The same store, the same product link, but just because the shipping addresses are different, the quality the products is vastly different. Even worse, the quality of goods received at the same address can also be completely different. The chaos of "AB goods" urgently needs to be rectified "The blueberries sent to Beijing are plump, crisp, sweet, and juicy, but those sent back to my rural hometown in Hebei are smaller, shriveled, and quality is significantly worse!" On June 5, Mr. Zhang, who works in Beijing, told a reporter about his experience of encountering "AB goods" while shopping online. , the topic of "AB goods" has sparked heated discussions on social media platforms. Through interviews, the reporter learned that the chaos of "AB goods" in e-commerce does only exist in shipping based on urban-rural or regional differences. Even for the same shipping address, the same store, and the same product link, consumers may receive goods with completely different workmanship and quality. From fresh fruits and vegetables to clothing and home textiles, the "AB goods" chaos involves multiple categories of online shopping products. What "tricks" merchants use to pass off inferior goods as superior? How should consumers protect their rights after encountering "AB goods"? To this end, the reporter conducted interviews. Same store, same style but different quality So-called "AB goods" refers to the practice of merchants mixing and shipping products with obvious differences in quality, workmanship, or material for the same selling price the same link. Among them, "A goods" are high-quality genuine products, while "B goods" are low-cost products with quality defects, or even defective orellable products. The reporter searched for the keyword "AB goods" on the Black Cat Complaint platform and found over 3,000 related complaints. Mr. Zhang the reporter that he bought 4 boxes of blueberries on an e-commerce platform. After tasting them upon arrival, he found the taste to be good, so he thought of buying a boxes to send to his parents in his hometown to taste. Unexpectedly, after placing another order through the same product link, the blueberries sent to his hometown showed a downgrade in quality "Only four or five blueberries are slightly larger, the rest are all small fruits, and the surface is wrinkled. It's obvious they are not fresh," Mr. Zhang said Mr. Zhang's experience is not an isolated case. Some consumers reported to the reporter that even at the same address, the quality of the goods received from two orders is the same. Ms. Zhang from Handan, Hebei, said that she bought a very popular summer cool quilt from a brand's online flagship store. It was skin-friendly soft, and had a built-in cooling sensation, so she ordered another one. Unexpectedly, after receiving the second order, she found the fabric to be stiff and the workmanship be rough. Ms. Li, who works in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, also stated that a while ago, she placed two orders for the same style of helmet in different colors from same store, one for herself and one for her boyfriend. After receiving them, she found that the quality and workmanship of the two helmets were vastly different. "Except for the matching the order, everything else is different," Ms. Li told the reporter. The black helmet features a knob-style adjustment design with a thick and elastic lining, while the helmet has a simple Velcro adjustment and a thin lining that has no rebound after being pressed. "Why is the product I received different when I bought the same style?" Facing Ms Li's question, the customer service representative argued that the black helmets were sold out and the new stock was sourced from another manufacturer.

Different batches lead to goods not matching the description? Why do consumers buy "AB goods"?. Gu, who has been in the garment industry for many years, said that consumers buying products of different quality from the same link is sometimes due to merchants deliberately making false claims. example, they display a well-made sample garment, but the mass-produced clothes use different fabrics and workmanship, resulting in goods of different quality. Another situation is the loss of quality in the supply chain. Some merchants do not check every step of the production process. In the dropshipping model, factories ship the goods directly to consumers, or third-party warehousing companies are responsible for warehousing, shipping, return sorting, and after-sales service. Therefore, sellers may have never even seen the products they sell. Reporters found that in to consumers' doubts, merchants have carefully designed a set of response scripts. Multiple consumers reported that when they sought rights protection against "AB goods", merchants often replied with reasons such asdifferent shipping batches". Ms. Wang, who once worked part-time as an e-commerce customer service representative, revealed to reporters that merchants provide customer service with a script template When consumers question "AB goods", customer service will claim it is a "normal batch reason" or stall consumers by saying "free style upgrade, better effect". As for the quality the goods, customer service has no way of knowing. "Normally, factories select fabrics, make patterns, and sew based on sample garments. After production, they conduct quality inspections and those that do not meet the standards are reworked. According to this process, the difference between goods of different batches is minimal. Even if different factories are used, such differences be limited to a certain range." Mr. Gu said that the merchants' claim that "different batches lead to goods not matching the description" is not valid. Regarding the issue merchants shipping different goods based on the shipping address, Pingping, who works in e-commerce operations in Zhejiang, said that this situation may occur in categories with higher fabric prices, as down jackets and cashmere products. To evade supervision, merchants producing "AB goods" may also specifically produce a batch of high-quality goods to deal with quality inspections. Delately selling "AB goods" constitutes fraud From a legal perspective, how is the behavior of merchants shipping "AB goods" characterized? Chai Xichen, a lawyer at Beijing Dac Law Firm, believes that the core difference in whether selling "AB goods" is legally characterized as a breach of contract or fraud is whether the merchant acted intentionally. If a merchant deliberately an "A" promotional page to attract consumers to place orders, and then ships "B", this behavior constitutes fraud. Regarding the chaos of "AB goods", Wang Jial, a lawyer at Beijing Huatian Law Firm, said that merchants cannot be exempted from liability on the grounds of batch differences or quality control fluctuations. If the goods substantially constitute substituting goods for superior ones, the merchants must bear legal responsibility. Wang Jialin emphasized that if merchants use backend big data and shipping addresses to "treat people differently", sending A to first-tier cities, while sending B goods to counties, rural areas, etc., at the same price and from the same link, it violates the principles of honesty and credit the principle of fairness in civil law. Chai Xichen suggested regulating the behavior of merchants shipping "AB goods" through credit penalties. On the one hand, establish a crossplatform blacklist sharing mechanism between platforms; on the other hand, link merchants' fraudulent behavior to the personal credit system, deterring such behavior by restricting dishonest merchants in social and economic life.

Facing the various "AB goods" tricks employed by merchants, how can consumers "avoid the pitfalls"? Wang Jialin suggests that consumers develop the of recording unboxing videos when receiving goods, while also taking screenshots to preserve the merchant's promotional pages and chat records. She reminds that if "AB goods" issues are encountered consumers can prioritize applying for returns and refunds through the platform. Chai Xichen states that consumers can first protect their rights through the platform and the 12315 consumer hotline If mediation fails, they can find other consumers with similar experiences on third-party platforms to initiate a collective complaint. "According to relevant regulations, after being identified as consumer fraud consumers can claim 'refund and triple compensation', with the compensation amount being 500 yuan if it is less than 500 yuan. Even for low-priced small encountering 'AB goods', a minimum compensation can be sought," Wang Jialin said. (Outlook New Era)