Minors' recharge consumption has become one of the hardest hit areas for blind box consumer complaints.
Some parents reported on the complaint platform that minors downloaded the Blind Box App through the advertising link and then recharged the app, ranging from tens of yuan to thousands of yuan. % as a service fee, and some platforms simply ignore or refuse to refund.
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As soon as you enter the blind box, it is as deep as the sea, and from then on, it has often become a "take advantage". This is the personal experience of many blind box players.
"The first draw is only 0 yuan, get in the car immediately" "You will get a smartphone after 5 draws", "Every 3 rounds, you will get a rare/epic/legendary model"... On July 18, Mr. Liang from Guangxi saw it on the short video app Such a blind box advertisement has embarked on a "blind box" of no return.
In the end, he spent more than 1,600 yuan to draw more than 10 blind boxes, but he saw no trace of the mobile phone.
False propaganda, inducing consumption, selling fake and shoddy products... At present, the blind box market is "desperate", which has also changed the "good heart" of some young people to a "headache". At the same time, many people are also Expectation: A healthy blind box market will arrive soon.
"Fuck one, count one"
At first, Mr. Liang spent 198.01 yuan on the blind box app (0.01 yuan for the first joint draw) to buy 3 blind boxes priced at 99 yuan. According to the rules, Mr. Liang did draw the "hidden money", that is, a An air fryer with a price tag of 599 yuan.
However, he did not find the air fryer on multiple e-commerce platforms.
Later, Mr. Liang, who had just opened the blind box "New World Gate", saw the reminder that "Buy 7 more times, the epic/legend will be released", and he spent 271.33 yuan, 466.11 yuan, 59 yuan, and 598.8 yuan respectively. Buying blind boxes, the products that are drawn are mainly hair dryers, data cables, necklaces, etc.
"In the process of drawing the blind box, there are induced behaviors." Mr. Liang believes that the platform has been guiding him, such as prompting him to draw another one, and the probability of winning the lottery will double; when a certain amount of money is reached, the hidden blind box can be unlocked.
He said that he has been "led away" by the platform in this way.
On many blind box apps, commodity prices are inflated.
The price of a hair dryer that Mr. Liang first picked was only 23 yuan on the e-commerce platform, but the price on the blind box app was 158 yuan, about 6.8 times the price.
In more than 10 blind boxes, he only exchanged 4 items, and each paid 7.5 yuan for shipping.
Mr. Liang said that when he saw these brands he had never heard of, and even the products that could not be found on the e-commerce platform, he was too lazy to open the express delivery.
"It took more than 1,600 yuan to get these 4 things. Do you think it's annoying?"
Many blind box platforms claim that consumers who win the lottery can exchange for other products. However, the value of the winning products is seriously unequal to the value of the products in the mall.
A reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily saw on the Blind Box App that consumers can exchange more than 6,000 gold coins for products worth more than 60 yuan. However, if they want to exchange products of 679 yuan, they need more than 260,000 gold coins.
"Anyway, if you fall for this kind of thing, it's one." Mr. Liang's experience is not an isolated case. He saw on the black cat complaint that there were 93 complaints against the same blind box app, and many of them spent more than He is taller.
Blind box consumption chaos has become a new hot spot for online consumer complaints and reports.
As of August 16, more than 26,000 complaints about blind boxes could be retrieved on the Black Cat Complaint Platform.
Among them, the main keywords of complaints are "deceiving consumers", "false advertising", "scam", "cannot refund", "no way to complain" and so on.
It is worth noting that the recharge consumption of minors has become one of the hardest hit areas for consumer complaints from blind boxes.
Some parents reported on the complaint platform that minors downloaded the Blind Box App through the advertisement link and then recharged the app, ranging from tens of yuan to thousands of yuan. % as a service fee, and some platforms simply ignore or refuse to refund.
The production cost of blind box software is not high
At present, blind boxes are especially sought after by young people, and the market has great potential for development. Many investors believe that this is a "new blue ocean".
The latest data from Qichacha shows that there are more than 5,000 existing Chaowan-related companies nationwide, and nearly 2,000 related companies will be newly registered in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 228.83%.
As of mid-August, the number of newly registered Chaowan-related companies in 2022 exceeded 2,000.
New Blind Box Apps and Blind Box Mini Programs emerge one after another.
Li Ming (pseudonym), a professional blind box software producer, said that from last year to this year, his company has produced two or three hundred sets of blind box mini-programs or software.
Why is the blind box app so popular?
Li Ming said that at present, the blind box is one of the ways for companies to "rescue themselves", especially for some entities that have difficulties, "it is a very good tool for destocking."
The news of the good results of blind box software spread among merchants, attracting more people to enter the industry.
Zhang Qi (pseudonym), the relevant person in charge of another blind box software production company, said that at present, some businesses operating blind box software have achieved good results.
"We have clients that sometimes have a turnover of several million yuan a day."
The production cost of blind box software is not high.
