A report issued by the State Administration for Industry and
Commerce (SAIC) on January 23 showed that Alibaba-owned Taobao.com,
China's largest consumer-to-consumer platform, exhibited the worst
performance of the six online shopping sites examined. A quality
check conducted between August and October last year showed that
only 37.25 percent of the sampled goods from the platform were
authentic.
After the report was released, Taobao published an open letter
on its official website, accusing the SAIC of violating relevant
regulations, being too biased in enforcing the law and following
inappropriate supervisory processes. Such accusations have
resonated among the public.
Fake products are prevalent on e-commerce platforms both in
China and abroad. The country has laws and regulations that
expressly forbid the sale of fake goods and e-commerce websites
also have their own supervision systems in place. Alibaba itself
harshly penalizes vendors found to be selling fake goods
online.
However, the nagging issue of fake products has remained
unresolved on Taobao.com. Lax supervision on the part of the
government and the e-commerce website in question may offer an
explanation. Industry and commerce authorities, which are
responsible for supervising the processes involved in online
shopping, have failed to adequately enforce the regulations on
punishing the selling of substandard and counterfeit goods. They
often pass the buck when dealing with consumers' complaints.
Furthermore, owners of e-commerce platforms tend to put economic
interests first. In order to keep online vendors happy, Taobao.com
blocks customers from commenting on goods which have been returned
owing to quality issues. One consumer who filed an application for
return of the goods bought on Taobao.com was forced to solicit an
assessment of the product within a mere 48 hours from a licensed
third party. Such requirements are almost impossible to fulfill,
given the tiny window of time allowed, the expense incurred and the
inadequate availability of such assessors. Faced with these
conditions, consumers more often than not find themselves left with
no option but to relinquish their rights.
The SAIC report signals the beginning of tightened control over
e-commerce platforms in China. Under pressure from consumers,
Taobao.com has also promised to strengthen penalties for vendors
selling unqualified products. It is hoped that the government and
online shopping platforms can join hands to achieve substantial
results in the new round of measures designed to crack down on fake
products.
|