Luxury goods are also "different inside and outside"?

Many brands claim that domestic store products can only be exchanged and not returned

　　The Paper Journalist Shao Bingyan

　　The after-sales clause of "replacement, not refund" seems to be widespread in luxury brand stores.

　　On December 3, a reporter from The Paper called a number of luxury brand boutiques about the store's return and exchange policy, and they all said that the products purchased in the boutiques "only exchange and not refund."

As for how to solve the problem of product quality after purchase, many shops have not answered positively.

　　Under the “no return” regulations of specialty stores, how can consumers solve products with quality problems?

In this regard, a lawyer from Beijing Yunjia Law Firm and a special researcher of the Intellectual Property Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law said in an interview with The Paper that if quality problems occur in clothing, luggage, and beauty products, they can also be purchased directly from specialty stores. Request a return.

The store and customer service said: the store products are only exchangeable and non-refundable

　　On December 3, a reporter from The Paper addressed the customer service center of LV Express. The other party stated that purchases in LV stores can replace other products in stock within 30 days of the date of purchase, but they cannot return them.

However, since the purchase on the official website is an e-commerce purchase, there is a 7-day return service for no reason.

Regarding whether the product can be returned if there is a defect, the other party said: "Because the on-site confirmation can be made when buying in the store, consumers need to sign for confirmation before they can pick up the purchased product."

　　The Paper reporter also called the Hermès customer service center. The other party said that the return and exchange policies of different categories are different, and once the products in the specialty store are sold, they cannot be returned.

Most of these products can enjoy a one-time replacement service within 30 days without affecting secondary sales.

Online follow the e-commerce law, and any product can enjoy unreasonable return service without affecting the second sale the day after the signing of the sale.

　　A reporter from The Paper called Gucci Shanghai Ruiou Department Store, and the other party said that consumers can make a replacement within 14 working days from the date of purchase, but they cannot return the product.

For quality problems found after offline purchases, the other party said that consumers with any problems should contact the store as soon as possible. As long as the problem is not caused by man-made damage, the store will help solve the problem of the product itself.

　　The paper reporter called PRADA Prada Shanghai IAPM store, the other party said that consumers can exchange products within 14 days after purchasing the products, but only the exchange is not refundable.

Once there is a quality problem, you need to get it to the store for identification, and you need to see what items are causing the problem.

　　Compared with the official websites of the above-mentioned brands, The Paper reporters found that some brands do not have a unified global standard on the return policy.

　　Among them, LV's official website shows that at the end of the declaration of return and exchange policies in some countries, it also stated that any independent LV store around the world accepts returns, but does not include Brazil, China, India, South Korea and other places.

Screenshot of LV official website

Screenshot of LV official website

　　In addition, Gucci's official website also shows that for some countries such as Canada and the United States, eligible products can be exchanged or returned within 14 days after purchase in the store.

Gucci official website screenshot

Gucci official website screenshot

Lawyer: Consumers can request to return the product in the store if there is a quality problem in the product itself

　　Lawyer Ma Xiaomin, a senior partner of Jinshi Law Firm, said that for the relevant facts, we need to pay attention to several key points: first, the fairness of the transaction; second, whether the parties have agreed on the return conditions and whether the agreed return policy is in line with the state Provisions; third, whether the agreed procedures are legal; fourth, the validity of the standard clauses.

　　Lawyer Ma Xiaomin said that the format clauses provided by the merchants may exclude the legal rights of consumers.

At the same time, businesses require consumers to confirm on-site whether there are quality problems, and the practice of asking consumers to sign a guarantee agreement is not in line with normal trading habits.

After all, some quality problems cannot be discovered or manifested on site.

In addition, it is inappropriate for the merchant to inform the customer that the product cannot be returned by verbal means, which may infringe the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.

　　Zhao Zhanzhu, a lawyer of Beijing Yunjia Law Firm and a special researcher of the Intellectual Property Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, introduced in an interview with The Paper that according to Article 24 of the latest version of the "Consumer Rights Protection Law of the People's Republic of China", the goods provided by the business operator Or if the service does not meet the quality requirements, the consumer can return the product in accordance with national regulations and the parties' agreement, or require the operator to perform replacement, repair and other obligations.

In the absence of national regulations and agreements between the parties, consumers can return the goods within seven days from the date of receipt; if the statutory conditions for termination of the contract are met after seven days, consumers can return the goods in a timely manner; if they do not meet the statutory conditions for termination of the contract, they can require the operator to perform Obligations such as replacement and repair.

　　Zhao Zhanzhu said that consumers need to distinguish between the products they buy when buying goods through offline channels. Whether the country has formulated a three-guarantee law, such as mobile phones, computers and other countries that have a special three-guarantee law, which needs to be followed first.

The three guarantees policy standards formulated by the merchants themselves should not be lower than the provisions of the national three guarantees law, and they can be returned and exchanged in accordance with the law, provided that these two conditions are met.

　　Zhao Zhanzhu pointed out that at present, countries with products such as apparel, luggage, and beauty in luxury stores have not formulated relevant three guarantees. If the merchant has a three guarantees policy or contractual agreement, it needs to be followed first.

However, if the consumer proves that the product has quality problems after the purchase, the other party constitutes a breach of contract. Even if the merchant says that the product cannot be returned and can only be exchanged, there is no legal basis for this statement.

Consumers can still request to cancel the contract and return the goods for a refund.

Different countries have different return and exchange policies for specialty stores, which is suspected of discriminating against consumers.