Cut corners in food, false propaganda of homestays, and the phenomenon of artificially creating popular Internet celebrity models is frequent
【Editor's note】
As online consumption has become an important part of people's lives, many businesses have tried their best to create "Internet celebrity hits" to attract consumers.
In the past, "Internet celebrity hits" were often linked to quality and sales. Consumers were satisfied and merchants were making money every day.
Today, many businesses are making a big fuss about publicity and marketing, artificially creating "Internet celebrity hot money", "Internet celebrity hot money" flooding people's clothing, food, housing, and transportation, and the phenomenon of "stepping on thunder" emerges one after another, seriously infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
On the occasion of the 3.15 International Consumer Rights Day, the Legal Matrix Edition combined with the current consumption hotspots to conduct in-depth investigations into the problems of some "Internet celebrities" in the field of clothing, food, housing and transportation consumption, in order to advocate the rule of law and civilized consumer culture, and help consumers' rights and interests Protect.
"Three pits" clothing is popular, it is difficult to distinguish the true and false and cannot be returned
A single piece of entry-level basic model costs one or two hundred yuan; customized models with exquisite quality and better form cost thousands or even more than 10,000 yuan... In recent years, Hanfu, Lolita clothing, and JK uniforms have gradually moved from niche circles to public view.
Due to the high price and loyal fans who are addicted to it and willing to continue to spend, these three types of clothing are called "three pits" by netizens.
According to public data, the overall market size of "three pits" in 2020 is more than 20 billion yuan, and the market size is expected to reach 126.6 billion yuan in 2025.
The huge business opportunities have led many businesses to quickly target this field and use various marketing methods such as online promotion and offline promotion to attract consumers.
However, a reporter from the "Rules of Law Daily" recently investigated and found that there are many real "pits" hidden behind these marketing methods, causing many consumers to spend a lot of money without buying the quality products or the products they like.
In terms of online publicity, the "grass planter" has played an important role.
The so-called "grass planting machine" refers to the fact that merchants use beautiful models during promotion, and obtain consumers' attention to products through atmospheric shooting methods, and then purchase products.
According to Tingting, a Lolita clothing enthusiast, in her circle, people tend to find some big stores to ensure the quality and source of the skirts are "pure".
These merchants have accumulated a considerable number of fans. One month before each new product is scheduled, they will start looking for someone to evaluate it online, find a “grass planter” to take photos, and then frantically swipe the screen for the new product online.
"During this wave of publicity, some copycat brands have been imitating well-known stores online, stealing online reviews and pictures taken by 'grass planters', pretending to be their own products, and then spreading false information on various social platforms. , attracting 'Xiaobai' to fall into the trap." Tingting said.
After the promotion is in place, merchants will launch various forwarding lottery activities on some social platforms to attract consumers to participate and pay attention.
During this process, the "pit" appeared again.
Since fans of "Sankeng" clothing like to form groups to discuss, many merchants who are just starting out or counterfeit and shoddy will join in and publish advertisements and contact information in order to obtain more customers.
Offline publicity is also "dangerous".
It is understood that "three pits" enthusiasts are keen to participate in various fan clubs, tea parties, etc. For example, Hanfu has "Huafu Party", Lolita clothing has comic exhibitions, big tea parties, etc.
A number of industry insiders pointed out that in the comic exhibition, many businesses have opened stores, and some well-known "grass planters" have been invited as "one-day store managers" to attract traffic.
Some businesses "ambushed" to conduct false propaganda.
The reporter noticed that on some social platforms, there are many topics such as "Tell Lolita", "Tell it to Hanfu", "Tell it to JK", and a group of deceived victims are here to tell their experiences.
Even after escaping the "pit" of false propaganda, after payment, all kinds of "pits" still follow suit. One of the "pits" that makes many senior enthusiasts particularly painful is the problem of too long delivery time for ready-to-wear garments.
