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Original title: “Returns” has become a hot topic after Double 11, and some large items are easy to buy. Source: Workers Daily
Today, many people recognize the convenience of online shopping. Online shopping platforms have everything from necessities to large items such as appliances and decorations. However, while enjoying the convenience, some consumers have also encountered the problem of returning and replacing products. Due to the increase in transport costs, products that seem much cheaper than physical stores, once returned, the shipping costs of some products are more expensive than the price of the product itself. Faced with expensive freight, both buyers and sellers are reluctant to be “cut.”
So who should bear the high costs of shipping oversized products online? Some experts suggest that platforms and merchants take the initiative to provide consumers with shipping insurance to avoid disputes over return shipping fees caused by oversized products.
More than a week has passed since the “Double 11.” “Returns” have become a hot topic. Some netizens even ridiculed themselves as “refunds” from “payers.”
With the implementation of online shopping “no reason to return products in 7 days”, returns are no longer difficult. However, some consumers who buy large items online have encountered another problem: Although they can be returned, the return shipping fee is very high, and sometimes the shipping fee is more expensive than the price of the product.
The toilet installation is not adequate and the return will have a shipping cost of 250 yuan.
Ms. Zhang, who lives in Chaoyang District, Beijing, encountered this problem recently. During the “Double 11” period of this year, Ms. Zhang spent more than 3,000 yuan to buy a smart toilet on an e-commerce platform, thinking that the smart toilet has a heating function and is suitable for winter use. Unexpectedly, during the installation process, when the installer came to your house to measure the water pressure, he pointed out that the water pressure in his house was not up to the requirements and it was impossible to install this type of smart tankless toilet of water. I had to replace it with a smart toilet with a water tank.
“When I first bought it, I thought the smart toilet with a water tank was not attractive, so I bought this smart toilet without a water tank. But when I bought it, I didn’t see a water pressure requirement on the page.” Zhang said. .
So, Ms. Zhang contacted the platform merchants to exchange the goods, but the merchants said that if the goods are returned for non-quality reasons, Ms. Zhang should bear the freight for the return of the goods. . Since Ms. Zhang did not purchase freight insurance at the time, she estimated that this smart toilet weighs around 50 kilograms. If shipped from Beijing to Guangzhou, it will cost nearly 250 yuan in freight.
But in Ms. Zhang’s opinion, this shipping fee should not be paid by her, because of this very important information, she did not see any notice from the merchant on the home page of the toilet purchase page. It wasn’t until this problem occurred that you saw the reminder “To avoid unnecessary returns, first measure your water pressure” at the bottom of the “Details” column for the product.
“If this reminder is prominently displayed on the home page, I will definitely try it first. Now that it has been delayed, we have to bear so much burden,” Zhang said.
After that, after many negotiations between Ms. Zhang and the merchant, the merchant finally agreed to take over the freight.
1000 yuan for ceramic tiles, 1200 yuan for round trip shipping
Recently, Mr. Wang, who lives in Changping District, Beijing, bought some old tiles from an e-commerce platform for home decoration.
“This style of ceramic tile costs around 2000 yuan to buy in a physical store. I thought it was much cheaper than a physical store. It looked very special, so I bought it.” Wang said that he bought more than 40 tiles in total and spent around 1000 yuan and 600 yuan for the freight.
“But after the products arrived, the decoration master said that the tile I bought was not flat enough, it was not flat and it was useless,” Wang told reporters, so he contacted the seller to return the products. The seller said it can be returned, but the freight is on your own.
“These tiles cost only a little over 1,000 yuan in total, but if they are returned, the round-trip shipping will cost 1,200 yuan, which is more expensive than the product itself. If they are not returned, it is useless to keep and the loss will be even higher. So I asked the platform customer service to complain, I was thinking of using the unqualified quality to make the seller compensate the seller. Who knew the seller submitted a quality inspection report, saying that the flatness was within the error range, and the platform’s customer service finally rejected my complaint. ”Wang said.
In the end, Mr. Wang stopped returning the merchandise because he was too angry and wanted to remind other buyers. Mr. Wang posted a negative review in the product review column on the platform and used pictures to prove it. Unexpectedly, I got a call from the seller that night and asked him to remove the bad review, and they gave him a 150 yuan red envelope. But Mr. Wang refused.
Quality problems are difficult to identify, who pays for freight insurance
In response to the problem of return shipping costs for oversized products, the relevant person in charge of the Zhejiang Provincial Consumer Insurance Commission told reporters that if the consumer has not purchased shipping insurance and the seller has not provided shipping insurance, if the seller is found to be responsible (such as product quality), the round-trip freight will be borne by the seller. If it is the buyer’s responsibility (such as dislike, inappropriateness, etc.), the buyer should bear the return freight.
However, the reporter also found out during the interview that, as Mr. Wang found, there are also problems in reality that quality problems are difficult to identify.
According to article 23, paragraph 3 of the “Law on the protection of consumer rights”, consumers are self-acceptable for durable goods such as motor vehicles, computers, televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines and other services provided by the operators. If a defect or dispute occurs within six months from the date of the product or service, the operator will bear the burden of proof of the defect.
But Li Bin, a lawyer from the China Consumer Association lawyers group, told reporters that because the law does not clearly stipulate whether the method for the operator to provide evidence is the inspection report issued by the department of after-sales maintenance of the product or the factory technical department, or the operator sent to the legal testing agency for testing, resulting in Merchants using their own detection lines to “talk to themselves”, putting the consumer in a passive position when defending your rights. “Let’s take Mr. Wang as an example. The seller submitted a quality inspection report saying that the product quality was qualified. If Mr. Wang wants to prove that it is not appropriate, he has to find a testing agency for verification, which is more problematic. “
For this reason, Li Bin suggested that consumers should carefully read the product introduction and consumer assessment information or purchase freight insurance when purchasing large products. At the same time, it is recommended that platforms and merchants take the initiative to provide consumers with freight insurance to avoid return freight disputes caused by bulky goods.
