"All 5 stars + 15 words of praise + photos, screenshots to customer service within three days of receipt, cash back rewards."
"Dear, give a good review, and give you cashback!"
"Praise 15 words and post pictures, find customer service to receive a 3 yuan red envelope."
This is a small "good reviews cashback" card
Consumers who often shop online must be familiar with it
recently
Issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation
Interim Provisions on Anti-Unfair Competition on the Internet
(hereinafter referred to as the "Provisions")
It is clarified that "positive feedback cashback" constitutes an illegality
The "Provisions" will come into force on September 1, 2024, and Article 9 (5) clearly stipulates that "users shall not be induced to make interactive behaviors such as designated praise, likes, and targeted voting by means of cashback, red envelopes, card coupons, etc." Article 34 stipulates that "if a business operator violates Articles 8 and 9 of these Provisions, the market regulation department shall punish it in accordance with the provisions of Article 20 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law".
That is, the "praise cashback" will constitute an unfair competition violation, and a fine of not less than 200,000 yuan but not more than 1 million yuan will be imposed in accordance with Article 20 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law; where the circumstances are serious, a fine of between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 RMB is to be given, and the business license may be revoked.
consumer
I'm used to small cards
On June 5, Ms. Chen, a citizen of Changsha, received a pre-sale package for the 618 promotion. Unpack the express, and there is a small red card: "Picture collection: more than 10 words of experience + 5 photos, scan the code and add WeChat screenshots to receive subsidies".
"I've become accustomed to it, basically some small stores will come with a small card with the product, and some big brands also have it." Ms. Chen said.
Ms. Chen flipped through the recent Taobao shopping orders, and many stores still have links to praise and cashback. In March this year, Ms. Chen bought a cabinet of about 600 yuan, and the merchant said that "excellent you deserve excellent evaluation", and the praise + photo rebate is 10 yuan; In April this year, she bought a 23.8 yuan snow cup cup, and the merchant said that she could receive a 5 yuan red envelope by posting videos or pictures and texts......
These "solicitation of buyer shows" in order to attract consumers to write good reviews are often made into a separate free link, which appears together with the order, reminding consumers that they can receive red envelopes for good reviews.
It is worth noting that basically all the "praise cashback" small cards emphasized, "Please do not take pictures of this card when taking pictures". It can be seen that almost all businesses that ask for good reviews know that good reviews should not be induced.
"It's hard to resist temptation. If there is no problem with the product itself, and the amount of the red envelope is not bad, it will be praised. Ms. Chen said frankly. She told reporters that just last month, she bought an electric toothbrush brush head online, and when she arrived, there was a small card with a five-star praise that she could receive two more brush heads for free, and Ms. Chen gave a good review according to the merchant's requirements.
Ms. Tang, a consumer, said that she sometimes praises according to the operation, "If the quality of the product is good and I can return more than 5 yuan in red envelopes, I will be willing to operate." However, the cashback written by some merchants is actually a coupon or voucher for returning to the store. Ms. Tang told reporters that she had received a "praise card" saying that she could return 10 yuan, but after the praise according to the store's requirements, the customer service said that the "10 yuan cashback" is a coupon for the store, not cash. "It's just deceiving consumers." Ms. Tang said.
There are also consumers who believe that "praise cashback" is a deceptive behavior of consumers. Ms. Luo often shops online, she said, basically every time she shopped, she would receive a small card of "praise cashback", "I tried it at first, but then I found that many products were all praised, but the quality of the goods I bought back was very poor." So I'm not going to write this kind of false evaluation. Ms. Luo said.
"Praise cashback" is not limited to online e-commerce, offline restaurants and restaurants also have various ways of "praise cashback". Ms. Xue, a consumer, said that when she eats out, she often encounters waiters who invite her to give a good review of the store online, and she can send drinks or snacks: "If the taste is really good, I will give a good review." ”
Merchants who sell cards
By default, the platform can open this kind of store
On e-commerce platforms, there are many printing merchants who produce and sell cashback cards. Many of these card makers are also quite familiar with the relevant regulations.
