Surprise or trap? Investigate stationery blind box marketing routines

Source: Rule of Law Daily

Is the stationery blind box a surprise or a trap

The reporter investigates the marketing routine of the blind box of stationery

● At present, many shopping malls and stationery stores in front of primary and secondary schools have a variety of stationery blind boxes for sale, and the price usually ranges from a few yuan to dozens of yuan. Among them, some stationery blind boxes have problems such as suspected false publicity by merchants, inconsistencies between the goods in hand and publicity, and difficulty in resolving consumer disputes

● The winning rate of the blind box or other information that has a substantial impact on the purchase shall be clearly stated in the introduction and publicity of the blind box. The market supervision department shall further regulate the market operation order of blind boxes and crack down on illegal operation of blind boxes for stationery. For the after-sales problems caused by the blind box of fishing in muddy waters, relevant departments and consumer protection rights protection organizations should take the initiative to intervene and actively act

● Parents should be cautious when choosing a blind box of stationery for their children, pay attention to check whether the product indicates the place of origin, ingredients, production date, shelf life and other key information, and keep the consumption vouchers so that the subsequent quality problems can be held accountable. For students, it should be clear that stationery is not a toy, and the purchase of stationery should be based on learning practicality, and not compare with classmates

□ Zhang Shoukun, a trainee reporter of this newspaper

□ Chen Lei, a reporter of this newspaper

A month after the start of school, Zhang Jie, a parent in Beijing's Haidian district, found that his second-year junior high school children had become more and more "fond of learning" - asking parents for pocket money several times to buy stationery. Zhang Jie later learned that the child bought a blind box of stationery that is now popular, and many students around are buying and collecting.

"Rule of Law Daily" reporter recently visited the investigation found that many shopping malls and stationery stores in front of primary and secondary schools have a variety of stationery blind boxes for sale, some of them are printed with various patterns of blind box pen singles, some are based on books, rulers, pen bags and other different stationery combination of stationery blind box bags, the price is usually a few yuan to dozens of yuan.

In the course of the interview, many shopkeepers told reporters that the combined price of the items in the blind bag was much cheaper than buying them one by one. However, some parents reflect that the things inside are not worth the price sold, and some are the "three noes" product quality is very poor, and the repetition rate is high, and it is a complete waste of money to buy. For the attitude of stationery blind boxes, the society is also mixed.

Is the stationery blind box a surprise or a trap?

Repeat purchases for hidden funds

The price is not necessarily great value for money

"I have bought many times, this series has not yet been collected" "Boss, I want the last pen in the fifth line, this time I will definitely be able to draw the hidden money" "I also want the lower right corner, I have already drawn two hidden money before buying"... On September 29, at a stationery store on Yuexiu Road in Tianjin's Hexi District, several students who had just finished school were having a heated discussion.

The reporter found that the stationery store here has a variety of stationery blind boxes in a conspicuous position, and the famous detective Conan, The Voyager King, Ultraman and other anime characters loved by children are printed on the packaging of the stationery blind box. In addition, it is printed with large and small question marks and the words "there is a surprise when it is taken apart". The price of a blind box pen is 5 yuan to 10 yuan, and the price of 1 stationery blind bag is 10 yuan to 35 yuan.

"Of course it sells well, and who will buy so much if it doesn't sell well." When asked about the sales of blind boxes for stationery, Ms. Wang, the owner of a stationery store, told reporters, "Every day, students come to the store in an endless stream, and a box of 36 blind box pens is immediately sold out after being disassembled." There is only 1 blind bag left for 30 yuan, and if you want it, I will sell it to you for 25 yuan. ”

In addition to the school entrance, there are also large and small shops and online stores with blind boxes of stationery. The reporter searched for "stationery blind box" as a keyword on a shopping platform, and the platform showed that the monthly sales of many stores have exceeded 1,000. At the same time, there are also many bloggers' blind box unboxing videos on social platforms. The price of blind boxes varies little around, and there are also blind bags of "high-priced" stationery that are more than a few tens of yuan to 100 yuan.

With a low price and popular IP patterns, the blind box of stationery has become the new favorite of this year's school season. Are these blind boxes really "great value for money" as many stores advertise? The reporter purchased a 30 yuan blind bag, after opening it, there is a pen bag, a notebook, a ruler, 2 Sticky notes and small toys, and if these products are purchased separately in the form of non-blind boxes in the store, in fact, it is only about 20 yuan.

Ms. Wang, a parent of a first-grade student in Suzhou, Anhui Province, complained to reporters that her child knew that buying a whole box of blind box pens would be able to put together a whole set, and had bought two full boxes of 50 pens less than a month after the start of school, which could not be used up at all, and said that they would continue to buy after the merchants issued new funds. Ms. Wang had to keep a tight rein on her child's pocket money.

In the view of Du Leqi, an associate professor at Jiangsu University Law School, the blind box of stationery attracts children not because of its low price, not to mention that their price is often inflated. Children buy blind box pens not simply for use, but to satisfy their curiosity. In order to put together a complete set, many children often repeatedly buy the same kind of stationery blind box, resulting in irrational consumption.

Take the form of blind box marketing

Three no stationery indiscriminately charged

How many blind boxes do I need to buy if I win the hidden money? For this problem, not only the people who often buy blind boxes are not clear, but even the sellers themselves are not clear.

The reporter consulted the customer service of a brand of stationery blind box on the Internet and learned that in general, if you buy a whole box, you must be able to collect a set, but there is no hidden money to rely on luck, some customers buy a few on the hidden money, some customers buy 3 boxes may not be able to draw. The blind box pen consulted by the reporter, the online discount price is 24 pieces of 150 yuan.

So, should the stationery blind box announce the probability of putting together a set or pulling out a hidden model?

Du Leqi believes that although the current blind box marketing form adopted by merchants is based on confidentiality as the selling point, stationery blind boxes, pet blind boxes, toy blind boxes and so on are essentially commodities. Therefore, where business operators use blind boxes, a lottery-style prize-winning means of selling goods, they shall announce the probability of winning the corresponding draw in accordance with the Anti-Unfair Competition Law and the provisions on prize sales in the Interim Provisions on Regulating Promotional Activities.

Ren Chao, a professor at the School of Economic Law of East China University of Political Science and Law, believes that the sales of blind boxes should be identified as prize sales, with reference to the sales specifications of prizes. "The Interim Provisions on Regulating Promotional Behavior issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation last year clearly states that prize sales refer to the acts of business operators providing bonuses, items or other benefits to consumers for the purpose of selling goods or obtaining competitive advantages, including prize sales such as lottery and gifts. Lottery-style prize sales refer to the lottery sales behavior of operators who decide whether consumers win the lottery by means of accident or uncertainty such as lottery, lottery, and game, and the blind box sales method is similar. Ren Chao said.

Ren Chao believes that the blind box of stationery sold in the form of a suit should comply with the promotion and sales code of conduct in the above documents and relevant laws and regulations, including but not limited to truthfully and accurately informing consumers of the material information of the blind box dolls, the type, quantity or probability of standard and hidden models, and there must be no deceptive sales behavior.

In a stationery store in Xiangyanglou Street, Hedong District, Tianjin, the reporter saw that there was a blind bag with only the words "blind box stationery" printed on it.

"I don't know what's in it, it feels like there's a pen bag and a coil book, and it's up to luck to have anything left." The owner of the stationery store told reporters that these things were all from the regular channels, and he was not clear as to why there were no other logos on them.

When the reporter bought two 10 yuan blind box pens at the store, the boss said: "The quality of the 10 yuan blind box pen is good." Before I opened two 5 yuan blind box pens for my child, I couldn't use them at all, and I broke them after half a day of writing. ”

But it is this kind of blind box pen that is called good quality by the store, and the reporter found that the animation pattern printed on one of them did not match the packaging at all, and the original cute anime characters were completely different due to printing problems.

Ren Chao said that the "three noes" stationery hidden in the blind box has neither the name of the manufacturer nor the material ingredients, and consumers cannot distinguish whether the ingredients contained in the products meet the national standards when purchasing, and the content of toxic and harmful substances in these products is more likely to exceed the standard. In addition, stationery blind boxes also have problems such as suspected false publicity by merchants, inconsistencies between the goods in hand and publicity, and difficulty in resolving consumer disputes.

Du Leqi said that consumers cannot know the specific situation of the goods in the blind box when purchasing, which leaves room for producers and operators to operate in the dark box, such as using the blind box to clear inventory and deal with defective products.

"Although there is a certain degree of confidentiality in the blind box sales regarding product styles, the information related to product quality and service, such as place of origin, composition, production date, shelf life, use and storage conditions, safety warnings, etc., should be fully informed by producers and operators to ensure that they are true and comprehensive, and must not make false, exaggerated or misleading publicity." Du Leqi said that the practice of indiscriminately charging will not only violate the statutory obligations of the Consumer Rights protection law, but also undermine consumers' right to know and fair trade. In addition, operators selling stationery that does not meet product quality standards through blind boxes may also violate the relevant provisions of the Law on the Protection of Minors, endangering the personal safety and physical and mental health of minors.

It is urgent to regulate the market order

Compact the main responsibility of the enterprise

In order to further standardize the market operation order of blind boxes, crack down on illegal operation of blind boxes of stationery, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of minors' consumer groups, and protect the physical and mental health of minors, since the beginning of the school year this autumn, market supervision departments in many places have carried out special rectification activities for blind boxes of stationery.

The Guangzhou market supervision department has carried out special rectification of blind boxes for the sale of stationery around primary and secondary schools and kindergartens in Guangzhou. The Guangzhou market supervision department signed the "Commitment to Sell Stationery Blind Boxes" with relevant sellers to further standardize the business behavior of stationery blind boxes. The commitment letter mentions that the merchant will remind the children who purchase the "blind box of stationery" to guide the children to buy normal stationery.

On September 7, the Market Supervision Bureau of Handan City, Hebei Province, issued the "Notice on Carrying out Special Inspection of Stationery Blind Boxes", and decided to organize a half-month special inspection of the stationery blind box market throughout the city, further standardize the market order of stationery blind boxes, severely crack down on the illegal production and sale of blind boxes, and establish a joint disciplinary mechanism to consolidate the main responsibility of enterprises from multiple angles, strengthen publicity and education, and timely release the consumption risks of stationery blind boxes.

Du Leqi said that blind boxes are essentially a new marketing method for goods, and the focus of supervision by relevant departments should be the labeling of product quality information such as the production and safety of built-in goods, and supervise the blind box operators and online trading platforms to operate in accordance with the law. The winning rate of blind boxes or other information that has a substantial impact on purchases shall be clearly stated in the introduction and publicity of blind boxes, and the minimum standards for the winning rate of blind boxes shall be announced. Industry associations and regulatory departments should jointly deal with it, and for the after-sales problems caused by the blind box of fishing in muddy waters, relevant departments and consumer protection rights protection organizations should take the initiative to intervene and actively act.

Unlike some parents' attitude towards blind boxes, Cui Hui, a parent in Shanghai's Pudong District, does not feel a headache about her children's liking of stationery blind boxes. "It's the same as collecting raccoon cards when I was a kid, but in a different form. I agreed with my child that when she completed a study task or helped her parents with housework, she could exchange the opportunity to buy a blind box of stationery, but not more. Children also know that the blind box of stationery sells packaging and style, and it is no different from ordinary stationery. The child's mother usually prefers the blind box doll, and they can both treat this rationally and enhance their relationship with each other. ”

How to choose the blind box, and what problems need to be paid attention to?

On June 1 this year, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued the "Children's Blind Box Consumption Tips" to remind consumers not to blindly follow the trend of purchase. Parents should be cautious when choosing a blind box of stationery for their children, pay attention to check whether the goods indicate the place of origin, ingredients, production date, shelf life, use and storage conditions, safety warnings, prices, "three guarantees" and other key information, and keep the consumption vouchers so that they can protect their rights when quality problems occur in the future. For students, it should be clear that stationery is not a toy, and the purchase of stationery should be based on learning practicality, and not compare with classmates.

Du Leqi said that it is undeniable that stationery blind boxes, like other blind boxes, have formed a boom. To solve the problems caused by the blind box of stationery, it requires the joint efforts of many parties, in addition to the relevant departments such as market supervision must strengthen supervision, the education and guidance of parents is also particularly important.