Quantitative packaging goods are short of weight: 150 garbage bags are purchased online, and only 86 are available.
Online shopping for 150 garbage bags is only 86.
The reporter investigated the shortage of quantitative packaging goods.
"There are 150 labels, and only 86 are received." Recently, Ms. Li, a citizen of Beijing, spoke on the social platform that she inadvertently used "counting garbage bags to pass the time", but found the secret of "the goods are not right". The merchant claimed that 150 garbage bags actually shrank by nearly half.
Ms. Li’s experience is not a case. Many consumers have encountered similar problems when purchasing quantitatively packaged goods: claiming that 500 cotton swabs in a box are missing 88; There are only 38 diapers marked with 50 pieces; The so-called 100-pumping paper is actually less than a quarter; I bought a box of oranges and found that only one size fits the description. 5 kilograms of flour is less than 200 grams; 50mL makeup remover is only 45mL… …
The so-called quantitatively packaged goods refer to prepackaged goods with uniform quality, volume, length, area, counting and labeling within a certain range. In life, the quantity and quality of quantitatively packaged goods are not up to standard. Is it a case that merchants deliberately miss the goods by taking advantage of the psychology that buyers will not deliberately count, or is it a common phenomenon in e-commerce platforms? The "Rule of Law Daily" reporter interviewed this.
Garbage bags can’t help but "count"
Shortage of weight is very common.
Recently, the reporter bought three kinds of garbage bags from three different e-commerce platforms, with retail prices ranging from 12 yuan to 27 yuan.
The actual quantity of two kinds of garbage bags is inconsistent with the marked quantity: there are 100 closed garbage bags (5 rolls) with a specification of 45cm×50cm, and the product label says 20 bags per roll. It is found that the number of each roll is different, some are 19 and some are 18, totaling 92; There is also a 50cm×65cm vest portable garbage bag with a total of 150 pieces. The commodity package is marked "30 pieces/roll 5 rolls", but only 25 pieces are actually measured in one roll.
The reporter contacted the merchant on "the actual quantity does not match the marked quantity", and the other party initially called it "sufficient goods" and asked the reporter whether it was wrong. When the reporter provided the test video, the merchant said that he could make up the difference.
Subsequently, the reporter searched on the third-party complaint platform with "garbage bag" as the key word, and got 1023 related results. According to incomplete statistics, more than 70% of the complaints are related to the fact that the number of garbage bags marked by merchants on the product details page is inconsistent with the actual situation, and the complaints involve multiple online shopping platforms.
Ms. Zhang from Qufu, Shandong Province, once bought a whole box of 36 packs of paper on the e-commerce platform. The product description was 100 packs, but after randomly checking 6 packs, she found that the number ranged from 81 packs to 92 packs. She informed the merchant of the situation, and after some bargaining, the other party returned her 12 yuan.
Zhao Nvshi, who works in Changsha, Hunan Province, found that the actual weighing of several cosmetics she bought was not up to the marked weight: a bottle of makeup remover marked with 50mL was only 45mL, and a bottle of essential oil marked with 50mL was actually measured less than 50mL. "Isn’t this a business in cheat people?" Zhao Nvshi said indignantly.
She posted her experience online, and many netizens left messages saying that they had encountered such "bad businesses". Some people "buy a disposable washcloth, which can be used 600 times, and only 180 pieces are bought back. The explanation of the merchant is that one piece can be used three times"; Someone "bought 100 masks, only 90 after receiving the goods, and the merchant made up 1.48 yuan"; Some people "buy 100 cigarettes/bag of kitchen paper, but actually only 75 cigarettes"; Others "bought garbage bags, and the merchant said that there were 100 pieces in a roll, but only 48 pieces were torn off one by one" … …
Some netizens spoke out about this: In the past, when going to the store to buy food and fruit, we should be alert to the shortage of merchants. Now online shopping should also pay attention to whether the quantity is consistent.
Allowable shortage
But not beyond the scope.
In fact, it is nothing new that the number of quantitative packaging commodity labels does not match the actual situation.
In September 2018, the survey results of quantitative packaging commodity measurement experience released by Beijing Consumers Association showed that among the 49 samples of quantitative packaging commodities surveyed, the actual net content of 10 samples did not meet the requirements of marked net content, and the commodities with short weight accounted for nearly 20%. Among them, the shortage of rubber tape and garbage bag samples is the most, with 50% of the former and 38% of the latter.
In the following years, the multi-site market supervision bureau carried out supervision and spot checks on the net content measurement of quantitatively packed commodities such as rice, flour, shampoo and shower gel in the local circulation field, and found that it was still not uncommon for the net content to be inconsistent with the label.
According to the special inspection report of the General Administration of Market Supervision on the measurement and supervision of the net content of quantitatively packed goods in 2021, nine provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) including Tianjin, Hebei and Heilongjiang were deployed to carry out the special inspection on the measurement and supervision of the net content of quantitatively packed goods in 2021. A total of 431 enterprises were randomly selected, and 987 batches of quantitatively packed goods such as rice, flour, shampoo and cosmetics were randomly selected, with the sampling pass rate of 96.6%.