With the introduction of the regulations, now on Taobao directly with "praise cashback", "praise card five-star" and "praise" as the keywords, there is no relevant information. However, searching for "after-sales cards", "after-sales", "new regulations suggestion cards", etc., you can still find a large number of merchants who make small cards. These businesses often advertise "compliance with new regulations", "new regulations to prevent complaints", and even play the banner of "public welfare". The reporter browsed and found that the monthly sales of some merchants who make "after-sales small cards" are as high as thousands or even more than 10,000.
A store called "Jiayoger Printing" provides "small after-sales service cards for photos", and the product page is marked with four big words "support new regulations". 7.88 yuan can print 500 sheets, and the small size is only 3.99 yuan. The reporter saw that this product has sold more than 1 million orders and received more than 10,000 praises.
The reporter asked whether the use of the card would be illegal, and the store merchant said: "The e-commerce platform has always said that it can't be 'praise cashback', but in fact, 90% of the stores are using it, including the default that stores like ours can be opened." ”
The reporter asked what it meant to "support the new regulations" written in the product introduction. The merchant said: "We give you the word to avoid violations, but there are really those eggs that pick bones." ”
The merchant also gave the reporter "advice" on how to prevent being complained: "When you usually return money to customers, you can say something like: 'It seems that we don't do this activity, but thank you for your evaluation, we will give you hard money'." The merchant also said: "When others complain, you don't recognize that the card is yours." ”
platform
The issue of review cashback cannot help you protect your rights
How does the platform supervise the "praise cashback"?
On June 5, the reporter consulted Taobao's official customer service with this question. The customer service said: "The platform does not support the behavior of 'good praise cashback', if the merchant has encouraged you to make a good comment or modify the bad review on the condition of material or monetary commitment, please provide the certificate induced by the merchant." ”
The reporter saw on the upload voucher page that the vouchers that can be regarded as induced by the merchant include: chat records with the merchant, "praise cashback" SKU (that is, the "praise cashback" single product link), "praise cashback" physical card and express delivery order group photo.
The reporter gave feedback to a business that had induced good reviews. After acceptance, the customer service said: "In response to the merchant problems you feedback, the platform has warned the merchant and recorded the merchant's integrity file, and will deal with it accordingly in accordance with the platform rules." "Will it affect the merchant's store level? The customer service said: "It has an impact on the merchant's store, and the integrity file is recorded." ”
However, Taobao's official customer service also said: "The seller's promise of 'praise and cashback' is a private commitment of the seller." If you induce good reviews through rebates, it will mislead more consumers, so Taobao is currently unable to help you protect your rights and accept the issue of review cashback. ”
The reporter reported that at present, many merchants on the Taobao platform produce and sell "praise cashback" cards, and the customer service said: "It has really troubled you, and the platform will continue to strengthen management." ”
lawyer
"Praise cashback" infringes on consumers
The right to information and the right to fair dealing
In addition to clarifying the new manifestations of traditional unfair competition behaviors such as counterfeiting and confusion and false propaganda in the online environment, it also lists new types of online unfair competition behaviors such as reverse order swiping, malicious incompatibility, and traffic hijacking, as well as online unfair competition behaviors such as unreasonable restrictions or unreasonable conditions imposed by platform operators on operators on the platform. The applicable provisions of the law are clarified.
Yi Xu, a partner at Hunan Jinzhou Law Firm, said that the "praise cashback" behavior violated the Interim Provisions on Online Anti-Unfair Competition and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China. "This act violates consumers' right to information and fair dealing. Because 'positive reviews and cashback' often lead to untrue reviews, mislead other consumers to make inaccurate consumption decisions, and also undermine the level playing field in the market. Yi Xu said.
According to Article 20 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China, if a business operator violates the relevant provisions, it may face a fine of not less than 200,000 yuan but not more than 1 million yuan. If the circumstances are serious, the fine will be increased to between 1 million and 2 million yuan, and the business license may be revoked.
News Dalian (WeChat ID: dltv8811) edited and produced
Source: Xiaoxiang Morning News
Editor: Mu Mu Wang Lin
Editor: Hai Jian
Proofreader: Wu Yi
Editor-in-Chief: Lu Bin
Producer: Mu Jun, Song Wei