Shops have different requirements when it comes to selling alcohol and over-18 goods
As the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center reports, many young people manage to order a bottle of vodka or a bloodthirsty PC game for adults online.
A sample from the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center in 15 online shops revealed why this can work: There are different requirements for age checks when ordering alcoholic beverages and over-18 goods such as PC games, films or e-cigarettes.
Practice handling money early on
Banks and savings banks offer young people their own checking account, usually free of charge. Internet purchases are often possible, even without the knowledge or consent of the parents.
The consumer advice center therefore wanted to do a sample of how online marketplaces and shops ensure the protection of minors: when selling PC games and films with an age rating for adults (“over 18”) and when selling alcohol. A total of 15 providers were surveyed, five each from alcohol and gaming specialists and another five who had both in their range.
These included the all-rounders All-youneed, Amazon, eBay, Otto and Real. For sellers of over-18 goods such as PC games, Computeruniverse, Cyberport, Mediamarkt, Rebuy and Saturn should answer. When it came to alcohol, it was Conalco and Spirits World as well as Karstadt, Grocery and Lidl.
Sobering: Four of the five alcohol sellers surveyed were unwilling to comment on youth protection even when asked. The testers therefore had to follow the general terms and conditions (GTC) and the shops’ websites.
For the online shops in the consumer advice center check, however, the procedure looked different. Of course, this was handled by Real. If you wanted to order schnapps, but also beer or wine, you had to register and have it activated. In this way, the age of first-time customers is verified - via Schufa, Sofort or Post-Ident. Only then can alcoholic beverages be added to the shopping cart.
Other online shops, such as Spirtuosenworld, announced a Schufa check when ordering. Still others wanted to have the check carried out by the parcel courier, sometimes as a simple visual inspection, sometimes as a hard ID check.
Amazon also insisted on strict controls when dispensing hard liquor. To do this, three text and number fields from your passport or ID card had to be entered when ordering. The parcel courier was responsible for comparing this data. This should also apply to buyers on the marketplace.
Beer and wine, on the other hand, were available there without this requirement - even by the pallet. On the respective product page there was only the sparse note:
“By placing your order, you confirm that you are of legal minimum age.”
In general, eBay and Grocery.de did not see themselves as being obliged to do anything.
“The Youth Protection Act does not require age verification when selling alcohol by mail order,”
eBay lamented succinctly. Grocery.de also wanted this to be extended to the “sales of tobacco products”.
In other alcohol shops there was often only vague information about age verification.
The NRW consumer advice center knows what this can mean in practice from parental complaints. Minors have repeatedly managed to order hard liquor such as vodka online - without the knowledge or consent of their legal guardians.
There were also differences in the sample when ordering over-18 films and games. Eight shops wanted to check the age: when ordering and when the postman hands over the item.
The Allyouneed and eBay marketplaces have gained a slim footing. They pointed out that “only adults” were allowed to register. Everything else is the responsibility of the individual dealers.
Amazon behaved more consistently. Here customers had to submit to an ID check. On top of that, you had to shell out an extra five euros when ordering an item for people over 18: for “special shipping without youth approval”.
On the Marketplace, however, this was not always necessary. Here, for example, some retailers promised free delivery of over-18 games at the Amazon checkout without mentioning an age check.
Strange thing on the side: When selling e-cigarettes, Amazon only charged three euros for age verification - for a simple facial check by the messenger.
Such controls were offered by parcel services such as Hermes and DHL. In the simple variant, the visual inspection, the post office charged 99 cents; for the ID inspection, 2.99 euros were due.
Two marketplaces (Allyouneed and eBay) gave their dealers the freedom to decide whether and how much they would allow the age check to be rewarded. Four shops, Computeruniverse, MediaMarkt, Rebuy and Saturn, usually charge a surcharge of two to three euros. At Cyberport, Otto and Real there should be no extra costs for customers.
[vc_message message_box_color=“grey” icon_fontawesome=“fa fa-info”]Please note that the message reflects the state of affairs at the time of publication.[/mk_info]
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