"I customized a dress, and it was sold for 1,500 yuan, but it took a year and a half before I got the item. During this period, whether I wanted the dress or not, I couldn't return the dress or refund the deposit." Zi Wen, a fan of "Three Pits" I told reporters that there is an "unspoken rule" in this circle, that is, clothes under the banner of "customization" cannot be returned or exchanged after the deposit is made and the clothes are delivered.
Is there a possibility to return these clothes if they are not the right size?
Xiao Ai, a Hanfu fan, blurted out: "Impossible. Otherwise, the store will 'hang you' in the circle (speak bad words, curse people), and even mobilize fans to attack you personally. Moreover, there is no possibility of appealing to an e-commerce platform. Great, after all, the delivery time is one and a half or even two years, and the after-sales time has already passed.”
There are also "three pits" fans who complained that some unreliable stores "disappeared" after taking the deposit, unilaterally blocked and deleted the consumer's contact information, and because the delivery time was too long, it was often difficult for consumers to protect their rights .
According to Xiao Ai's recollection, she once participated in the blind box blessing bag activity of the "A Yuanzi" store, and the 135 yuan coat, shirt and skirt were casually installed.
The store posted pictures of beautiful clothes in advance, and she placed an order after she took a fancy to it. As a result, the clothes she got were not only wrong in color, but also smelled of glue.
"Those photos of clothes that look very beautiful are actually presented under the dual effects of lighting and filters. There is nothing to do after finding out, because this special product is not refundable. If I complain, some people in the circle may say, 'It's obviously because you're greedy for cheap, but you're too embarrassed to say it's the store's problem'." Xiao Ai said.
According to a number of interviewed "three pits" enthusiasts, in the "three pits" circle, store owners often have the absolute right to speak.
Incorrect goods and falsely raised prices are also common problems in "three pits" clothing.
Xiao Ai told reporters that a year ago, a well-known store in the JK uniform circle claimed that "I have obtained the exclusive authorization from the Heri Factory", and then used this to make a large-scale operation, not only brought the price up, but also prohibited other stores from selling similar products. , the joint fans attacked other stores and said that the other party was plagiarizing, but then it was revealed that the store had a problem with the skirt stripes and was suspected of plagiarism, and it was actually a domestic company that cooperated with it.
There are also some stores that are good at hunger marketing and the strategy of "making a good start".
JK uniform lover Niu Niu observed that some start-up stores will spend a lot of energy on the design of the first batch of clothes to attract consumer groups.
There are also some stores claiming that the clothes are going to be out of print, driving up the market price. After two groups and three groups, the prices are higher than one round, but in fact there are sufficient stocks.
"Consumers should negotiate the delivery time with the seller, and do not believe in the seller's promise or take a moment to facilitate private transactions. If the goods are not received, they cannot confirm the receipt, and they can communicate with the seller to extend the delivery time to protect their own rights and interests. ." For the various "pits" hidden in "Three Pits", Niu Niu suggested this.
Excessive packaging, it is not uncommon for Guochao cuisine to cut corners
"Did you make this freshly baked today?"
In a new Chinese bakery store in Beijing, an aunt who came to shop asked the clerk.
Through the glass window behind the clerk, you can see the busy clerk and the lighted oven.
After getting a positive answer, the aunt bought a few snacks, scanned the QR code and paid for it and left with satisfaction.
In recent years, the "national trendy dim sum" with "hand-made dim sum, baked on the same day" as a publicity stunt has become very popular - Fu characters, door gods, red and blue neon lights, Hong Kong style mix and national style, plus queues to order Team, a new Chinese-style "Guochao Dim Sum" Internet celebrity shop has been refined and developed.
The single product configuration of these online celebrity shops can be roughly divided into classic midpoint and innovative products. The former includes flower cakes, egg yolk crisps, etc.; the latter includes meat floss cakes with mochi, egg tarts with chocolate, Puffs with poplar nectar and so on.
But are the dim sum in these online celebrity shops really "handmade"?
An industry insider told the "Rules of Law Daily" reporter that "handmade" dim sum sounds like a beautiful business story, but handmade, chain and scale are inherently contradictory.