The reporter consulted several blind box software production companies. The customized price of the blind box applet given by them is 16,000 to 36,000 yuan, and the price of the blind box app is 30,000 to 50,000 yuan. These software can meet the needs of merchants. Basic requirements for blind box operations.
If the merchant needs to customize the personalized function, the price is negotiable.
"Operation is the most expensive." Li Ming said that it is not difficult to make a blind box app, but the difficulty is how to operate it, which determines whether a blind box app can make money.
He observed that some well-funded businesses will spend a lot of money on promotion, such as directly advertising on social media, short video platforms and streaming media, or finding relevant operating companies or internet celebrities for promotion.
Li Ming pointed out, "In fact, the money for making software is a very small part, and it may not be enough for the operating expenses that some people invest in a day."
In response to the problem that newcomers do not understand operations, Zhang Qi said that in addition to providing software, companies can also provide a complete business model, which covers early-stage new recruiting, mid-term traffic retention, and long-term repurchase.
However, the entry threshold for blind box apps and blind box mini-programs is not high, which to a certain extent gives many speculators an opportunity, and indirectly makes some consumers "take advantage of".
Mr. Liang observed that many consumers have encountered problems such as merchants inducing consumption, selling counterfeit and shoddy products, and false shipments. In the end, the result of the complaint handling was nothing.
He said, "The complaints all fall into place anyway."
How to draw a "stop" in the chaos of the blind box market
"My more than 1,000 yuan was 'cheated' away, but there are still many people rushing in." Mr. Liang hopes that relevant parties can strengthen the control of blind box chaos.
He reminded that consumers must see this kind of blind box app clearly, and don't rush up blindly.
He calculated an account, if like him, one person spends more than 1,000 yuan, and if 100 people are "deceived", this amount is incredible.
Faced with a similar situation, how should consumers protect their rights?
Chen Yinjiang, deputy secretary-general of the Consumer Rights Protection Law Research Association of the China Law Society, said that it is necessary to choose a specific rights protection path according to different situations.
He pointed out that at present, the chaos of the blind box economy can be mainly divided into three situations: false propaganda, inflated commodity prices, shoddy products or the sale of three non-productive products.
Chen Yinjiang pointed out that the false propaganda of the Blind Box App violated consumers' right to know and misled consumers.
According to the Consumer Rights Protection Law, if the legitimate rights and interests of consumers are damaged because operators use false advertisements or other false publicity methods to provide goods or services, consumers can claim compensation from the operators.
The blind box market is not a place outside the law.
Chen Yinjiang pointed out that according to the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, the relevant departments can impose fines on merchants who make false propaganda and the circumstances are serious, and even revoke their business licenses in serious cases.
Previously, some local relevant departments have rectified the chaos in the blind box market.
The Chengdu Consumers Association handed over to the Chengdu High-tech Zone Market Supervision Bureau relevant clues about a blind box company's alleged false propaganda, consumer fraud and other illegal acts through the "suit transfer case".
According to statistics, as of February 3 this year, the company had sold more than 280,000 blind boxes through false or misleading descriptions of the probability of winning.
Because its behavior violated the relevant provisions of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law, the High-tech Zone Market Supervision Bureau imposed a fine of 600,000 yuan on it according to law, and urged it to rectify.
In response to the chaos in the blind box market, the regulatory authorities are "struggling".
On August 16, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued a notice on the "Guidelines for the Standardization of Blind Box Business Activities (Trial) (Draft for Comment)", which put forward targeted requirements for multiple "pain points" in the blind box economy.
For example, it is proposed that blind box operators should publicize key information such as commodity names, commodity types, commodity styles, extraction rules, commodity distribution, commodity placement quantity, hidden money extraction probability, commodity value range and other key information in a prominent way to ensure that consumers are in the Know before buying.
At the same time, it is also proposed that blind box operators shall not induce consumption in disguised form by changing the extraction results through background manipulation and arbitrarily adjusting the extraction probability.
In response to the phenomenon that young minors are prone to impulse purchases of blind boxes, the "Guidelines for the Standardization of Blind Box Business Activities (Trial) (Draft for Comment)" also proposes that blind box operators shall not sell blind boxes to minors under the age of 8.
For sales of blind boxes to minors under the age of 8, the consent of the relevant guardian should be confirmed through on-site inquiry or online identification.
Chen Yinjiang reminded that consumers must purchase blind boxes through formal channels. Before purchasing, try to fully understand the information of merchants and products, including whether the merchant has the corresponding qualifications, the probability of winning the blind box, whether it can be exchanged, how to exchange it, and whether it can be exchanged. Rules for refunds, etc.
In addition, after purchasing, it is necessary to keep relevant evidence, including publicity materials, consumption vouchers, etc., and negotiate with the merchant in a timely manner. If the negotiation fails, you can complain to the local consumer association or the relevant administrative department for mediation.
If it still cannot be resolved, you can apply for arbitration or file a lawsuit in court.
China Youth Daily, China Youth Daily reporter Zhao Limei Source: China Youth Daily