Selling dog meat at the expense of sheep, and making huge profits by mixing and matching foreign currencies...
Commemorative banknotes explode in the live broadcast room, and the routine of selling them on the side is very deep
"If you take one less picture, there will be no more in the future. Price increases and premiums are inevitable. Get ready, three, two, one, upload the link..." Along with the countdown of the host in the live broadcast room, the few items that have just been put on the shelves are called " "Commemorative Banknote" products were sold out. Recently, in the live broadcast rooms of social platforms, commemorative banknotes and coins for the Year of the Dragon have set off a sales boom. Some consumers have also fallen into various "temptations" in the live broadcast rooms with the mentality of looking for cheap and redeeming them.
Wrong goods
Commemorative banknotes become souvenirs
Mr. Han from Chongqing told reporters that at the end of last year, he spent more than 200 yuan to buy a set of "China Aerospace Commemorative Banknotes" in a live broadcast room. He thought he had found low-priced goods and gave red envelopes to his children during the New Year. Unexpectedly, It became a nuisance.
"After I bought it, I found out that it was not a commemorative banknote, but a commemorative gold foil paper. It can only be regarded as a souvenir and cannot be exchanged." Mr. Han felt that he had been "taken advantage of." He said that he didn't know much about commemorative banknotes, but he just heard that they could be given away. In addition, the products he purchased were very similar to the commemorative banknotes, and both had security threads and other markings, so he rushed to buy them and place an order.
After learning that he had made a wrong purchase, Mr. Han requested a refund from the e-commerce company, but was rejected for a time. In desperation, he contacted the platform for negotiation. After a month of repeated communication, the merchant finally refunded the money. However, in Mr. Han’s view, This rights protection consumes a lot of energy and makes me feel angry.
"The avatar and name used in the e-commerce live broadcast room are very similar to the logo of the relevant organization. There are anti-counterfeiting threads and anti-counterfeiting QR codes. Compared with the commemorative banknotes, the front of the product does not have details such as the word 'yuan' for 100 yuan. You can't see it at all in the live broadcast room. Although the back is different, the anchor in the live broadcast room does not actively show it, and the live broadcast rhythm is very fast. The purchasing atmosphere is different from buying things in the mall at ordinary times. In addition, the price is cheap, and it is easy to be tempting. Place an order. People who don’t understand don’t know that it is just a souvenir and cannot be redeemed at all.” Mr. Han said while showing reporters the words “anti-counterfeiting QR code” on the collectible.
Similar to Mr. Han’s experience, Wang Zhong (pseudonym), a newcomer to the industry, was also troubled by the problems caused by commemorative banknotes. In November 2023, he purchased a collection of commemorative banknotes in a live broadcast room on a certain platform. "It cost nearly 400 yuan, which contained two 100-yuan commemorative foreign banknotes (rubles) for the Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia, and four commemorative RMB banknotes with face values of 100 yuan, 50 yuan and two 20-yuan notes respectively."
At first, Wang Zhong thought he had grabbed a treasure in the live broadcast room, but after communicating with his friends, he discovered that what he picked up was a "stone" and he suffered a big loss. "If the foreign currency commemorative banknotes were exchanged for RMB, they would be worth a few yuan. I lost nearly 200 yuan. Later I tried to recover the money and found that the e-commerce company had been blocked." Wang Zhong believes that although the live broadcast room does not sell fake goods , malicious price hikes and other behaviors, but during the live broadcast, the anchor always avoided the important points and emphasized "limited quantities" and "limited time sales", only mentioned the value and convertibility, and avoided the problem of the foreign currency itself, which led to his impulsive ordering.
Counterfeiting official agency logos
There are many "Li Gui" in the live broadcast room
A reporter searched for "commemorative coins" on a certain platform and found that a large number of e-commerce companies sold commemorative banknotes and coins through live broadcasts. Among them, there are a certain number of e-commerce companies whose avatar background is the same green as the logo of the relevant official organization. In fact, they have nothing to do with the organization and are just independent online stores.
In the sales process, the reporter saw that some stores are indeed selling non-commemorative banknote collectibles. Some stores are even selling non-dragon banknote "dragon banknote collections" due to the recent popularity of dragon banknotes and dragon coins.