In fact, in more mature industrialized categories such as puff pastry, it has become a relatively common phenomenon for baking stores to use frozen semi-finished products.
"Fresh-baked" is true, but "hand-made" is not.
The founder of Momo Dim Sum Bureau, one of the representatives of "Guochao Dim Sum", also said that in the future, half of the products are planned to be produced in factories.
This also means that the foundation of "national tide dim sum" may be replaced by "frozen baking".
The reporter noticed that under the current wave of healthy eating, some stores branded their products as "healthy food" and "zero-calorie and zero-burden", and the prices are also higher than ordinary snacks and drinks.
However, insiders pointed out that the actual materials used are no different from general products.
Mr. Qiu, a citizen of Beijing, once opened a "Guochao Dim Sum" shop in a joint venture with a friend.
According to him, the ingredients for dim sum are actually very common, it doesn't cost much, and there are not so many cool technologies. "So many stores advertise 'low calorie', how is it possible?"
"For many stores, the money spent on publicity is much more than the money spent on ingredients. Even in the current situation of serious homogenization of dim sum stores and increasingly fierce competition, some stores have started price wars and passed the It is not uncommon to cut corners to reduce costs," said Mr Qiu.
The food blogger Qiqi has a deeper understanding of the massive marketing of "Guochao Dim Sum".
"'Guochao dim sum' is now a 'roll', and some problems follow, such as homogenization, but there is always such a long queue at the door of the store." Qiqi said.
Many consumers complained that some of the national trendy delicacies that were dubbed "So-and-so Dim Sum Bureau" and "So-and-so Tea Princess" adopted the method of "middle point and western cooking" in the production of products, and adopted the concept of "renewing tradition". The packaging and promotion methods of "traditional elements + young fashion" are integrated with food, which is different from the previous way of simply packaging and selling, but the products are actually not fundamentally different, and the price is still higher.
"A box of 6 small snacks sells for more than 30 yuan, and the taste is not as good as advertised. After trying it once, I don't want to eat it again." Xiaowei, a Beijing resident, said that some stores have long queues, especially some newly opened ones. Internet celebrity shop, you need to find a purchasing agent early in the morning to queue up to buy, "really spent energy and money to buy a lonely".
Homogenization, average quality, and long queues seem to be the common problems that most consumers encounter when they check in at these Internet celebrity gourmet restaurants.
An industry insider revealed to reporters that in addition to queuing up for "child care" agents to create a hot scene in the store, there will also be scalpers who shop in the middle, quickly heating up the goods and raising the price.
An online celebrity Guochao milk tea shop in Wuhan was once exposed to the news of "queuing for 8 hours and selling a cup of 500 yuan".
Qian Qian, a blogger from Jiangsu, has done research on "Guochao Dim Sum".
She found in a "Guochao Dim Sum" chain store that for several days, the people queuing up were all familiar faces. Most of these people were students or some young people who were not busy with work. The store gave them one or two hundred yuan a day to let them in the store Line up at the door to buy, "If there are fewer people in the queue, go to the queue, and deliberately communicate that the dim sum is delicious."
"Although Guochao Food has been vigorously promoted and developed rapidly, it is difficult to survive on the Internet, and many hot shops cannot escape the situation of 'short-lived'. In the face of various hidden worries, how to grasp the quality of products is correct. Businesses need to pay attention to publicity and promotion." Qian Qian said.
Filters disappear, Internet celebrity homestays can only rely on "brain supplements"
"Fairy Design", "Unique Style", "Ins Style", "Santorini Style"... Internet celebrity homestays with these labels have been popular with tourists in recent years.
However, when the Internet celebrity filter disappears, what will these homestays look like?
Last May, Ms. Sun, who lives in Beijing, wanted to invite three or five friends to celebrate her birthday at the B&B.
After shopping around, she finally settled on a B&B near Chaoyangmen, Beijing, because "I saw the business's promotional pictures, the windows of the room are bright and clean, especially the Internet celebrity style, the night view is also good, suitable for taking pictures, and the decoration and furniture are relatively new. ".
