The Bubble Mart blind box has not been opened to surprise the "pit"?

Text/Yangcheng Evening News reporter Huang Yinglin Intern Yang Xiaolan

A palm-sized toy has become unique because of the coat of "blind box", and has driven the commercial value to soar. As the "big brother" of the blind box industry, Pop Mart achieved a revenue of more than 28.340 billion yuan in the first half of this year, and has 2185 stores and 10,30 robot stores in the mainland. On the other side of "big family and big business", it is the "pain" of trendy toy lovers to open the blind box. Recently, a reporter from Yangcheng Evening News received a number of consumer reports that Bubble Mart sells defective goods and incomplete accessories, and there are many "terms" attached to the after-sales service, and buyers are required to bear the freight after rejection... As of October 12719, the number of complaints against Bubble Mart on the Black Cat platform has reached 30,168, and there have been <> complaints in the past <> days.

The blind box doll "flaw" is too outrageous

The small blind box carries the surprise and happiness brought by uncertainty, but some consumers have opened a box of "troubles".

Ms. Li (not her real name) from Beijing is a big fan of trendy toys and has nearly 100 doll models and ornaments of Bubble Mart. She told reporters that in order to "pocket" the new Disney 10th anniversary Mickey series of blind boxes, on October 14, she deliberately took a two-hour subway to the headquarters of Bubble Mart to buy a complete set of blind boxes, spending 828 yuan. A whole box contains a total of 12 blind boxes, which are evenly spread to 69 yuan/piece; The product is about 10 centimeters high, almost two-thirds the height of a mobile phone.

However, after opening the blind box, instead of ushering in the expected joy, it endured a huge gap. "Balloon Mickey's body 'fell apart', Lemon Mickey's legs were unsteady and props couldn't get stuck; Popcorn Mickey still has traces of a brain of glue dripping down, and he can't wipe it off; Other Mickey Mouse pants are also scratched and painted..."Miss Li reluctantly listed a long list of questions, "I feel that the flaws are concentrated in my whole box." We liked it so much that we were willing to pay a high price, it was so disappointing and wasted the cost of my time to go back and forth. ”

Coincidentally. On August 8 this year, Mr. Feng drew a MEGA SPACE MOLLY 12% Anniversary Series 1 Blind Box at the Bubble Mart Robot Store B100 in Lingnan Station Plaza, Foshan, Guangdong, at a price of 2 yuan. He described to reporters in detail the mental process of opening the blind box at that time: "When I got home, I quickly opened it and saw that it was my favorite classic Coca-Cola, which was super pleasantly surprised. But the more I looked at it, the more wrong it became, as if something was missing, and I couldn't laugh or cry. ”

The reporter compared the photos and commodity identification cards provided by Mr. Feng and found that the doll was missing the ears on both sides of the head, as well as the small pistol that should be held in the right hand, and the accessories were obviously incomplete.

The offline consumer experience has been repeatedly "frustrated", and the experience of some online purchases is also poor. Xiao Ye (pseudonym) from Jiangsu reported to reporters that she bought several mini popsicle series dolls in the self-operated flagship store of Bubble Mart Jingdong, covering popular IPs such as BUNNY and MOLLY. After receiving the product, it was also found that there were many defects - the actual product had obvious scratches, black spots, bubbles and color build-up. "Isn't such a subpar quality control quality pushing everyone to quit the pit?" Xiao Ye couldn't help but ask.

After-sales rejection is accused of having many "tricks".

When encountering too many defects and incomplete accessories, the first thought of consumers is to apply for return and exchange.

Mr. Feng told reporters that he submitted an application for replacement online, and the after-sales progress showed "approved", so he sent the blind box back to the merchant by express according to the process. However, after signing for the receipt, the other party refused to sell the service on the grounds that "no unboxing video was recorded", and the precautions were not informed in advance. The Bubble Mart docking specialist also said that it can only be returned in the original way, and the freight needs to be paid by itself.

Mr. Feng did not agree with this after-sales treatment, so he applied for mediation on the Tianjin electronic litigation platform against Tianjin Bubble Mart Culture Communication Co., Ltd., the operating entity of the robot store, but the enterprise did not accept it. In desperation, Mr. Feng officially launched a civil lawsuit at the end of September, and after the lawsuit was accepted, Pop Mart finally "relented" and agreed to exchange the goods and hoped that it could withdraw the lawsuit.

In fact, it is more common for after-sales failures to occur.

