Downloading files, reading books, listening to songs, editing videos..."retail investors" have troubles
Why can't these online services be charged per view?
Our reporter Dai Lili Wang Tianqi
Mr. Liu, a citizen, found that when he used Baidu Netdisk to download files, the speed was very slow. If he wanted to speed up, he had to purchase the super membership service.
However, the payment methods given by merchants are only monthly, quarterly or annual payment, and there is no single payment option.
The reporter noticed that various online services such as listening to songs, reading books, retouching pictures, watching videos, downloading files, editing videos, etc. currently generally use monthly or annual membership fees. became difficult.
Offline purchases of goods and services can basically be purchased on a single-item basis, but why can online services only be "packaged and paid"?
There is nothing wrong with charging various APP services, but many APPs adopt a mandatory packaged charging method, and once purchased, they will be served for half a year or a year. some options?
Phenomenon Downloading a file requires at least one month membership
Nowadays, using a network disk to transfer files has become a common practice in online office.
Mr. Liu, a citizen, sometimes needs to transfer large files through Baidu Netdisk because of his work needs.
But this kind of demand is irregular. "Sometimes customers send video files every day for several days, but sometimes they may not download them once in half a year." When downloading files using Baidu Netdisk, if you want to speed up, you must Purchase super membership service.
After the payment page popped up, Mr. Liu noticed that there are several payment methods for 1 month, 3 months, and 1 year, and there will be discounts for continuous monthly, seasonal, and annual subscriptions.
Among them, the fee for one month is 30 yuan, and the fee for one year is 298 yuan.
Although he did not need a monthly subscription, the system did not give the option of a single payment at all, so he had no choice but to choose the monthly subscription service of 30 yuan.
"But that month I only needed this one use, and I never opened the Baidu Netdisk again. It was equivalent to spending 30 yuan to download a file of more than 200 megabytes. This price is not cheap." Two months later, Liu Mr. needs to download files again. The monthly subscription membership purchased last time has expired, so I have to purchase a monthly subscription service again.
He also once bought a full year of service, but actually downloaded it less than 10 times.
This kind of user experience made Mr. Liu feel very uncomfortable, "I only need to download a file, and if I finish downloading it today, I won't need it tomorrow. Why do I have to pay a monthly subscription? Monthly or yearly subscriptions are suitable for those sticky users who often use, but they can Can't we 'retail investors' have one more choice?"
Ms. Song also has the same trouble.
Last week, Ms. Song needed to make a PPT for work reasons. After searching for a template she wanted on a picture material website, when downloading it, the website prompted that a fee was required.
After entering the payment interface, Ms. Song was very depressed: "There is no single payment, you need to buy a membership, at least a quarter, or directly buy half a year or a year, the cheapest quarter is 42 yuan, valid for half a year. But I seldom make PPT, and I don’t know when I will use it next time, it’s worth 42 yuan to buy 10 pages of PPT, isn’t it too bad?”
The same goes for watching TV.
The "matryoshka" charging of video APP has been criticized.
Many users complained that not only the "matryoshka" charging of "recharging once and again", but also the monthly and yearly subscription, and the way of charging that cannot be charged once is also disgusting.
"Actually, people don't watch TV very often now, just watch it occasionally. Children want to watch an animated movie, but they will be charged after clicking on it, and there are only 3 options: monthly subscription (automatic renewal), monthly subscription, and annual subscription. The annual subscription is 365 yuan, and the monthly subscription is 59.9 yuan." Because she couldn't find the option to pay for a single movie, Ms. Wang had to choose the monthly subscription service of 59.9 yuan.
In fact, the child never turned on the TV during the remaining 29-day membership period.
"If you can only buy one movie, even if the unit price is a little higher, you can accept it. If you have to sell it to me in a package, consumers will have no choice. There will always be a feeling of being forced to buy and sell." Ms. Wang said .
Opinion merchants "package charges" are suspected of compulsory consumption
Is the mandatory package payment method really reasonable?
Chen Yinjiang, deputy secretary-general of the Consumer Rights Protection Law Research Institute of the China Law Society, believes that online service charges are understandable, and such services are not resource-scarce or public services, and do not require government pricing or government-guided prices. According to their own operating costs and the relationship between supply and demand to set the price standard, "As long as the price is clearly marked, the price is fair and reasonable, and no other false price means are used to mislead or deceive consumers, it should be said that this kind of service pricing is understandable. "
However, Chen Yinjiang also said that if this pricing method requires consumers to purchase at least one month, one quarter or even one year as long as they purchase their services, such a pricing mechanism is unreasonable for consumers. , suspected of violating consumers' right to independent choice.
"Consumers have the right to choose one-time, one-month, or one-year services. Merchants should give this choice to consumers, allowing consumers to make independent choices according to their own needs. If there are indeed users who only have a single demand, merchants It should set a single payment price once or twice. If it is completely impossible to choose, consumers will have to buy it for a month or a quarter once they buy it. This pricing mechanism is also involved in forced consumption, which is unfair to consumers. "Chen Yinjiang said.
It is recommended that the payment method should meet the needs of user segmentation
Is it difficult to make a single payment for this kind of online service?
Why do I have to pay in bundles instead of a single purchase?
The reporter consulted the customer service of several APP service providers, and most of the answers they got were: engineers need costs to develop software.
However, the reporter found that there are also some apps that offer a variety of payment plans, allowing users to choose freely according to their actual situation.
Frequently used ones can be purchased in packages to enjoy discounts; infrequently used ones can also be paid for once.
For example, an app "Xunfei Hearing" that can convert speech to text stipulates that users can choose to charge by the minute, and the machine transcribes 0.33 yuan per minute; if the speech that needs to be converted is longer, you can also choose to purchase a time card. , there are 1-hour, 3-hour, 5-hour, and even 100-hour card packs; if you use more, there is also a monthly subscription service, 98 yuan per month.
"Huawei Reading" stipulates that you can purchase a VIP package and pay for one month, three months, or one year; if you only want to read one book, you also have the option of "single book" purchase.
Many users expressed the hope that more choices can be added to the payment methods of online services to meet the needs of user segmentation, and it is believed that the user experience will be greatly improved.
Some users suggested, “According to different software, we can develop payment methods that suit our own characteristics. For example, software for downloading pictures or PPT templates and literature materials, adding a method of charging by the number of pages, and providing various options for pricing methods will allow users It is more convenient to use and has higher satisfaction." (Beijing Daily)