How many genuine goods are there for super cheap purchasing agents?
Experts suggest establishing a registration system to strengthen supervision and regulate purchasing behavior
● Purchasing products are favored by many consumers because they are cheaper than counters and have a complete variety of sources.
At the same time, overseas purchasing agents are suspected of smuggling, only receiving money but not shipping or sending fake goods, and difficulties in safeguarding consumers' rights, etc. have also been reported frequently, causing widespread concern in the society.
● For some nominal purchasing agents, they do not directly control the supply of goods, but only advertise in the "moments" or groups. After the customer places an order, the owner is responsible for the delivery and after-sales service.
This part of the purchasing agent cannot control the source and quality of the goods. If the seller sends fake goods, it will undoubtedly seriously damage the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
● E-commerce operators engaged in the purchasing business, due to the lack of supervision and regulation, there are many chaos, which damage the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
In this regard, it is necessary to refine relevant laws and regulations, strengthen supervision, and regulate the purchasing behavior of e-commerce operators.
□ Sun Tianjiao, a trainee reporter of this newspaper
□ Our reporter Chen Lei
The counter price of 900 yuan 50ml small brown bottle of essence, you can get two bottles of about 1,000 yuan; the original price of luxury backpacks over 10,000 yuan, you can save thousands of yuan; popular color lipstick, the counter is often out of stock, But there seems to be always stock in the daigou...
In recent years, milk powder, skin care products, luxury goods and even health care products have become commodities that can be purchased on behalf of others. These commodities are favored by many consumers because of their cheaper prices than counters and a complete variety of sources.
At the same time, overseas purchasing agents are suspected of smuggling, only receiving money but not shipping or sending counterfeit goods, and difficulties in safeguarding consumers' rights, etc., which have aroused widespread concern in the society.
According to the provisions of the E-commerce Law, e-commerce operators shall go through the registration procedures of market entities according to law, and at the same time, they shall perform their tax obligations according to law.
Experts interviewed by the "Rules of Law Daily" reporter believed that e-commerce operators engaged in the purchasing business, due to the lack of supervision and regulation, have many chaos and damage the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
In this regard, it is necessary to refine relevant laws and regulations, strengthen supervision, and regulate the purchasing behavior of e-commerce operators.
Cross-border purchasing agents are favored
Real and fake mixed sales are hard to prevent
In July last year, Geng Geng from Chaoyang District, Beijing was about to buy a classic shoulder bag from a luxury brand.
After choosing the style and confirming the size on the official website of the brand, she sent a screenshot of the backpack to Xiao Li, a long-term cooperative purchasing agent, and asked about the purchasing price.
"Xiao Li told me that the price is 12,000 yuan, which is nearly 3,000 yuan cheaper than the counter price. Since the classic style of the domestic counter is often out of stock, I placed an order with him without thinking." Geng Geng said.
Geng Geng and Xiao Li have known each other for several years.
In 2017, she wanted to buy a niche beauty product made in Japan. She searched all major shopping websites and couldn't find it. So through a friend's recommendation, she met Xiao Li, a full-time shopping agent who lives in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. Bought the product successfully.
Since then, Geng Geng has identified Xiao Li, and has successively bought lipstick, perfume, backpacks and other items from him, spending tens of thousands of yuan.
Before the end of 2019, Xiao Li will frequently travel to Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, and personally carry back boxes of overseas products.
Later, due to the new crown pneumonia epidemic, it was difficult to leave the country. Xiao Li cooperated with his "peer" who was abroad, and the other party purchased locally, and then sent it back to China, and Xiao Li then mailed it to the corresponding customers.
"The goods purchased by the agent are cheap and cost-effective. If it is not something that is urgently needed, I will basically consider looking for a purchasing agent. In addition, Xiao Li will help me with advice and tell me which products are suitable for me." Geng Geng said.
The reporter learned in the interview that there are not a few people who trust or even rely on purchasing agents like Geng Geng, but there are also many people whose consumption experience is not ideal.
Ms. Zhang, who works in Tianjin, said that she once added a social account for purchasing through a friend. Because she did not place an order after consulting the price of a certain product, the other party asked "what if you don't buy it", and then directly blocked her .
Since he met a "liar purchasing agent" A girl who was selling fakes and reals in 2019, Xiaotian in Haidian District, Beijing has been "desperate" for the group of purchasing agents, "I can't tell who is real and who is fake. Yes, now I would rather spend more money and buy it at the counter for peace of mind."
Oda told reporters that Sister A met her in a chat group in early 2019, and the two got along relatively well during the chat.
Sister A often posts daily photos in the "circle of friends" and publishes some purchasing information.
Based on the trust generated in the early stage, Oda will place an order as long as he sees the skin care products and beauty products he needs.
