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- Unfair sign: the Russian Federation may create a list of unscrupulous buyers on marketplaces
Unfair sign: the Russian Federation may create a list of unscrupulous buyers on marketplaces
The Ministry of Economic Development proposed to mark unscrupulous buyers on marketplaces. We are talking about consumers who systematically do not buy back orders, whose actions lead to damage to goods and increase the logistical costs of sellers. The agency's initiative, however, requires a comprehensive assessment, as it carries both potential benefits and risks, experts say. Izvestia investigated whether it was worth creating a blacklist of buyers.
The "Black Mark"
A blacklist for buyers on marketplaces may appear in Russia. This initiative was made by the Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maxim Reshetnikov. He suggested introducing special marks for the accounts of those who systematically do not buy back orders, so that sellers would immediately know about the unreliability of customers.
During a working trip to the Rostov region, the head of the Ministry of Economic Development recalled that consumers often behave dishonestly: they order goods en masse at different pick-up points, and then refuse to buy. This, as the minister noted, creates difficulties in distinguishing between the actions of ordinary buyers and cases of unfair competition. The practice of mass orders with subsequent refusal to buy leads to damage to goods and increases the logistical costs of sellers.
"I suggest that the business community clearly formulate the problem and possible solutions. We will discuss this issue with marketplaces and work out mechanisms for good practice. For example, we can consider introducing special labels for customers who systematically do not buy back orders," Reshetnikov stressed during a meeting with the local business community.
The Ministry of Economic Development, according to him, is ready to consider measures to respond to such customer behavior in preparation for the entry into force of the new law on the platform economy from October 1, 2026.
Separately, the minister pointed out the need to develop a regulatory framework in advance and adapt marketplace IT systems to new requirements. To this end, the agency intends to coordinate all the provisions with the business community by the end of 2025.
The editorial board of Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation. No response has been received at the time of publication.
A blow to the sore
The problem of mass return of goods is very acute in the market. Consumers often behave in bad faith, refusing goods delivered to the pick-up point, which creates certain difficulties for sellers, says Alexey Molodykh, CEO of the International Association for the Development of Marketplaces and Entrepreneurs.
— We once made an approximate estimate and received data that logistics sellers lose from 300 to 1.5 thousand rubles for each refund. Sometimes it's more than the product itself is worth," he explains.
According to FOST, in 2024, 62% of sellers faced unscrupulous consumers, Maria Koleda, head of the information department of the independent trade union Novy Trud, cites statistics. A quarter of sellers are sure that competitors commit such unfair actions.
— The growth of online commerce exacerbates the problem of unclaimed orders and the return of goods after short-term use, which negatively affects the income and reputation of sellers, — says the interlocutor of Izvestia.
Sellers have long been faced with a situation where orders are placed in dozens, but there is no repayment, confirms Alexey Govyrin, a member of the State Duma Committee on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. As a result, the goods deteriorate, shipping is wasted, and warehouses are overloaded.
The return of goods is the consumer's right, stipulated by law. And sometimes unscrupulous buyers abuse this right by returning broken or opened goods through the PVZ, Molodykh clarifies.
— The seller can only lay down the costs of the return flow of goods to the budget, which leads to an increase in prices for goods, — the expert draws attention.
The measure proposed by the Ministry of Economic Development may indeed be useful for sellers, Govyrin does not exclude. The customer labeling system will allow you to understand in advance which customer they are dealing with and plan the risks.
Sellers will be able to use these marks, for example, to differentiate pricing, says Svetlana Kazantseva, associate professor of the Basic Department of Trade Policy at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics. An alternative option is to charge shipping fees to customers who score below a certain score, which will discipline customers.
A reasonable approach
However, the initiative to create a blacklist of marketplace buyers requires a comprehensive assessment, as it carries both potential benefits and risks, Maria Koleda emphasizes. At this stage, questions arise about the mechanism of implementing such a system, Alexey Govyrin draws attention to.
— If this is an internal database of marketplaces, where the number of outstanding orders is recorded, then the technical task of coordinating the rules between the sites arises in order to avoid chaos, — the deputy notes.
Intersystem data exchange will require not only the consent of the business, but also a clear legal framework, since we are talking about personal data, he adds.
The technical implementation, which includes the creation of a database and algorithms for automatically assigning the status of "unreliable", requires special attention, Koleda believes.
"It is necessary to provide for possible errors in the algorithms and ensure compliance with the Law on Consumer Protection, eliminating unjustified inclusion in the list," the Izvestia interlocutor urges.
A rating system could be a more balanced solution that would avoid stigmatization of buyers, she admits. An example of this is the rating of passengers in taxi ordering applications, recalls Anna Tsvetkova, PhD in Economics, Associate Professor of Marketing at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.
— However, when transferring these mechanics to marketplaces, there is a danger that sellers of inappropriate goods will underestimate their rating for honest criticism of their poor work and products. Therefore, for the sake of objectivity, the list of unscrupulous customers should still be generated directly by the marketplace based on bounce statistics, the expert believes.
At the same time, it is important to work out the conditions under which the "black mark" can be removed, says Artyom Sokolov, president of the Association of e-Commerce Companies.
This is necessary in order not to infringe on the rights of bona fide buyers, says Govyrin. Frequent rejection of goods for objective reasons can automatically give the seller the impression that he is facing an unreliable customer.
At the same time, there are a number of categories that require a comparison of several products to make a purchase decision, Sokolov points out. It is only thanks to this opportunity that categories have been developed on the Internet in principle. These are, in particular, clothes and shoes.
— Thus, fine—tuning is necessary for the analysis so that the implementation of the initiative does not lead to a decrease in services and an outflow of customers from online, - the expert summarizes.
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