WeChat Solitaire group buying and mini-program grocery shopping have become popular, but be careful——
Which "community group purchases" are credible and which ones should be kept in mind
Recently, "how to buy vegetables" has attracted much attention from the public.
However, with the increase in the number of closed and controlled communities, the online demand has skyrocketed, and the delivery capacity has been stretched.
Under such circumstances, "community group buying" became popular: residents determined the quantity of purchases through group chat, and then relied on online mini-programs to place orders, which were distributed by designated vendors.
Under normal circumstances, fresh vegetables and fruits can be delivered to the community the next day.
In just a week or two, similar "group purchases" have sprung up like mushrooms after the rain, and they have changed from "community group purchases" serving a certain community to "single group purchases in the same city."
However, some citizens reported to the Shanghai rumor dispelling platform that the "community group buying" was fake: some people encountered the phenomenon that the merchant or the "group leader" had no news after payment, and the "vegetable" was empty; some people saw the merchant on a short video platform. The live broadcast said that "the fresh vegetables in the same city in Shanghai can be delivered to your doorstep, and you can shoot and send them within 48 hours", but you can ask the merchant to know that it will not be shipped at all.
Which "online group purchases" are credible, and which ones should be kept in mind?
The Shanghai rumor-refuting platform conducted an investigation.
Fresh and affordable, but lacks payment guarantee mechanism
Since the closure and control of the community, Ms. Wu, a citizen, has fallen in love with community group buying.
She joined five or six group chats on group purchases in one go, ranging from group fruit, group vegetables to group roast duck... Most of the group purchases were directly linked to vegetable and fruit production bases or catering companies.
During the special period, she even bought more affordable food than usual. "1.5 kilograms of strawberries are only 40 yuan, and the fruit farmers will send photos in the group chat, introducing that the strawberries are just picked in the morning."
Most of the community group purchases Ms. Wu joined were organized spontaneously by residents or community volunteers.
One of them was initiated by Mr. Zhang, who lives in Beicai Town.
Mr. Zhang is an employee of "Wan Chai Wharf". After the closure and management, he also encountered "difficulty in buying vegetables".
Mr. Zhang immediately thought that he could contact the company to send some quick-frozen food packages to the community, and he collected and sorted out the needs of the residents as a volunteer.
The community group buying group chat led by Mr. Zhang has grown rapidly, with deliveries every two or three days.
The first order was on March 21. At that time, there were only more than 100 copies. Now, one order can be ordered for 400 to 500 copies. Residents of the surrounding communities heard about it and applied to participate.
Although the community group buying organized by residents is convenient and affordable, there are also many problems.
Ms. Wu mentioned that the current group buying is basically "what the merchant offers to buy", and there is no choice.
Carrots are included in many group buying packages, and now there are too many carrots at home.
More importantly, the payment process for community group purchases is not standardized. The most common method at present is "one-to-one" online payment, and the payment is not guaranteed. It is possible to make money." Mr. Zhang also said that he encountered a similar situation a few days ago, "The 'group leader' in the next block ordered 70 copies for the first time he joined the group, but he was worried that he would not receive the goods. If I am willing to pay in advance, I can only advance the money first, and the transaction will not be completed until the owner receives the food package." The 70 copies were a lot of money, and Mr. Zhang "has lingering fears."
Carefully select "Unable to judge service capability"
The survey shows that whether community group buying can be carried out normally is also related to the service ability of suppliers.
Some citizens have encountered the problem of "orders can be placed but not shipped, and refunds are difficult".
On March 27, Mr. Ge, who lives in Jiuliting Street, Songjiang District, saw an "online grocery shopping guide", which recommended several online group buying channels such as "Daily Delicious", among which "Daily Delicious" There are also discounts for Jiuliting street residents.
After comparison, he and his family chose the "Daily Delicious" 98 yuan package.
The group purchase page clearly shows that orders before 17:00 will be delivered on the same day, and orders after 17:00 will be delivered the next day.