At the end of 2020, Miss Mi (pseudonym), who "entered the pit" of Bubble Mart, has a cumulative consumption of hundreds of thousands of yuan. In mid-June this year, she went through the after-sales process after receiving the defective product, and sent the doll and accessories back to the merchant's warehouse as required. But a few days later, I received a customer service call from Beijing, and the phone seemed to have turned on the "repeater" mode, repeating the emphasis: "Madam, verify that your accessories have not been sent back, cannot be put into storage, and can only be returned by payment." ”

Are the accessories missing? With doubts, Miss Mi paid 18 yuan for the freight on delivery, opened the package and saw that the accessories were intact, just in case, she also recorded an unboxing video. "I sent it back in its entirety, but I found a false reason to return it back and forth. After having the video proof, the customer service suddenly changed his words and said that it was confused with other packages, and the 30 yuan coupon could be reissued, but the shipping fee could not be compensated, and the complaint was finally closed several times. ”

In addition, the reporter learned from a number of consumers that Pop Mart will also refuse to accept it after sale on the grounds that "the express box is not the original packaging at the time of delivery" and "the logistics packaging seal has a label that is not our company, and the authenticity of your goods cannot be confirmed". "Can't you tell the real from the fake the goods you sell?" Netizen "Huajiao" (nickname) questioned.

In addition, some of the consumers interviewed particularly reported that even after many replacements of defective products, the final arrival is still a doll figure with varying degrees of defects, including minor functional defects (parts broken or unstable standing), appearance defects (scratches or scratches), process defects (bump particles, bubbles or glue), etc.

In response to the above situation, the reporter inquired in the Bubble Mart Tmall flagship store and Jingdong's self-operated flagship store, and it can be seen that the location design of shopping instructions or after-sales rules is relatively secret, and you need to pull the product detail page to the bottom and click the link to jump to view the details; The pre-sales instructions and after-sales policies of its official mini program are only one line of gray print, and there is no reminder to guide clicks. According to the specific rules, the basis for judging the defective issue is: "Consumers need to take photos and upload them in real time, and the number of photos shall not be less than 3; Video proof is only required if the product is unstable on its feet". In order to have a deeper understanding of the detailed rules, the reporter contacted the after-sales customer service, and the other party also said: "It is indeed necessary to provide photos, and there is no need to record a video for the first exchange." ”

According to the data, Bubble Mart, which has the halo of "the first share of blind boxes" on its head, will achieve operating income of 2023.28 billion yuan in the first half of 14, a year-on-year increase of 19.3%; net profit was 4 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 77.43%. However, at the same time, it is also very important to keep the bottom line of quality and quality control. The reporter noticed that as of October 3, the number of complaints against Bubble Mart on the Black Cat platform has reached 10,30, and there have been 12719 in the past 30 days.

If the quality is not up to standard, the operator has the obligation to replace and repair

In response to the above-mentioned consumer complaints, Liu Xuhui, a lawyer at Guangdong Daoyi Law Firm, said that according to the relevant provisions of the Product Quality Law of the People's Republic of China, if the blind box does not meet the product standards and quality conditions indicated on the product or its packaging, the merchant should be responsible for repairing, replacing and returning the goods; Where losses are caused to consumers, the losses shall be compensated.

Liu Xuhui also pointed out that according to Article 24 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests, if the goods or services provided by the operator do not meet the quality requirements, the consumer may return the goods in accordance with national regulations and the agreement of the parties, or require the operator to perform obligations such as replacement and repair. Therefore, the failure to record an unboxing video and the failure to use the original packaging box cannot be a reason for Pop Mart to shirk responsibility.

"In general, if (the relevant product) is purchased on the platform, it is recommended that consumers protect their rights through channels such as appealing to the platform, and if there is no reasonable and legal solution after appealing to the platform, it is recommended that consumers retain evidence and file a civil lawsuit with the court to protect their rights." Liu Xuhui said.

It is worth noting that in June this year, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued a notice on the "Guidelines for the Code of Conduct for Blind Box Operations (Trial)" to promote blind box operators to strengthen compliance governance. Article 6 clearly states: "If the goods or services provided by the blind box operator do not meet the quality requirements or are not in accordance with the operator's express instructions, they shall perform the obligations of return, replacement, repair and other obligations in accordance with the law, and shall not deliberately delay or unreasonably refuse." ”

On October 10, the reporter contacted Pop Mart through the customer service hotline, customer service email and other channels and reflected the above complaints. In the afternoon of the same day, the reporter received feedback from the telephone commissioner of Bubble Mart: "Relevant information has been collected and will be fed back to the company's public relations department, and we will communicate with you by phone in the future; Regarding the complaint, because the company has a large audience, it is necessary to specifically locate the consumer's information before it can be dealt with and resolved. As of press time, the reporter has not received any further reply.

On the same day, the reporter also visited a number of Bubble Mart stores in Guangzhou. Among them, the staff of Guangzhou Pazhou Poly Branch said: "The blind box series of products belong to the art trendy toys, and it is normal to have small defects such as uneven coloring, slight scratches, paint loss or bubbles in the process of production." He also said, "If it is an offline purchase, it is recommended to open the package on the spot, and if it is indeed determined that there is a serious defect, you can also initiate a replacement application within 15 days." However, non-quality problems do not support return once unboxed. ”