Before booking the room, she also communicated with the owner of the house to confirm that there are "two rooms", "good sanitary conditions" and "you can cook by yourself" and other issues.
When she officially moved in, Ms. Sun found that she had been deceived: the original slightly luxurious furniture was gone, replaced by sofa cabinets like those bought from the flea market; in the photo, the large living room of 20 square meters was gone, Sun The lady and two other friends looked cramped when they stood in the room; the so-called double bed was actually a tatami-shaped partition behind the TV wall in the living room, which was not only small but could not guarantee privacy; the kitchen only had a rice cooker and a microwave, which could only be ordered Takeaway.
It is very common to want to live in an online celebrity homestay and be deceived by photos.
A blogger tested 3 Internet celebrity homestays that advertised themselves as "Xiamen Santorini", and found that these homestays are all located in remote areas, and the surrounding environment is basically homesteads and construction sites or farmhouses, not what is depicted on the Internet. "Island" and "lake view", and the so-called Santorini element swimming pool and Turkey's Pamukkale, which attract netizens to check in, can only rely on netizens to "make up their brains".
An industry insider told the "Rules of Law Daily" reporter that many Internet celebrity homestays are surrounded by ordinary rural or urban scenery, but the store will imitate the items in high-end places, take good-looking photos, and imitate some Internet celebrity labels to attract customers, "Remove it. After the Internet celebrity filter, it is like a buyer's show and a seller's show, with a strong contrast."
The reporter's investigation found that in addition to the inconsistency between the accommodation environment and the online pictures, the false propaganda of Internet celebrity homestays also includes fake addresses and fake discounts.
Last October, Ms. Yang, who lives in Anhui, took her children to Chongqing for a trip. For the convenience of her children, she found a homestay from a certain platform that showed that it was only 30 to 40 meters away from a certain scenic spot. The price was about 500 yuan per night.
On the day of check-in, the owner of the homestay sent her the location. She found that the residence was more than 500 meters away from the scenic spot, and it was not the address marked on the platform.
"If it's this distance, there are many options for homestays around 300 yuan, and the environment is better than this one. After communicating with the platform many times, I found out that the boss uploaded a false address, and there were problems in the platform's review process." Ms. Yang Indignantly, she ended up canceling the order.
The reporter learned that the closer the homestay is to business districts and scenic spots, the more likely it is to be searched.
Some businesses take advantage of tourists' desire to live close by and are unfamiliar with the local area to locate addresses on the platform in false locations.
There are also some businesses that provide free pick-up and drop-off services, which makes it difficult for some consumers to find the tricks even if they are tricked.
According to the information released by the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, on March 4, 2021, the Little Pig Homestay WeChat applet operated by Beijing Kuaipao Information Technology Co., Ltd. released the advertising content of the activity of "Playing with Jiangnan Theme Special 8.5% Off" , it is clearly stated in the activity rules that "part of this activity will participate in the 15% discount activity".
When a user browses information on different listings, click on the "Promotions" page to display "Promotional Jiangnan Travel Special Offer 15% off per night", but each listing actually corresponds to a different discount, and not all listings enjoy a 15% discount.
It is understood that Xiaozhu B&B was punished by relevant departments for violating the Advertising Law twice last year.
After discovering the false propaganda of the Internet celebrity homestay, can you give a negative review to remind other consumers?
The reporter's investigation found that it is not uncommon to give bad reviews that only you can see.
According to Ms. Yu, a citizen of Qingdao, Shandong, she previously booked a homestay with a unit price of more than 2,000 yuan per night on a certain platform, but after checking in, she found that there were many problems such as no hot water in the bathroom, damaged door locks, and outdated facilities. public display.
Homestays are originally a place for people to escape the hustle and bustle of the city or find a quiet place in the "steel forest", but more and more false propaganda problems have made Internet celebrity homestays one of the key words for "avoidance".
"B&Bs have feelings, and they must follow the rules in order to achieve stability and long-term success. I hope the B&B stores can remove the Internet celebrity filters brought about by false propaganda, so that people can stay at ease." Many interviewees said in unison.