However, after waiting for 3 days, Mr. Ge still did not receive the product, and when he opened the group purchase page, he found that he had already complained in the message area: "Most of the citizens paid and didn't get anything, and a few received the package. But I found that the meat inside was spoiled, and I couldn't eat it at all." Mr. Ge felt that "something is wrong", and quickly applied for a refund, and contacted the "group leader" and customer service.
However, as of press time, no response has been received, and no refund application has been processed.
Since then, Mr. Ge asked the street for help on the matter. "The street replied that the company failed to refund money in time due to system problems, and has urged it to be resolved as soon as possible."
On March 30, under the guidance of Mr. Ge, the reporter scanned the code to enter the "Daily Delicious" group purchase page.
The page shows that the group purchase has ended, with a total of 977 group purchases.
Judging from the comments in the message area, when the group first started, some users received the ordered package, but as time went on, more users complained about the poor dishes, and then there were cases where they paid but did not receive the goods.
Mr. Ge speculated that it may be that there are too many people in group purchases, the company's supply capacity cannot keep up, and there is no manpower to process refunds.
There are also many group buying suppliers that may have their own problems.
For example, a small program called "Pieces of Epidemic Vegetables" has been suspended due to suspected fraud; some citizens have found that some so-called "group purchase suppliers" have "moisture" themselves.
For example, on short video platforms, netizens exposed them as "intra-city group purchases" that defrauded traffic but could not actually deliver goods, and "group leaders" who had always done group purchases of daily necessities on some group purchase platforms but suddenly released information on "group purchases of vegetables", etc.
The reporter's investigation found that such "unreliable" group purchases have one thing in common: the publishers are usually individuals or companies. From the information released, it is impossible to see that the "group leader" has the ability to organize the source of goods, distribute the source of goods or the past. Group buying experience.
Moreover, it is difficult to find evaluations of similar group purchases around this "group leader" on the platform.
In other words, what the public can see is only the group purchase information of "Wang Po sells melons", but there is no reference information such as "consumer evaluation".
Preferred official recommendation channel
For citizens who want to participate in "community group buying", it is much more reliable to choose the officially recommended group buying channels or activities.
The Shanghai rumor-refuting platform found that multiple levels of government departments in the city have pushed online grocery shopping channels through official WeChat accounts.
For example, Kangjian Street and Xietu Street in Xuhui District provide citizens with group buying services for fruits and vegetables through the "buying vegetables from the 'epidemic'" applet.
On the afternoon of March 31, the reporter entered the small program page of Kangjian Street and found that the small program can currently provide delivery services for 10 communities around Kangwu Vegetable Market. Citizens can choose three types of 58 yuan, 65 yuan and 70 yuan. combo.
The platform reminds that the purchase is completed before 12:00 every day, and it can be delivered the next day.
However, if the distribution community is unblocked or the vegetable market enters the closed state, the vegetable set menu will be "temporarily unavailable".
Minhang District has also pushed the "Greeting Guide" to citizens, sorting out and publishing the grocery shopping channels in each street and town.
For example, in Jiangchuan Road Street, the "group leader" Xiangzhangjiayuan Vegetable Basket provided citizens with 5 kinds of packages through the "Quick Tuan Tuan" applet, with more than 5,000 people joining the group; Xinzhuang Town also provided citizens with 70 Vegetable set meal for about RMB, as well as other set meal such as rice, milk, cooking oil, etc.
An investigation by the Shanghai rumor-refuting platform found that group buying channels will also change with the adjustment of epidemic prevention policies.
Therefore, citizens should keep their eyes open when participating in similar activities, avoid blind purchases, and choose the official group purchase channels as much as possible.
If you buy by yourself, try to choose a large platform or check the qualifications of the group organizers, group purchase comment records, etc.
Our reporter Zheng Zhen trainee reporter Tang Yijun Wu Danlu