Everything can be blind boxed, but not in Shanghai.
Recently, Shanghai has taken a shot at the chaos of blind boxes, issued the "Shanghai Blind Box Business Activities Compliance Guidelines", drew a red line for blind box operations, stipulated the business scope of blind boxes, and proposed that new regulations such as sky-high price speculation, excessive marketing, and hunger marketing should not be carried out.
In recent years, the blind box marketing method is very popular, consumers buy blind boxes not only in the purchase of goods, but also to bring a sense of surprise to the lottery, to meet their collection habits, this additional entertainment gimmick also makes many people addicted. Strong blind box consumption has led to the rapid development of the industrial chain, especially the tide play company Bubble Mart, in recent years through the blind box play to become famous, but also continue to try to promote the blind box into various fields, but all kinds of chaos also emerge in an endless stream. For example, the quality of blind boxes and after-sales are not good, and the private price increase and secondary sales problems are serious, which has repeatedly plunged Bubble Mart into a crisis of public opinion.
Shanghai has a purpose, and the industry guidelines are very targeted.
Among them, the most important thing is to draw a circle for the blind box, and limit the business scope of the blind box to the fields of life consumption, literature and entertainment.
Although everything can be blinded, there are vegetable blind boxes in the wet market, book blind boxes in bookstores, lipstick blind boxes in live broadcast rooms, and stationery blind boxes in the shops around primary and secondary schools... Not to mention the popular Forbidden City cultural relics blind box, museum blind box and so on. But the blind box is not really a panacea, looking around the blind box market, there is no shortage of pet blind boxes, single blind boxes and other absurd and even illegal behaviors, and the "Guidelines" clearly put forward that the sales qualifications, storage and transportation, use conditions and other aspects of strict requirements of the goods, such as special food, drugs, medical equipment, toxic and harmful substances, flammable and explosive materials, live animals, etc., can not be sold in the form of blind boxes, it can be said that holding the blind box chaos grows seven inches.
The business scope of the blind box is clarified, and the quality of the blind box needs to be guaranteed.
Because the blind box belongs to the lottery shopping, consumers can not test the goods before opening the blind box, so a large number of complaints point to the blind box products are not in good condition, uneven quality problems, such as Bubble Mart's blind box books are pointed out to be cleaning up the inventory that cannot be sold, and in the face of consumer demand for returns and exchanges, Bubble Mart's after-sales service is also worrying.
In response to this problem, the "Guidelines" require that blind box sales should disclose information such as the type of goods, the rules for drawing boxes, the number of goods placed, and the probability of hidden money extraction. The disclosure of this information is conducive to establishing a more transparent consumer environment and protecting consumers' right to know. At the same time, there are also specific requirements for strengthening the after-sales protection of goods, blind box operators need to establish a convenient and effective complaint handling mechanism, disclose information such as complaint methods, handling processes, return and replacement standards, and must not prevaricate, delay, or refuse to handle consumer complaints.
In addition, the Guidelines also require that the price of a single blind box generally does not exceed 200 yuan, blind box operators are not allowed to sell blind boxes to minors under the age of 8, blind box operators are not allowed to carry out financial-related marketing, and there must be no market-making behavior involving the secondary market, which is a powerful measure to effectively curb the price increase of blind boxes and protect the rights and interests of consumers.
Of course, the guidelines issued by Shanghai this time are not mandatory legal norms, but its emergence is a strong signal, in the face of the barbaric growth of the blind box economy, the regulatory authorities are taking the initiative to strengthen market supervision and industry norms, and the coverage and pertinence of its regulations are extremely strong, which is worth learning and learning from regulatory departments across the country.
It is worth mentioning that Bubble Mart responded quickly after launching the Guidelines in Shanghai, saying that the next step will be to actively cooperate with the regulatory authorities and gradually explore specific solutions that can be implemented in accordance with the spirit of the Guidelines. We also hope that Bubble Mart and the majority of blind box merchants will no longer use blind boxes to cover up their own shoddy and challenge public order and good customs and legal problems. Merchants sell blind boxes, which does not mean that they are also "blind".
For consumers, in the face of ever-changing blind boxes, it is necessary to establish a correct concept of consumption, scientific and rational consumption, and do not blindly follow the trend. Only by achieving self-discipline, supervision and consumer rationality can the blind box market return to the right path of healthy development.
Author: Ponan
Column of "South Talk Review"
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