A tattered cotton jacket is claimed to be “brand new” and flawless
The second-hand trading platform has many false propaganda issues and has caused a lot of disputes.
□ Reporter Han Dandong
□ Wang Jing, our intern
Not long ago, Ms. Cai from Chuzhou, Anhui Province, was shopping on a second-hand trading platform and took a fancy to a brand of lamb velvet cotton clothing. The product page showed that the clothing was brand new. "I also consulted the seller, who made it clear that it was brand new and had not been sold in the water, and there were no defects, damage, stains or other quality issues."
However, after Ms. Cai placed the order, she found that the clothes had a lot of threads, were dirty and torn, and "didn't look like they were brand new at first glance." Ms. Cai immediately contacted the seller to request a return and refund, but was refused. She then contacted the platform customer service to defend her rights and sent the chat history between herself and the seller to the customer service, but the other party said that the buyer had confirmed receipt of the goods and the evidence provided was invalid.
A reporter from the "Rule of Law Daily" recently investigated and learned that there are many false advertising problems on second-hand trading platforms. For example, sellers advertise products as 95 new, 99 new, or even brand new, but after consumers get them, they find that the products are not new at all; Some sellers deliberately cover and hide defects when taking photos of products, which has caused many disputes.
Mr. Wang from Luoyang, Henan, recently spent 860 yuan on an iPhone I placed the order after the problem."
However, after receiving the mobile phone, Mr. Wang found that the screen of the mobile phone had a backlight, the edges of the outer screen were broken, there were obvious black spots in the field of view when taking pictures, and there was also a problem with the vibration of the mobile phone. "This is not 90% new, it is just an old mobile phone that has been used for a long time and is very worn out." Mr. Wang was very angry and chose to apply for a return and refund, but the seller refused.
In desperation, Mr. Wang could only "file a lawsuit" with the merchant in the platform's "small court". As a result, he "lost" and the platform automatically confirmed receipt of the goods. Mr. Wang went to the platform customer service to negotiate, and the other party asked him to go to the official after-sales service to issue a test report. "This is a second-hand mobile phone bought from the platform. Where can I go to the after-sales service to do a test? This is obviously biased towards the seller and unwilling to solve the problem."
Ninety-five new, ninety-nine new, brand new... The reporter's investigation noticed that when sellers sell second-hand goods on the platform, they often use this to mark the condition of the goods. Newer goods are sold at higher prices, but disputes arise constantly.
A seller on a second-hand trading platform told reporters that there is no standard for how new the product is. It is the seller's choice when releasing the product. It is an industry practice to mark the product as "newer" and sell it at a better price.
For example, he bought a pair of shoes. After wearing them once or twice, he felt they didn’t fit. So he carefully wiped off the dust on the shoes, put them on a shoe box and took photos at a good angle, and then put them on a second-hand trading platform for sale, marking them as “new.” ", the product description is "the shoes are not worn, only the logo is cut off, the price is negotiable", this will greatly increase the success rate of the transaction.
"If the other party is not satisfied after the goods arrive and refuses to confirm receipt, you can make some compensation. If that doesn't work, you can apply for a 'small court' to resolve the issue," the seller said. He admitted that sometimes if the buyer wins, he can only make larger compensation or refund or return the product.
It’s not just the issue of newness, but also issues such as exaggerating propaganda, covering up defects, and using genuine pictures to promote and sell defective products, resulting in a large number of disputes.
"Top material, full carbon, same model as the star, original factory embryo, various small parts provided..." This is an introduction about a tennis racket on a second-hand trading platform, with a few hundred words and exquisite photos. And the price is one-tenth of the original price of the same racket, which makes many tennis lovers excited.
"It's such a good deal." After reading the introduction of the racket, Mr. Zhang from Cangzhou, Hebei Province, chose to buy it without hesitation. But after getting the racket, he found something was wrong. There was no brand logo on the racket, and the paint was of a poor quality. It looked like a fake and was inconsistent with the seller's introduction and photos of the product on the platform.
For this reason, Mr. Zhang contacted the seller, who said: "It was not said to be genuine in the introduction, and at this price, anyone who knows the business knows that it is a high imitation."
After that, Mr. Zhang opened the product link and found that there was indeed no word "authentic" in the hundreds-of-word description of the racket, but both words and phrases hinted that it was authentic, and the photos were almost the same as the original. Mr. Zhang then applied for the platform to intervene, but ultimately failed to reach an agreement.
