It was evaluated as 95% new when sold, and 78% new when recycled the next day.
A reporter's investigation found that second-hand trading market testing is confusing and "too watery"
□ Our reporter Zhang Shoukun
On January 2 this year, Mr. Li from Weifang, Shandong Province purchased a laptop computer from a second-hand trading platform. The quality inspection report produced by the platform showed that all functions were intact and the screen had no problems or scratches. However, after receiving the product, Mr. Li found that there was an obvious scratch on the computer screen and there was also a problem with the speaker, which was obviously inconsistent with the official test report results.
On January 4, because he was out of town and could not inspect the car in person, Mr. Lu from Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province placed an order for a second-hand car to be inspected on a second-hand car trading platform. The inspection report showed that the vehicle was generally fine, but there were 5 scratches on the appearance. , and attached photos. But when he picked up the car later, Mr. Lu discovered that in addition to the five scratches shown in the inspection report, there were three obvious scratches on the door and two large areas of paint peeling on the bumper.
On January 6, Ms. Liu from Yiyang, Hunan Province spent 3,300 yuan on a second-hand mobile phone on a second-hand trading platform. On the product details page, the seller introduced that the mobile phone was for personal use, almost brand new, and had not been repaired. He also uploaded detailed pictures of the fuselage. . As a result, she had a black screen after using it for less than a month. She took it to the official store for testing and found that it was a refurbished machine that had been repaired.
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During the transaction of second-hand goods, many goods, especially those with higher prices, are often tested and the quality is confirmed through test reports. However, a recent investigation by a reporter from the "Rule of Law Daily" found that whether it is the test report officially issued by the second-hand trading platform or the third-party test report uploaded by individuals, there are a lot of problems. The condition of the goods received does not match the test report. Take it for testing The same product has completely different test results, etc. This can’t help but make many consumers complain: Can the test report still be trusted?
How to ensure the authenticity of the inspection report in the second-hand trading market? Become a major focus of consumers' attention.
Test results are inaccurate
Not consistent with the real thing
In July 2023, Mr. Yan from Wuhan, Hubei Province bought a pair of headphones on a second-hand trading platform. The official test report showed that the headphones were 90% new and flawless. Mr. Yan also confirmed with customer service before placing the order. Customer service promises that all conditions of the headphones are as stated in the test report.
"But within a few days, noise often appeared in the earpiece. After less than a month of use, there was a problem with the microphone of the headset. The other party could not hear me. I complained to the platform but did not get any solution." Mr. Yan said, This kind of product is full of hidden flaws. The test report provided by the platform actually shows that all functions are normal, and the product is also labeled as recommended by the platform. This is blatantly deceiving consumers.
“You have to be careful when buying things on XX (second-hand trading platform).” In December last year, Ms. Ji from Changshu, Jiangsu Province bought a camera lens on a second-hand trading platform. The seller said that she commissioned the platform to test it, and the test report showed that the lens was defective. There was no water intrusion during the repair, and there were no scratches or bumps.
"And the seller also promised the quality of the lens. I thought there should be no problem, so I placed the order. When I got it, I found that the lens had water damage and had been overhauled. Because there was water stains inside the lens, the rear screws were also twisted. Traces, which were completely different from the results of the test report, and I finally had to return the lens with great difficulty," Ms. Ji said.
If there is a problem with the inspection report, it is not just the buyer who is in trouble.
In April last year, Mr. Sheng from Quanzhou, Fujian Province, took the Apple mobile phone he had purchased from an offline official store to a second-hand trading platform to resell it because he wanted to change his mobile phone. Even though the phone is a year and a half old, it still looks new and performs well. On the product details page, Mr. Sheng provided various photos and videos to prove that there is no problem with the phone.
"Someone wanted to buy it. In order to seek insurance, he chose the official testing agency of the platform. Unexpectedly, this test revealed many problems. The test report showed that the body of my mobile phone had obvious scratches and bumps, and there were black spots on the camera when taking pictures. The 512GB memory was also tested to be 128GB. The other party was definitely not willing to buy it after reading this report, and asked me to pay him the money for the test." Mr. Sheng said that the test report was too informal and childish.
