Why is it difficult to ban the old routine of "price increase first and then price decrease"?

Zhang Tao

　　At 8 p.m. on October 24th, the pre-sale of "Double Eleven" on major e-commerce platforms was officially opened, and this year's "Double Eleven" promotion has entered a substantive stage.

Recently, some netizens found that the mobile phones sold on a certain platform are quietly increasing in price.

Ms. Shen from Shandong broke the news that the price of a mobile phone of the same model of a certain brand was 2,069 yuan on October 18, and suddenly adjusted to 2,469 yuan on October 19.

Until October 24, although the price has dropped, it will be 2,299 yuan after using up the coupons provided by the platform, which is still 230 yuan more expensive than before.

　　With the improvement of consumers' living standards, platform subsidy activities have become routine, and low prices have long ceased to be a special advantage of "Double Eleven". The fact that some commodities have secretly "raised prices" under the guise of "price reduction" has long made Consumers are fed up.

This year's "Double Eleven" is approaching, and some merchants have begun to play the trick of "price increase first and then price decrease".

Why does this old routine continue to be banned?

　　It is a typical dishonest behavior that merchants raise prices first and then lower prices to create the illusion of price reductions. They are suspected of infringing consumers' right to know and choose, and may also constitute fraud.

Article 14 of the "Price Law" clearly stipulates that: Operators shall not use false or misleading pricing methods to deceive consumers or other operators into trading with them.

Last year, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the "Work Tips on Regulating the Online Promotional Activities of "Double Eleven", which specifically mentioned the strict regulation of promotional behaviors.

"It is necessary to improve the openness and transparency of promotions, and it is forbidden to carry out promotions in illegal ways such as 'first increase the price and then discount', fictitious original prices, and failure to fulfill price commitments."

　　"Raising prices first and then lowering them" is difficult to avoid. During the "Double Eleven" period, the phenomenon of price headwinds and violations frequently occurred. There are two main reasons for this.

One is low risk.

The behavior of merchants to modify prices is often hidden. If consumers are not consciously tracking the same product continuously, it is often difficult to detect price changes.

Even if it is discovered that the price has risen afterwards, if there is no screenshot of the previous price page, it is difficult for consumers to provide strong evidence and report to the relevant departments.

　　The second is low cost.

According to the "Administrative Penalties for Price Violations", if a business operator uses false or misleading price means to deceive consumers or other business operators to trade with them, it shall be ordered to make corrections, the illegal gains shall be confiscated, and a fine of not more than five times the illegal gains shall be imposed. A fine; if there is no illegal income, a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan shall be imposed; if the circumstances are serious, it shall be ordered to suspend business for rectification, or its business license shall be revoked by the industry and commerce administrative authority.

　　In actual law enforcement, the relevant departments often impose a penalty on "price increase and then price reduction", which is difficult to form an effective deterrent.

On December 30, 2020, the State Administration for Market Regulation announced that the three e-commerce platforms will be fined 500,000 yuan for improper price behavior during the "Double Eleven" period.

Although this is a top penalty, it is difficult to achieve the expected effect in the face of the huge benefits brought by price gouging.

　　"Raising prices first and then lowering them" not only infringes the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, but also harms the healthy market ecology of the e-commerce industry.

Relevant departments can't sit back and watch "price increase first and then price decrease" become the old routine of "Double Eleven" and other promotional seasons, and must take effective measures to curb it.

　　First, establish a "civil air defense + technical defense" price supervision system.

While unblocking the channels for consumer complaints and reporting, we make full use of big data technology to dynamically monitor commodity prices on e-commerce platforms, and promptly report to the police for improper price behaviors, so as to solve the problem of supervision and completely dispel the flukes of merchants.

　　Second, increase the cost of illegal price gouging.

For price violations such as "price increase first and then price decrease", in addition to punishment according to law, businesses should also be ordered to pay three times the compensation to the consumers involved, so that stealing chickens will not be counterproductive.

At the same time, serious price violations will be included in the untrustworthy blacklist and publicized so that consumers can vote with their feet.

(Beijing Youth Daily)