Many consumers interviewed told reporters that compared with fakes and imitations, the clues can be seen from the price, but the concealment of defects is difficult to detect. Sellers boast in their promotions, and consumers are unaware of them. Be careful and you will fall into a trap.
Mr. Li from Chaoyang, Beijing, is a jade enthusiast. He often buys some jade toys online and also likes to "pick up missing pieces" on second-hand trading platforms.
Some time ago, Mr. Li saw a piece of jadeite safety buckle handle on a second-hand trading platform. "Looking at the pictures, videos and introduction, this is a waxy jadeite safety buckle with a green band. The size is also suitable for use as a handle piece. The seller has already threaded the handle string, using a very thick and high-end handle. After repeatedly confirming with the seller that there was no defect in the rope, and after some haggling, we finally settled the deal for 9,000 yuan.”
After the product arrived, Mr. Li couldn't put it down, but when he turned the rope with his hand, he found a large black spot where the rope originally covered it. "This was a major flaw, and the value of the product was greatly reduced. I immediately contacted the seller. They said it was normal for jadeite to have some black spots, and it was not considered a flaw. Moreover, he didn't notice that the rope was blocking the spot."
"The videos and pictures taken by the seller were perfect, but the defects were covered up. This is false advertising." Mr. Li was very angry. After many negotiations after applying for customer service intervention, the seller finally agreed to exchange items of equal value, but could not return the goods. Mr. Li had no choice but to exchange one item.
Rao Wei, a senior partner at Beijing Tianchi Juntai Law Firm, said that false advertising not only involves defrauding buyers, but is also suspected of violating advertising laws and other relevant laws and should be punished by relevant administrative departments. If the advertisement published by the seller constitutes false advertising, the market supervision and management department may order it to stop publishing and impose corresponding fines. For the platform, the seller’s true identity information, address and valid contact information need to be provided. If it cannot be provided, the buyer can request the platform to compensate in advance.
Regarding the phenomenon of describing the condition of goods by how new they are, experts interviewed said that there is no relevant identification standard in the industry, which also highlights the asymmetry of information between buyers and sellers.
Rao Wei said that the goods sold on second-hand trading platforms are basically used goods. It is not accurate to evaluate the integrity of the goods simply from the perspective of how new they are, and there will be deviations in the understanding of how new the goods are by consumers and merchants to a certain extent. It will lead to information asymmetry between the two parties. Therefore, when selling second-hand goods, the appearance of the goods should be reflected in the form of multi-angle real photos, videos, etc., and the usage should be described in detail.
Liu Junhai, a professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China, said that the more accurate the product description, the better. Avoid inaccurate, large and inappropriate descriptions such as 90% new and 99% new, which are often the source of disputes.
In Rao Wei's view, the goods sold on second-hand trading platforms are basically used goods. It is not accurate to evaluate the integrity of the goods simply from the perspective of how new they are, and there will be deviations in the understanding of how new the goods are by consumers and merchants, which will inevitably To a certain extent, it will lead to information asymmetry between the two parties. Therefore, when selling second-hand goods, the appearance of the goods should be reflected in the form of multi-angle real photos, videos, etc., and the usage should be described in detail. Second-hand platforms should provide necessary guidance on the information listed by sellers and even set up some required options, including but not limited to text descriptions, image uploads, video displays, etc., so that sellers can fully present and display the goods for sale. And make necessary reminders. For example, if the seller cannot complete a comprehensive display, the buyer will be reminded to pay attention to the risks on the platform.
Regarding some platforms introducing consumers to form "small courts" to handle disputes and determine who is right and who is wrong, Rao Wei bluntly said that the judgment rules of the "small court" mechanism are more based on ordinary people's moral standards and inner subjective feelings. To a certain extent, there is a lack of objectivity and impartiality. Especially for disputes involving large amounts or irreconcilable differences between buyers and sellers, it is necessary to guide them into relevant legal dispute resolution channels.
Regarding the above disputes, if the platform determines that the seller is not responsible after intervention, how should consumers protect their rights?
Rao Wei said that if consumers fail to negotiate with the seller and the platform determines that the operator is not responsible, they can report their demands to the consumer association and request the consumer association to intervene to solve the problem. If the association cannot mediate, consumers can also safeguard their rights through litigation or arbitration.
Liu Junhai believes that from the seller's perspective, the key is that the seller must bear the burden of proof, list the purchase channels, display product details, etc. After the platform intervenes in a dispute, the resolution of issues between buyers and sellers should also be based on facts and evidence. If you are not satisfied with the platform's judgment, you can sue to the People's Court for resolution. (Legal Daily)