About half a year later, Oda found that something was amiss: Sister A's "circle of friends" used to update three or four articles every day, but suddenly it was not updated much during that time, and even set "visible only for three days"; she bought One of my liquid foundations, I found that the color number was wrong after I got it, and there were obvious traces of use on the bottle.
Until the same group of friends said in the group that an air cushion foundation purchased through Sister A had obvious flaws, and after the counter comparison, it was determined that it was a fake, "She is a mix of real and fake, don't believe her."
After that, more and more people reported in the group that they had bought fake products from Sister A, and even many people had already paid her, but she lost contact.
To this end, someone re-opened a group chat to count the amount of money that everyone was defrauded for subsequent rights protection.
For a while, Oda couldn't accept this, and all the things he had purchased before were idle.
"Thinking about this gives me a headache. From then on, I don't believe in purchasing agents anymore," Oda said.
Sell fake goods in the name of purchasing agent
Consumer rights are difficult to protect
During the interview, Qin Lang (pseudonym), a part-time shopper who works in Chaoyang District, Beijing, told reporters that from time to time in their circle, shoppers selling fake products would be exposed.
"From time to time, I hear that a big daigou 'runs away' with money, and many people reveal that their previous home has sent fake goods to customers." Qin Lang said that some nominal daigou, they do not directly control the source of goods , only advertise in the "circle of friends" or groups. After the customer places an order, the owner is responsible for the delivery and after-sales.
This part of the daigou cannot control the supply and quality of the goods. If the seller sends fake goods, it will undoubtedly seriously damage the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
In fact, the phenomenon of selling fake goods or mixing genuine and fake products in the name of purchasing agents has occurred from time to time.
In 2018, the Suzhou police cracked a huge case of manufacturing and selling fake cosmetics, and seized 150,000 pieces of fake brand-name cosmetics, involving an amount of up to 5 million yuan.
According to the confession of the criminal suspect, the purchase price of a 5mL bottle of fake brand-name perfume is about 6 yuan. After combined packaging, it is sold to the next house for 50 yuan, and the next house will sell it to ordinary consumers in the name of purchasing agents, and the maximum can be sold for 200 yuan. .
Regarding the situation of purchasing fake products through purchasing agents, Chen Yinjiang, deputy secretary-general of the Consumer Rights Protection Law Research Association of the China Law Society, believes that if consumers entrust individuals or companies specializing in purchasing services to purchase fake and shoddy products, consumers can Pursuant to the entrustment agreement, the purchasing agent or purchasing agency is required to assume corresponding responsibilities.
If the purchasing agent or purchasing company has obvious fault, the consumer can ask the purchasing agent or purchasing agency to bear the compensation liability.
If the negotiation fails, you can file a complaint with the consumer association or the market supervision department; if necessary, you can also protect your legal rights and interests in accordance with the law by applying for arbitration or filing a lawsuit in the court.
According to Wu Di, a researcher at the National Governance Legalization Research Center of Hebei University, most purchasing agents use the Internet as a medium for transaction information communication. After consumers pay the purchasers to the purchasing agents, because there is no credit mechanism to restrain the purchasing agents, it is easy for purchasing agents to collect money. The money does not fulfill the purchasing contract, which brings economic losses to consumers.
Wu Di said that even if the two parties complete the transaction through a third-party payment platform, there will be risks of funds being misappropriated or unauthorized funds being transferred.
Purchasing source channels are diverse
Cross-border or tax-related issues
The 27-year-old Qin Lang began to test the water purchasing business intermittently when he was in school. At first, he mostly relied on friends abroad to help him buy, while he was responsible for customer source and delivery in China.
After graduating from graduate school, because the job he found was relatively leisurely, and he accumulated some beauty consultant resources, he began to transform into a domestic counter purchasing agent, and the monthly sales exceeded 300,000 yuan.
According to Qin Lang, as a purchasing agent, his sources of goods come from multiple channels: some of them are purchased from the offline counters of the brand at the event price of the shopping mall; some of them are purchased through the domestic agents of the brand, and he is also an authorized distributor of several brands. business; only a very small part still buys abroad through friends; in addition, he sometimes buys some preferential products through domestic duty-free shops.
Qin Lang said that at present, due to epidemic prevention and control reasons, the customs clearance time for overseas goods is much longer than before. In addition to changes in customs sampling, personal tax-free quota restrictions, and stricter tax-free policies for outlying islands, his current sources of goods are mainly from counters and brand agents. Procurement.
He bluntly said that some purchasing agents are undoubtedly in a "gray area" when it comes to customs tax issues.
"Whether it is a large purchasing agent or a team of buying goods that is purchased from a foreign duty-free shop, transported to Hong Kong, my country, and then cleared to the mainland for sales, or a small purchasing agent who carries the goods with 'human flesh' or directly goes through international logistics for customs clearance, there is a suspicion of smuggling. "
It is worth noting that in recent years, there are not a few daigou linked to tax issues and smuggling issues.