A market supervisor in Hunan Province told the reporter that according to the Measures for the Supervision and Management of Quantitative Packaging Goods (hereinafter referred to as the Measures) and other relevant regulations, in real life, considering the inaccurate measuring equipment, imperfect measuring methods, different professional abilities of measuring operators and environmental factors such as weather, temperature and humidity, quantitative packaging goods are allowed to be slightly "underweight", but the difference between the marked net content and the actual content shall not be greater than the stipulated allowable shortage.
"For example, when the length of goods packaged quantitatively is less than or equal to 5 meters, there is no shortage. When it is greater than 5 meters, the shortage should be controlled within 2% of the net content of the goods; Counting quantitatively packed goods, when it is less than or equal to 50, there is no shortage; when it is more than 50, the shortage is controlled within 1% of the marked net content of the goods; If the net content of the packaged goods with quantitative quality or volume is 500 to 1000 grams (or milliliters), the allowable shortage is less than 15 grams (or milliliters). " The above market regulator said.
It is necessary to strengthen supervision.
No sales without a report
A number of interviewed experts pointed out that the net content of quantitatively packaged goods is marked on the outer packaging of goods in advance, so that both parties do not have to weigh in person when trading, saving transaction costs and improving transaction efficiency. However, if the production or sales enterprises do not accurately mark the net content of quantitatively packed goods, or take advantage of the fact that it is difficult for consumers to verify the net content, they deliberately exaggerate or conceal the net content of quantitatively packed goods, which is bound to mislead consumers and even constitute fraud, thus damaging consumers’ right to know and fair trade, undermining the market order of fair trade, not only violating business ethics, but also violating business integrity.
"According to the provisions of the Consumer Protection Law, consumers have the right to know the real situation of the goods they buy or use or the services they receive when purchasing goods or receiving services; Have the right to obtain fair trading conditions such as quality assurance, reasonable price and correct measurement. If the merchant deliberately makes the quantitatively packed goods short of weight, it may constitute fraud. Consumers can ask the merchant for three times compensation, and they can also complain to the consumer association or the administrative department for industry and commerce. " Du Xiujun, a lawyer at Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm, said.
At the same time, he pointed out that if the merchants didn’t intend to do it and met the allowable shortage in the Measures, that is to say, the merchants didn’t intend to do it, but the inevitable error caused by production, or the error that was too accurate was not conducive to the allowable error of economic development, then this error was allowed. However, if it does not meet the allowable shortage range in the Measures, the merchants should still bear corresponding responsibilities.
Chen Yinjiang, Deputy Secretary-General of china law society Consumer Protection Law Research Association, believes that the shortage of quantitative packaging goods is hidden and universal, which infringes on the legitimate rights and interests of many unspecified consumers and should be paid enough attention.
"This kind of chaos is frequent, mainly because some operators lack the awareness of honesty and law-abiding, driven by economic interests, and deliberately reduce costs and seek improper economic benefits by short of weight. In addition, the problem of short weight is relatively hidden. As long as consumers are not particularly serious, they are generally not easy to find, which objectively condones the luck of some operators. " Chen Yinjiang said.
To eradicate the shortage of quantitative packaging goods, Chen Yinjiang suggested that production and sales enterprises should consciously enhance their sense of main responsibility, constantly improve their measurement assurance ability and improve the product quality of quantitative packaging goods. It is necessary to strengthen self-supervision and spot checks within enterprises, improve the quality of measurement management personnel, form a virtuous circle within enterprises, ensure the accuracy of the net content of quantitatively packaged goods from the source of production, and put an end to short weight and cut corners from the source.
"It is suggested that the relevant departments strengthen supervision over the measurement of enterprises that produce and sell quantitatively packed goods, regularly carry out special law enforcement inspections on the measurement of quantitatively packed goods, and urge enterprises to incorporate the net content inspection of quantitatively packed goods into their daily self-inspection links, and each batch of products leaving the factory is required to have a measurement inspection report on the net content of quantitatively packed goods. For goods that do not have measurement inspection reports, sales are not allowed in the circulation field. " Chen Yinjiang pointed out that at the same time, it is necessary to increase the publicity of the Measures and other laws and regulations, improve the awareness rate of laws and regulations related to quantitative packaging goods through publicity, help enterprises producing and selling quantitative packaging goods understand relevant laws and regulations, and further enhance their legal awareness of measurement.
Du Xiujun put forward his views from the perspective of platform. "According to the Consumer Protection Law, if the platform provider cannot provide the real name, address and effective contact information of the seller or service provider, the consumer can claim compensation from the online trading platform provider; If the platform provider makes a promise that is more beneficial to consumers, it shall fulfill the promise; If the platform provider knows or should know that the seller or service provider uses its platform to infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and fails to take necessary measures, it shall bear joint liability with the seller or service provider according to law. "
"Consumers should also take the initiative to learn about measurement laws and regulations, learn how to identify the labeling of commodity packaging, and how to use measurement laws and regulations to protect their legitimate interests. If your own rights and interests are damaged, you should try to preserve relevant evidence, complain to relevant market supervision departments and consumer associations in a timely manner, safeguard your legitimate rights and interests according to law, and prevent operators from having any luck. " Chen Yinjiang said. (Reporter Wen Lijuan)