"Compete with hand speed, compete with Internet speed, and you will make money if you grab it." In the live broadcast room of an e-commerce platform, the reporter noticed that an anchor was describing a product similar to the product Mr. Han purchased at a very fast speed. The anchor repeatedly emphasized the high value and scarcity of the product, and the live broadcast room also continuously showed that users had successfully placed orders.
According to the reporter's observation, during the introduction of the product, the anchor did not proactively indicate that the product was a souvenir. When the reporter asked whether the product was a commemorative coin and whether it could be exchanged, the anchor said that the product sold was not a commemorative coin and could not be exchanged, but it could be traded at the stamp and coin card market or the Cultural Exchange. "There is an authentic QR code. This product is for collection investment. It is rarely issued and its future value can be expected." The customer service of the store also said that what is sold in the store are commemorative coupons, not commemorative banknotes, but they have high collection value. , "Has administrative license and supports quality inspection."
In response to the anti-counterfeiting code mentioned by both merchants and consumers, the reporter also scanned the "authenticity verification" QR code of the goods purchased by Mr. Han, and the result showed that it was a company's WeChat customer service account. A reporter from "Aiqicha" saw that the company's business includes: sales of precious metal products, arts and crafts and other commodities, and appraisal of commemorative coins. However, when the reporter asked about the authenticity of the souvenirs as a party concerned, the customer service said they were not sure and could only provide paid authentication services.
"'Gold Edition', 'Silver Edition', 'Pattern Administrative License', 'Commemorative Silver', 'Commemorative Gold', 'Collector's Edition', any product with these words in the name does not belong to commemorative banknotes or coins, and is regarded as a souvenir. It’s just a collection.” A coin collection expert in Jinan analyzed that in his opinion, the non-commemorative banknotes purchased by Mr. Han can indeed be exchanged through auctions at the stamp and coin card market or cultural exchange, but in such markets Mostly for large transactions, they may not be suitable for everyone. Secondly, the electronic price of collections assessed on the stamp and coin card market or the cultural exchange is not stable. It may change multiple times a day, and the exchange amount may even be far lower than the purchase price. At that time, it will be difficult for consumers to recoup their original investment.
As for the anti-counterfeiting code on the goods purchased by Mr. Han, the expert said that, like the situation of some jade appraisals, the authentication code of this kind of collection is only a unilateral appraisal. "It has a lot to do with the channel. For example, if you buy it from a bank, there is a certain guarantee, but if you buy it in a live broadcast room, the anti-counterfeiting code can only be used as a reference."
Foreign currency mixed sales
Huge profits up to 50%
In another live broadcast room, the reporter saw that the collection of Chinese and foreign commemorative banknotes purchased by Mr. Wang had different sales prices ranging from a few hundred yuan to several thousand yuan due to differences in the number and category of commemorative banknotes included in different collections. Similarly, in the live broadcast room, the anchor did not clearly emphasize the exchange value of commemorative coins for foreign currencies, but repeatedly emphasized that the mixed and matched sales of multiple types of currencies are extremely cost-effective.
An anchor told reporters in the live broadcast room that the collection of Chinese and foreign commemorative banknotes on sale can be collected, and these foreign commemorative banknotes themselves are circulating banknotes and can be exchanged. When the reporter mentioned the exchange situation, the anchor said that the reporter needed to inquire on his own. In the store, the reporter also saw Falkland Islands pounds, Singapore banknotes and other commemorative banknotes for sale, each priced at tens to hundreds of yuan.
The reporter checked the exchange rate based on the price of a 5 Falkland Islands pound in the store for more than 100 yuan. The results showed that 5 Falkland Islands pounds could be exchanged for about 45 yuan on that day. Regarding this situation, customer service explained that the foreign commemorative banknotes sold in the store cannot be calculated based on the exchange rate alone, but also need to refer to the collection.
Subsequently, the reporter consulted a branch of the Bank of China in Jinan about the exchange of foreign currency commemorative banknotes for the Sochi Winter Olympics. The staff said that the foreign commemorative banknotes for the Sochi Winter Olympics in Mr. Wang's hand can be exchanged, but they must first be exchanged for Normal rubles, and then converted into RMB, and not all foreign currency commemorative coins can be exchanged. "100 yuan of Winter Olympics commemorative banknotes can be exchanged for 100 yuan of normal rubles. 100 yuan of rubles can be exchanged for about 8 yuan of RMB." The staff said.