In October 2021, the Shanghai No. 3 Intermediate People's Court held a public hearing of a cosmetic smuggling case. Defendants Wang and Xu evaded cosmetics and other goods and items with a total tax payable of more than 4.25 million yuan.
After trial, the court held that Wang and Xu conspired with others to smuggle the cosmetics and other goods and articles involved in the case by purchasing them in duty-free shops at the airport, smuggling them out of the customs supervision area without reporting to the customs, or taking the no-declaration channel. The amount of tax payable due to evasion is particularly huge, and their acts have constituted the crime of smuggling ordinary goods and articles.
In the first instance, the defendant Wang was sentenced to 10 years in prison and a fine of 1.5 million yuan; the defendant Xu was sentenced to 3 years in prison, suspended for 3 years, and a fine of 1 million yuan.
Wu Di told reporters that the more traditional purchasing agents, such as entrusting friends who go abroad to buy milk powder, etc., will be brought into the country afterward.
According to the Announcement No. 54 issued by the General Administration of Customs in 2010, the tax-exemption limit for items brought by individuals for their own use was reduced to 5,000 yuan.
Wu Di said that if the part exceeding the quota standard is not declared in this case, it is likely to commit crimes such as smuggling ordinary goods.
According to Article 153 of the Criminal Law, when entering the territory with goods that should be declared customs duty, evading the amount of tax payable will be punished if the circumstances are serious.
In addition, according to Article 16 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Smuggling Cases, the amount of tax payable for smuggling ordinary goods and articles is more than 100,000 yuan but less than 500,000 yuan. It should be recognized as "the tax evasion payable is relatively large..." stipulated in the first paragraph of Article 153 of the Criminal Law. As a professional purchasing agent and seller, it is easy to reach the tax evasion amount of 100,000 yuan. , so it is very easy to be recruited and commit the crime.
Supervision needs to be strengthened
Legal norms still need to be improved
Selling fake goods, suspected of smuggling... Why are there so many problems behind the growing group of purchasing agents?
The E-commerce Law stipulates that e-commerce operators shall go through the registration procedures of market entities in accordance with the law, and at the same time, they shall perform their tax obligations in accordance with the law.
Chen Yinjiang believes that the current problems of purchasing agents are mainly reflected in cross-border purchasing agents: some purchasing agents have obtained high profits through false reports, concealment and other means with the luck of playing legal "edge balls"; , the scope and quantity of the investigation are very large, so the investigation is also very difficult; it is not excluded that individual purchasing agents deliberately purchase or sell fake and shoddy products in order to seek more economic benefits.
Liu Junhai, a professor at the School of Law of Renmin University of China, said in an interview with the media that there are many counterfeit goods purchased overseas.
Individuals engaged in professional purchasing agents should also register as market entities and belong to e-commerce operators.
According to the provisions of the E-commerce Law, sporadic small transactions are exempted, but there are no detailed rules for what constitutes sporadic small transactions. I hope that regulations will be introduced to clarify.
For e-commerce operators engaged in purchasing, Wu Di believes that in the future, my country still needs to strengthen their supervision and management, such as the introduction of special laws to strengthen the relevant obligations of e-commerce platforms and market supervision departments, improve information disclosure in overseas purchasing, and overseas purchasing products. Legal system and consumer rights remedies system.
In order to further standardize the purchasing behaviors of e-commerce operators, Chen Yinjiang suggested that relevant laws and regulations should be improved, so as to delineate business red lines for purchasing purchasing operators, provide law enforcement basis for regulatory authorities, and provide guarantee for the healthy development of new business formats; strengthen supervision, For some illegal and illegal purchasing behaviors, they must be severely investigated and dealt with in accordance with existing laws, and exposed to the public in a timely manner; consumers should view the purchasing business rationally, choose regular purchasing channels, sign purchasing contracts carefully, and pay taxes in accordance with regulations. Issue legal rights.
Wu Di believes that for e-commerce operators engaged in daigou, they must first formulate access standards and establish a daigou registration system, which will not only help improve the relevant tax system, but also bring daigou behavior into the scope of national supervision.
The market supervision department of the government should strengthen the construction of network infrastructure, and "make the network with the network and manage the network with the network", so as to realize the effective supervision of online purchasing.
Secondly, the market supervision department should cooperate with third-party online platforms to supervise and manage the product quality, advertising and other behaviors in the purchasing process.
Customs, taxation and other departments have jointly established cross-border purchasing agent integrity files, and conduct credit ratings based on various behavioral information sources of cross-border purchasing agents, and transparently disclose it to the society to promote social credit management.