By hannover-web.com In a recent interview, Ms. Hu, a consumer from Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, shared her experience with an online shopping platform where she purchased two jars of hazelnuts. “I bought two jars, which were advertised to weigh a total of 500 grams,” she explained. “However, when I received them, they felt unusually light. After weighing them, I discovered each jar only contained 144 grams.” She added, “The seller used thick plastic containers and included a heavy packet of desiccant.”
After realizing the product weight didn’t match the description, Ms. Hu reached out to the seller for clarification. “The customer service explained that the total weight of 250 grams referred to the product as a whole, not the actual weight of the hazelnuts in each jar, which they claimed was 150 grams,” she said, expressing her frustration. “If that’s the case, why isn’t it stated clearly on the product page?”
This issue of misleading product weight isn’t isolated. On October 16, Mr. Jia from Beijing ordered a liquid nitrogen frozen durian online from a well-known fruit chain. The product page listed the durian’s weight as between 2.4 to 2.6 kilograms. To his dismay, when the order arrived, he discovered that including the packaging, the total weight was just 2.2 kilograms, with the durian’s net weight only being 1.95 kilograms. “Even if it were 2.4 kilograms, I would have accepted that. I never expected it to be this short,” he remarked.
Upon questioning the seller, Mr. Jia was told that discrepancies are common with fresh produce. The seller also emphasized that this durian was priced the same across more than 100 stores in the brand’s network. Dissatisfied, Mr. Jia lodged a complaint with the platform, which ultimately issued him a 20 yuan voucher as compensation.
Instances of misleading product weights are frequent on consumer complaint platforms. For example, garbage bags advertised as containing 100 pieces often include only 50; crabs claimed to weigh 5 liang actually weigh just over 3 liang; and large packages of snacks arrive in much smaller versions. A report released by the Jiangsu Consumer Rights Protection Commission highlighted that from January 1 to August 23 of this year, there were over 18,000 complaints about online shopping products not meeting weight specifications, indicating that this has become a significant issue for consumers.
Lawyer Liao Jianxun from Guangdong Guoding Law Firm commented on the situation, stating that some sellers engage in deceptive marketing practices, misleading consumers about product weights. He added that the penalties for these misdeeds are often minimal, with sellers typically offering only refunds or price adjustments when consumers raise concerns.
According to consumer protection laws, making false claims about product weight or quantity infringes on consumers’ rights to fair trading and informed purchasing. “When sellers inflate weights or obscure net weights, they mislead consumers, which can be considered fraud,” Liao explained.
Liao advocates for e-commerce platforms to strengthen their operational rules to limit such deceptive practices, particularly for products like fresh produce and snacks that are more prone to misrepresentation. He calls for a more robust evaluation and punishment system for sellers who engage in dishonest practices, ensuring that consumers are protected from receiving less than what they paid for.
