is witnessing today, and to face the emerging challenges and negative repercussions caused by the (Covid-19) pandemic in terms of unsound commercial practices, such as monopoly, and exploiting the crisis to raise prices in a manner. Unjustified and exaggerated.

• Requests to impose oversight and penalties for violating wholesaling stores.

• Salesperson: "employee error, or similar names or brands."

• Selling at higher prices than retail is due to the desire of merchants to increase their profits.

 • 34.55 dirhams the wholesale price of five sterilized containers, compared to 28.75 dirhams the retail price.

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