Su Haopeng, professor at the School of Law at the University of International Business and Economics and director of the Consumer Protection Law Research Center, told reporters that there are currently two models of second-hand e-commerce: C2C (individual to individual) and C2B2C (consumer to enterprise, then to consumer) ). Under the C2C model, the platform only facilitates transactions, and such transactions are generally regulated by the relevant provisions of the Civil Code; while under the C2B2C model, the platform first collects used goods from individuals and then sells them to consumers in a self-operated manner. The consumer rights protection law may apply to consumer disputes caused.
"If the platform issues false test reports when selling or recycling goods, it constitutes consumer fraud, and possible legal consequences include returns, replacements, repairs, punitive damages, etc." Su Haopeng said.
Before purchasing goods, many consumers are worried that there is something wrong with the goods they buy, so they choose the testing services provided by second-hand trading platforms. If consumers suffer losses due to problems with the test report, should the platform bear corresponding liability?
Suo Weihua, a senior partner at Beijing Zhongyin Law Firm, said that the E-commerce Law stipulates that if an e-commerce operator sells goods or provides services and fails to perform its contractual obligations or does not perform its contractual obligations in compliance with the agreement, causing damage to others, it shall bear civil liability in accordance with the law.
“Before consumers purchase goods, they choose platform quality inspection and reach an agreement with the platform on quality inspection. Based on this, it can be determined that a technical service contract has been reached between the consumer and the platform. If the test report is damaged, the consumer can rely on the agreement reached between the two parties. The technical service contract stipulations and relevant provisions of the Civil Code advocate that the platform bears relevant civil liabilities." Suo Weihua said.
There is no standard for testing
Yin and Yang reports appear
On January 22, a reporter spent 623 yuan on a second-hand mobile phone on a second-hand trading platform. The test report showed that the mobile phone was 95% new, with slight scratches on the appearance/screen, but normal functions, and almost no scratches on the case/film. Invisible.
On the second day after receiving the mobile phone, the reporter took the mobile phone to the offline store of the platform and offered to sell the mobile phone. After a simple inspection, the clerk pointed out that the mobile phone had obvious signs of use and was only 70% new. The recycling price through online valuation was 381 yuan. "If you really want to sell it, I will check the various functions of the phone in detail. If there are no problems, the transaction price should be similar to this."
In other words, according to the standards of the same platform, the mobile phone has only been received for one day and has not been used. It has changed from 95% new to 78% new, and its value has shrunk by nearly 40%.
The platform has a self-test function for product recycling. When the reporter filled in the traces of use of the mobile phone as "slight" during the self-test, the estimated recycling price became 485 yuan.
Subsequently, the reporter went to two other second-hand goods recycling offline stores of different brands. The conclusions given by the other parties were also different: one believed that although traces of use could be seen on the back of the phone, the overall protection was quite good and it was 90% new; One person thought that the screen was a bit yellowed and had slight signs of use, but it was 80% new.
The reporter experienced the mobile phone recycling process and found that although the quality inspection engineers of a second-hand trading platform used professional equipment to inspect, many of the options were subjectively judged by the engineers, such as screen appearance, frame back panel, sound function, body bending, etc. The reporter learned that the "frame back panel" is the most vulnerable to criticism. Engineers can always pick out tiny scratches to lower the price. Whether there are scratches and how serious the scratches are depends entirely on the engineer's judgment.
This type of situation also occurs in the used car market. According to reports, in April this year, Mr. Hao, a second-hand car dealer in Ningbo, Zhejiang, took in a car and did a test through Dr. Cha’s testing platform. It was identified as a non-accident car. Then he sold the car to him with confidence. customers. However, after this customer bought the car, he also did a test through the Dr. Cha platform and it was identified as an accident car. Two completely opposite results appeared on the same platform.
There are even test reports issued by the testing services officially provided by the platform, but the platform itself does not recognize them.
In November last year, a second-hand online store opened by Yue Bin from Fengxian District, Shanghai received a warning from a platform, saying that he had released fake and shoddy products, and his platform credit points were deducted. In order to withdraw the penalty, Yuebin immediately used another account to put the same product on the shelves and purchase it. At the same time, he also placed an order and passed the platform's official testing service. The official test results were in line with the process standards of the brand being sold.
