vzbv analysis warns of high fluctuation and lack of transparency on online shopping sites
Of the almost 460 websites of questionable online shops that consumers had previously complained about, almost two thirds disappeared after a few weeks and can no longer be accessed. the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (vzbv) warns of high fluctuation and a lack of transparency in online shops - and not just at Christmas time.
Better take a closer look
“Especially in times of lockdown during the Corona crisis, consumers should pay close attention to which online shops they buy from,”
says Carola Elbrecht, speaker on the digital market observation team at vzbv.
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“Sensational advertising, changing languages and currencies in the ordering process, delivery times of up to 120 days and advance payment can be indications of dubious or even fraudulent shops,”
emphasizes the expert. The vzbv examined 456 websites that consumers reported to the vzbv market monitoring between March and May 2020.
Points such as advertising and design of the website, noticeable price discounts, stated delivery times and the general terms and conditions were checked. In the study period from June to November, 65 percent of the websites reported by consumers were no longer accessible.
This tendency of online shops coming and going was also confirmed by a review some time later. In the case of the others, there was some evidence of fake shops and dropshipping as a legal business model, where goods are sold that are not yet in stock in the retailer's warehouse, but in some cases there were no problems at all.
Little legal recourse
The conclusion of the consumer advocates: The results show the high fluctuation of online shops, especially through their appearance and disappearance.
Thanks to modular systems for configuring a website that are freely accessible on the Internet, it is said that dubious or even fraudulent web shops can hardly be distinguished from reputable shops.
“Consumers cannot enforce their rights if the seller is inaccessible to them and does not respond to inquiries or complaints, or if they have no knowledge of who they can lodge any claims against,”
Elbrecht concludes.
You might also be interested in: Detecting fake shops with the help of artificial intelligence
Source: press text
Article image: Wonchalerm / Shutterstock
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )