The most exposed consumer traps on March 15: These pitfalls are hard to guard against when buying mobile phones
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The elephants that once ran blindly have gradually returned to reason, bringing China's mobile phone industry into the "post-golden age". After the rapid growth, we still have the world's largest market. In 2016, 1,446 new models were launched in China, and the mobile phone shipments reached 560 million units, an unexpected growth of 8%. However, where there is sunshine, there will be shadows. When mobile phones become the "organs" of human beings, almost no one can stay out of it. Last year, 315 exposed toxic QR codes, fee deduction plug-ins and dangerous free WiFi, and the traps in the mobile phone industry were shocking. However, one wave has not settled before another wave has risen, such as difficulty in refunding without reason within seven days, bundling and selling at a higher price, mismatching goods, and buying secondary sales products through regular channels, which have become the norm in the industry . Even experienced drivers may fall into these traps, so why not take a look quickly. Consumer trap 1: Is the 7-day return really "without reason"? I believe that everyone is always a little worried when buying a mobile phone: What if something happens after buying the mobile phone and you want to return or exchange it? Generally speaking, if it is a problem with the mobile phone itself, it is very easy to return or exchange it. But if you buy something and don’t like it and want to return it, you have to be careful. iPhone 7 Plus unboxing The first thing to bear the brunt is the familiar Apple. After careful inquiry, the editor found some small details that you may not notice. In some people's cognition, Apple mobile phones cannot be returned after opening, and he is only half right. From the Apple official website, you can find out that whether you buy online or in the Apple Store, you can enjoy a seven-day no-reason refund , but the two return methods are different, one is mailing, and the other is directly returning to the store where you bought it. However, don't be too happy too early. The official channel does this, which does not mean that the dealers also use such after-sales policies. Take JD.com as an example. There will be a striking after-sales service description at the bottom of the Apple product page. You can also see that the activated iPhone does not support seven-day no-reason return and exchange. Yes, exchange is not supported! So everyone must weigh it carefully when buying. Although there is no discount when buying from the official channel, it is more convenient to return and exchange. Although you can get a good discount when buying from the dealer, it does not support seven-day no-reason refund . In addition to Apple, other manufacturers' products on JD.com almost all support 7-day no-reason refund (except Microsoft, but it doesn't matter). Of course, this is related to the first activation mechanism of iOS, and this activation mechanism is a good way to guarantee the warranty and identify whether the machine is refurbished, so don't complain about Apple, just consider the purchase channel when buying in the future. Consumer Trap 2: Products purchased on Taobao are not the same as the ones on the board, and there are many tricks. The digital product trading market on Taobao is almost the deepest place. It is not uncommon to buy refurbished machines and high-imitation machines. Although Taobao has introduced very strict policies and stepped up efforts to crack down on counterfeiting over the years, it is still unlikely to completely eradicate this phenomenon in a short period of time. Among the many digital products on Taobao, mobile phones are one of the hardest hit areas, and you may be caught if you are not careful. How to avoid encountering such things, the first and most important thing is to remember a sentence: " Don't be greedy for small bargains at any time, because sellers are often much smarter than buyers. " Therefore, the best way to buy mobile phones on Taobao is to buy them at official certified or Tmall flagship stores . The biggest difference between online shopping and offline shopping is that consumers cannot experience the products in person. Therefore, when the mobile phone you bought on Taobao arrives, don’t rush to confirm receipt on the Taobao page. First check whether it is a high-quality imitation or refurbished phone . High-end iPhone The inspection of high-end imitation machines is relatively simple. First, check the workmanship. Most high-end imitation machines are sloppy in workmanship - loose buttons, uneven holes, incorrect body color matching... Secondly, turn on the machine for inspection, check the screen resolution (whether the graininess is serious), camera and other functions. If you are sure there is no problem, then it is not too late to sign for it. Generally speaking, refurbished machines are difficult to tell at a glance. At this time, you need to determine the "three codes in one". The three codes in one refer to the IMEI code of the mobile phone, the IMEI code on the mobile phone label, and the IMEI code on the packaging box. If the three are consistent, then the probability that this mobile phone is a refurbished machine is relatively low. If you buy an iPhone, you can check the IMEI code online to find out the activation time. On the other hand, there are also many merchants on Taobao who sell mobile phones and other digital products that are not Tmall flagship stores and are trustworthy, and the prices they sell are generally lower than the official prices. There are two reasons for this. First, these merchants have their own channels for getting goods, and the channel price is relatively lower. Second, some merchants will replace some of the accessories, such as replacing the original data cable, headphones, etc. Of course, there is no tampering on the mobile phone, so from a certain perspective, this is also "original authentic". Consumer Trap 3: Bundled sales, price increase chaos I believe that many netizens have had such an experience. There are obviously many mobile phones with good cost performance, but it is difficult to buy the desired product. This is mainly because mobile phone manufacturers are now engaged in rush-buying marketing, and popular models are sold in batches in small quantities, which causes the chaos of rush-buying. Some netizens, because they cannot get their desired mobile phones through official channels, usually choose to buy them from Taobao or scalpers at a higher price. In addition, some netizens will consider buying mobile phones in stores, because offline channels can also see many hot-selling models, and the consumption method of "paying money and delivering goods" makes people feel more at ease. However, after visiting many third-party authorized agency stores and brand direct stores, we found that there are actually many consumer traps in offline mobile phone purchases, such as bundled sales and product price increase sales. For popular Internet phones, it has become the norm to sell them at a premium, and the premium is very large, usually more than 100 yuan. When we asked the shopping guides why the premium was so large, they gave the reason that the price on the official website was just a rush price, and it was not possible to do so offline, or they would use the free accessories as a reason to increase the price . It should be noted that in addition to popular Internet phones, there are also many mid-to-high-end models that are sold at a premium. For example, we saw that the price of some mainstream models in some authorized dealers was about 100 yuan higher than the official price, and the premium came from the free accessories. When we said that we didn't need the accessories, the shopping guide was willing to sell them to us at the official price. In fact, the cost of these accessories may be only about 50 yuan, and through this bundling sale, the merchant can get an extra 50 yuan profit. In addition, some unauthorized stores may have a larger premium. For example, the price of some popular thousand-yuan phones may double, and they will come up with a lot of seemingly preferential information to guide you to buy, such as giving you 500 yuan of phone bills immediately after purchase, and informing you that the preferential activities will end on the same day. As for why this kind of price increase chaos occurs, it may be because the profits of some hot-selling models are not very high, so the phenomenon of price increase for bundled sales has appeared. In fact, manufacturers can limit the selling prices of products sold by agents, but the lack of supervision also gives agents and sellers the opportunity to exploit loopholes. Perhaps the manufacturers also know that the profit margins of some models are too small, so they "turn a blind eye" and acquiesce to authorized agents and even direct stores to increase the price. Of course, in addition to the offline market, many large e-commerce companies actually also have the phenomenon of price increase for bundled sales, especially the hot-selling thousand-yuan models. The standard version is often out of stock, while the package version with additional accessories is available. Therefore, whether we buy the machine offline or online, we need to understand the official selling price, so that we can effectively avoid falling into the pit of bundled sales. Consumer trap 4: When shopping on a regular e-commerce platform, you encounter a second-hand product with signs of use I believe that many people have had this experience when shopping online. They happily bought a new mobile phone to reward themselves, but when they opened the phone after receiving it, they found that it had been activated and there was even a man's ecstatic selfie in it; many netizens also bought iPhones on e-commerce platforms, and after using them for a period of time, they frequently experienced freezes, heat, and no sound during calls. After Apple's after-sales inspection, it was found that the serial number of the internal motherboard of the machine was inconsistent with the serial number on the invoice and the card tray, and it was determined to be a refurbished machine... So all the good mood was instantly poured out with a plate of cold water, and then there was an endless tug-of-war over returns... Such things are common on various e-commerce platforms, and the reasons behind this are not complicated. There are mainly two aspects. First, at present, China's regular e-commerce platforms all implement a seven-day no-reason return and exchange policy , so many people who are greedy for small profits or irresponsible will take advantage of the loophole to seek benefits. This type of people can be divided into three types. Some people buy goods online because they don’t need to hold the goods for a long time, such as evening dresses, cameras, books, etc., so they return the goods within seven days after using them once or twice or after they are used up, and there is no loss to the purchaser; some people use this policy to seek improper benefits. For example, the iPhone refurbished machine incident mentioned above is likely that the criminals bought a brand new iPhone, replaced the parts inside, and returned it to the e-commerce platform, and the e-commerce platform did not carefully check it when reselling it. There is also a type of person who is probably bored and may not particularly need this product. There is no problem with the product after buying it, but simply does not want it. Second, the e-commerce platform handles consumers’ returned goods improperly . The return problem is inevitable for any e-commerce platform. The key is how to deal with it more appropriately? After years of turmoil, many e-commerce platforms have proposed solutions. For example, after a well-known international e-commerce platform collects returned goods, it will put these goods on a channel called "X Affordable". The goods on this channel may have damaged packaging, stains or are close to the expiration date, but they can be used normally without quality problems, and the newness and oldness will be marked. Another well-known domestic e-commerce company currently takes the following measures: 1. If there is no obvious damage that does not affect secondary sales, it will be put back on the shelves for continued sales. 2. If the packaging is affected, it will be returned to the original manufacturer and replaced with a new product and then continued to be sold, or directly returned. 3. Products that cannot be returned to the factory for new packaging can be used after repair and placed in the second-hand area (such as Duobaodao) for auction or internal digestion, sold to second-hand recycling companies, etc. Since this e-commerce platform does not currently mark the first two categories of products, consumers are likely to buy used mobile phones, cameras that have been pressed dozens of times, etc. Although there is no problem in quality, they are no longer brand-new products after all, which can easily cause consumer dissatisfaction and lead to a vicious cycle of continuous returns. How to avoid buying goods with traces of use, there is currently no definite and effective way, and you can only rely on luck. When buying goods on e-commerce platforms, you should try to choose self-operated, official flagship stores or goods from reputable merchants, so that the chance of buying problematic goods will be smaller. In addition, as a consumer, you should not consume the world's integrity in exchange for personal interests. E-commerce platforms should also explore more effective solutions to avoid unnecessary disputes as much as possible. After all, consumers are God. Summary Why is it so difficult to buy the products you like? The world's largest market is also the most competitive market. Short-sightedness about the future makes it difficult for some companies to settle down and accumulate. Under the guidance of consumption upgrading, we will eventually usher in a mature market that pursues user experience and tolerates reasonable premiums, allowing the entire industry to survive decently and healthily. I hope that day will not come too late, and I hope that the above consumer traps will not let you fall into them. As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity. |
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