Is it really safe to share bicycle child seats?
With the spread of shared bicycles across the country, some industrial chains have also become popular, and "shared bicycle child seats" is one of them.
This kind of seat is not expensive, you can buy one for 60 to 200 yuan, and some online stores can sell more than 1,000 a month.
However, are such shared bicycle child seats really safe?
A reporter from the "Rules of Law Daily" recently searched an e-commerce platform with the keywords "shared bicycle child seat" and "bicycle child seat" and found that there are roughly two types of child seats: one is wood, accounting for the majority; The other is alloy.
Almost all businesses focus on "convenience", "safety" and "applicable to most shared bicycles".
Regarding safety issues, the reporter consulted 10 stores that sell such seats.
Some stores say that most of these seats are suitable for children aged 2 to 12 years old and weighing less than 100 pounds; some stores say that as long as the child is within 1.3 meters in height and weighs no more than 120 pounds, it can be used.
And all the merchants said that "as long as it is installed, there will be no problems."
Some businesses directly suggest that, in order to be more secure, you can buy a "package".
The so-called package means that in addition to the seat, the seat is equipped with footrests, cushions and safety belts.
In addition to the package, there is an upgraded version, which is a seat with guardrails, armrests and footrests.
When the reporter further asked how to ensure the quality, most of the stores avoided the important, and introduced that they have freight insurance, and the accessories are replaced free of charge within one year.
Another store said that it applied for a patent at the end of last year.
But the reporter noticed that its patents are appearance patents and utility model patents.
The application for a utility model patent does not require substantive examination, and only protects the shape and structure of the product.
What are the comments of parents who have used this kind of Internet celebrity child seat?
The reporter noticed that in the comment area of the e-commerce platform, some parents complained that "the seat is not stuck firmly and the quality of the cushion is not good", and some parents said that "the product is very dangerous" and "the transparent tape at the card slot keeps falling off" .
In order to test the safety of such seats, the reporter purchased a seat in each of the two stores with higher sales.
After receiving the goods, the reporter carried a boy of about 5 years old, 1.2 meters and about 45 pounds to carry out the experiment in the safe section.
When using the ordinary version of the seat, the reporter felt that the difficulty of bicycle control has increased significantly, the cornering inclination is large, and it is easy to fall.
When using a seat with armrests that are advertised as being safer, the armrests will affect the freedom of handling the bicycle's handlebars, and the bicycle will be blocked by the armrests of the child seat when the bicycle is turning sharply, so that it may be difficult for adults in the event of danger. Control the direction to avoid in time.
In addition, if a child is seated in front of an adult, their head may be at the same level as the handlebar, and the child may hit the handlebar with their head or face due to inertia during sudden braking.
Many parents who have used this kind of child seat told reporters that the seat is mostly fixed by using card slots and screws. During the bicycle driving, sometimes the child shakes and causes the screws or card slots to loosen, and the child is riding. There is a risk of injury.
Whether it is made of wood or alloy, most shared bicycle child seats are not covered on both sides, and only relying on adults' legs to block children during vehicle riding cannot ensure the safety of children, and children are more comfortable. Low, the child is at risk of falling from the bike when the bike is making a fast turn.
In response to the question of whether child seats can be installed on shared bicycles, the reporter consulted a number of shared bicycle companies, and the other parties all said that users are not recommended to install them, and there are potential safety hazards.
"From a safety point of view, shared bicycles are not equipped with child seats, do not have the function of carrying children, and safety cannot be guaranteed. my country's "Guiding Opinions on Encouraging and Regulating the Development of Internet Rental Bicycles" also clearly states that shared bicycles are not allowed to carry people. , do not install seats on shared bicycles. The unauthorized installation of child seats not only violates relevant regulations, but also is very prone to accidents. Parents should not put their children at risk for the sake of temporary convenience.” An industry expert told reporters Say.
Zhao Li, Chen Lijia, Zhang Shoukun, Jiang Xiaorui