So Yuebin used this test report to appeal, "But the appeal was not established. The customer service told me that I needed to upload an invoice and have the brand issue a certificate, or supplement it with CANS (China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment) and CMA (China Metrology Certification). ) and other test reports issued by testing agencies. In other words, the platform test report cannot be used to prove whether something is true or false.”
Why are there so many test reports with huge differences in the second-hand trading market, or even yin and yang test reports?
Su Haopeng said that in recent years, with the development of circular economy, the second-hand e-commerce industry has developed rapidly. In order to maximize profits or even seek improper gains, some second-hand e-commerce platforms have taken risks and even used fraudulent means to issue sellers documents. False test reports are used to increase product appeal, or products are recycled at low prices, resulting in the phenomenon of negative and negative test reports.
"In online transactions, the buyer can only have a rough understanding of the item through the seller's description, and there is a serious information asymmetry. Especially in the transaction of second-hand electronic products, consumers are highly dependent on the information provided by the operator, and the Internet The information asymmetry makes it difficult for consumers to grasp and identify the authenticity of the information provided by operators, making consumers’ vulnerable position even more prominent," said Su Haopeng.
He pointed out that whether the test report truly, accurately and comprehensively discloses product or service information directly affects the right to know and choose of online consumers. Platforms often conceal unfavorable situations or make false statements in test reports out of self-interest considerations. This is the most common and deceptive behavior. The second-hand e-commerce market is a mixed bag. The qualifications and procedures of testing platforms are not strictly verified, and buyers often do not have corresponding knowledge about the goods that need to be tested, which also gives some merchants and platforms opportunities to take advantage of.
Develop testing standards
Establish an audit mechanism
During the investigation, the reporter found that the test reports in the second-hand trading market are very confusing. When a problem occurs, it is not uniform whether the buyer or the seller is required to issue a test report. Some test reports are uploaded or forged by the merchants themselves, or even test reports issued by the platform itself. There are also many problems. As a result, many consumers do not trust test reports, even official test reports.
How to protect and enhance the credibility of test reports in the second-hand trading market?
Su Haopeng believes that the credibility of test reports needs to be protected before and after the event. The law should formulate unified standards and stipulate the qualifications that entities that test different categories of commodities should have. At the same time, it should encourage the establishment of a certification system for authoritative testing agencies to ensure that these institutions are qualified and professional and improve the authority and credibility of testing reports. In addition, the law should also establish relevant accountability mechanisms to encourage consumers to report the discovery of false test reports, and make it clear that those who provide false test reports should bear legal responsibilities, including administrative penalties and civil compensation, so as to strengthen the enforcement of unscrupulous merchants. Supervision.
"The determination of testing standards should be led by government departments to ensure the scientificity and rationality of the standards. At the same time, professional industry associations, authoritative testing agencies, etc. are encouraged to participate in the formulation of standards to ensure the comprehensiveness and professionalism of the standards." Su Hao Peng said.
How can we reduce various detection chaos in the second-hand trading market?
Suo Weihua suggested that the administrative departments should issue standards and methods for the testing of various second-hand goods as soon as possible, especially to make clear prohibitive regulations on the subjects of testing and misleading content in the testing reports, or to establish second-hand goods testing reports Registration coding system, which cannot be changed once registered, and law enforcement and supervision will be continuously strengthened.
"As far as the platform is concerned, more advanced methods can be used to improve the accuracy of detection. Such as using artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to automatically identify the wear and damage of goods; standardizing the detection process and numbering the detection report of each second-hand product , facilitate inquiries and avoid tampering; actively respond to consumer demands and bear corresponding legal consequences." Suo Weihua said.
Su Haopeng believes that a complete platform review mechanism should be established to punish merchants involved in false test reports and make the list of violating merchants public to increase market transparency. In response to potential disputes, the platform should also be equipped with a complete set of after-sales services, such as third-party re-inspection, and compensation for fake products. At the same time, we must improve the consumer rights protection mechanism, encourage consumers to actively report false test reports, and keep relevant evidence and materials. After a dispute occurs, we promptly safeguard our rights in accordance with the law through mediation, complaints, litigation, etc. (Legal Daily)