Regarding the mixed sales of domestic and foreign commemorative coins, this coin collection expert from Jinan said that this situation is not uncommon. Some foreign currency commemorative banknotes do have collection value. The price cannot be measured simply by the exchange rate, but also needs to be based on the time of issuance, condition, According to the measurement of circulation and other conditions, the industry generally evaluates the collection value of foreign commemorative banknotes similar to those of the Sochi Winter Olympics to be low.
"Most of these foreign commemorative banknotes are exchanged privately between collectors. They are exquisitely framed and can be given away, but they cannot be obtained at the transaction level. Domestic commemorative banknotes, commemorative coins and foreign currencies are mixed and sold for four to five hundred yuan, mostly to make a profit on the price difference. Sometimes, a few hundred yuan of foreign currency can only be exchanged for a few yuan. In addition, some foreign currency commemorative banknotes have a large circulation, which not only has no exchange value, but also has no collection value." In the opinion of the expert, "The mixed sales behavior of some live broadcast rooms is A kind of huge profit, the profit can reach 50% of the cost."
"My dad bought a lot of these foreign commemorative banknotes and spent a lot of money. He didn't understand, so he just heard from the live broadcast room that they can add value." "Avoid the trap! I bought it for 390 yuan, but two foreign currencies were only worth more than ten yuan... …” On some social platforms, reporters saw that many netizens shared their “history of blood and tears” about purchasing commemorative banknotes. Their experiences included not only the common situations encountered by Mr. Han and Mr. Wang, but also the purchase of fakes. , merchants passing off substandard products and other issues. Among these people, there are older consumers, as well as young people who are new to the industry and are trying to “pick up the slack”.
Commemorative banknotes are sold "edged"
Consumers need to keep their eyes open
The above-mentioned coin collection experts in Jinan believe that the current situation of domestic commemorative banknotes and commemorative coins is seriously hyped, and the prices are inflated, which is not friendly to new entrants. "With a circulation of hundreds of millions, if you just like it, it is okay to collect it, but if you want to increase the value, it is not suitable. This is the case with some commemorative coins issued in the past few years. They were very popular at first, but the temperature dropped sharply in a short period of time. ." The expert also said that in addition to the hype of genuine commemorative banknotes and coins, other currencies have also risen with the tide, causing many novices to suffer big losses by spending high prices.
The reporter learned that there are currently many ways to classify commemorative banknotes in the domestic game circle. For example, they are classified according to the year of issuance and event, including Olympic banknotes, Dragon banknotes, aerospace banknotes, etc. From the number value of the banknote itself, it is divided into Tianlong number, inversion number, radar number, etc. However, the above classification is only based on the attributes of commemorative banknotes within the circle, and there is no official definition. Industry experts have also confirmed this, and experts also believe that if the relevant departments regulate the classification of commemorative banknotes, it will effectively regulate the commemorative banknotes in live broadcast rooms. Vendors engage in behaviors such as "arbitrarily raising prices" and "skimming the edges".
Wu Zhen, a practicing lawyer at Shandong Yingdai Law Firm, analyzed that the above-mentioned consumers believe that e-commerce companies deceive consumers, bundle sales, induce consumption, etc., cannot be simply defined, and must be viewed in detail based on specific circumstances. Wu Zhen also said that merchants in the live broadcast room sell commemorative banknotes, commemorative coins, foreign currencies, commemorative coupons, etc. together. If there is no clear explanation, it is likely to be the merchant's routine. Consumers should pay more attention and ask the merchant before purchasing. Clear the situation.
"The regulations for collectibles such as commemorative gold currently only have management regulations at the time of sale, that is, 'requiring the sale to be exclusive', but this is only to protect the issuer. In the field of genuine commemorative banknotes and coins, some links The regulations are also relatively vague, so we call on relevant departments and platforms to regulate the issuance of commemorative banknotes and coins," Wu Zhen said.
Qilu Evening News reporter Fan Jia and intern Shi Jichao