Previously, Nandu had investigated the new online shopping model of "network blind box", and there was an electronic blind box platform that used a small and broad psychology to provide lottery services, but the probability of winning the lottery was not transparent, and even there was a suspicion of background manipulation. Recently, the Sichuan Provincial Market Supervision and Administration Bureau reported a blind box APP suspected of false publicity case, a Sichuan e-commerce company operating electronic blind box business unauthorized change of the blind box prize pool lottery mechanism, resulting in the probability of winning the lottery is inconsistent with the publicity, was fined 600,000 yuan.
"The actual winning probability of the (blind box) APP will continue to change with the number of draws and the passage of time, which is a dynamic data." The staff of the local market supervision department told Nandu reporter.
Due to the theft of the blind box lottery mechanism
A company was penalized
According to the case notice, since July 2021, the company has sold all kinds of blind box goods on its blind box APP, and publicized the lottery mechanism and related winning probabilities of the blind box prize pool. The Market Supervision Bureau of Chengdu High-tech Zone told Nandu Reporter that in December 2021, they successively received complaints and reports from consumers about the company, involving false publicity, unqualified product quality, 7-day unjustified return of online shopping and consumer fraud.
To this end, the Chengdu High-tech Zone Market Supervision Bureau conducted two rounds of on-site inspections of the e-commerce company on January 6 and January 19, 2022, and found that there were problems with the APP lottery function. "We learned by asking the company that the calculation method of the probability of winning the prize in the APP blind box is the original winning probability at the beginning of the prize pool, which is a static data." The staff of the Chengdu High-tech Zone Market Supervision Bureau told Nandu Reporter, "However, we found that the actual winning probability of the APP will continue to change with the number of draws and the passage of time, which is a dynamic data." ”
According to the report, as of February 3, 2022, the company has sold 280587 blind boxes through false or misleading descriptions of the probability of winning the lottery, with a total sales volume of 34 million yuan. The Chengdu High-tech Zone Market Supervision Bureau determined that the e-commerce company's inaccurate and untrue publicity on the winning probability of each grade of goods in the blind box prize pool had a significant and substantial impact on consumers' purchasing behavior. At present, the Chengdu High-tech Zone Market Supervision Bureau has ordered it to immediately stop the illegal behavior and impose a fine of 600,000 yuan.
Nandu once surveyed the probability of the blind box platform lottery being adjustable
The relevant departments have issued consumption reminders many times
Previously, the Nandu "Perspective" column had investigated such electronic blind boxes. During the reporter's secret visit, a salesman of a software development company revealed that many blind box APP promotions use "blockchain technology" to emphasize the fairness of the lottery, but in fact it is just a fake gimmick, and all parameters on the platform can be controlled independently, including the probability of winning the lottery, the winning broadcast content and the content of the posting. "You can specify who wins what goods, the blind box system sells to you, and the background can be controlled."
There are many software companies on the Internet that develop blind box systems for sale.
Nandu reporter noted that since last year, the Chengdu High-tech Zone Market Supervision Bureau has repeatedly issued consumer warnings to consumers on "blind box fever", calling on consumers to try to choose merchants with high reputation, good reputation and perfect after-sales service when purchasing blind boxes. At the same time, attention should also be paid to requesting and retaining shopping receipts, advertising and publicity information of business operators, etc. as proof of rights protection after the fact. When their legitimate rights and interests are damaged, they should communicate and negotiate with business operators in a timely manner, and if the consultation fails, they can protect their rights by complaining to the market supervision department, consumer association organizations, or filing a lawsuit with the people's court in accordance with the law.
Written by: Nandu, N video reporter Wei Zhixin Intern Chen Jiaqi