Brief Description of the Case

    On November 30, 2023, Shao purchased a 128g iPadpro2021 US version tablet from Wang's "Moumao Digital House" online store through a certain second-hand online trading platform and paid 3,450 yuan on the same day. Wang delivered the goods on December 1.
     The promotional page of the tablet purchased by Shao on the online store states: "The 2021 iPad Pro US version has all the functions, including Wi-Fi and 128g SIM card. There are only minor scratches on the screen without spots or spots. The frame quality is acceptable. There is a hard scratch on the back cover. As shown in the picture, the front camera and the original battery have been replaced. The battery efficiency is 100. The quality is as shown in the picture. The custom 8.5. The new ml chip is very nice." On December 3, 2023, before receiving the purchased tablet, Shao requested a return from Wang due to his own reasons. However, Wang stated, "We do not support no-reason returns," and refused the return. After receiving the goods on December 3, 2023, Shao continued to request a return and inspection. However, Wang still refused to return the goods and said, "If there's a problem, I support your return. I'll just stop here." On December 5, 2023, Shao applied to have the goods inspected on the Xianyu platform's Inspection Treasure. The inspection report issued on December 7 stated that the tablet involved in the case had problems such as disassembly and repair, scratches, and screen aging. After Shao informed Wang of the inspection report, Wang stated that the aging of the screen was a normal phenomenon and refused to return the goods. Shao believes that Wang did not disclose the information about the aging of the screen. The actual situation of the tablet involved in the case is quite different from Wang's promotion, and Wang has committed fraudulent behavior. He then filed a lawsuit with the court, demanding that the goods be returned, that Wang return the price of 3,450 yuan, and that the amount be refunded and triple compensation be paid.

Court Hearing

   The key point of dispute in this case is whether the goods involved in the case are subject to the no-reason return policy and whether Wang Mou has engaged in fraudulent behavior.
    I、Can consumers return a product without reason within seven days if they are not satisfied with it?
   In this case, although the trading platform itself is a second-hand trading platform used by platform traders to dispose of idle items, the nature of the platform is not the fundamental factor in determining whether the defendant Wang is an operator. Defendant Wang Mou purchased items and then sold them on the platform. Moreover, his Xianyu account shows that 372 items have been sold. This behavior clearly exceeds the scope of transferring second-hand items for personal use and is a business operation with the purpose of making a profit. Therefore, he should be recognized as an operator. The plaintiff, Shao Mou, purchased a tablet from the defendant, Wang Mou, through the Internet and paid 3,450 yuan for the goods. The two parties thus formed a legal and valid sales contract relationship.
     Article 25 of the "Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law of the People's Republic of China" stipulates that when business operators sell goods through the Internet, television, telephone, mail order and other means, consumers have the right to return the goods within seven days from the date of receipt without giving reasons.

    Firstly, the plaintiff, Shao Mou, filed a return request on December 3, 2023, which meets the legal condition of a no-reason return within seven days. Secondly, in accordance with the above-mentioned legal provisions, for goods that are not suitable for return due to their nature and confirmed by consumers at the time of purchase, the no-reason return policy does not apply. The goods involved in the case are tablet computers. The application of no-reason return will not cause a significant depreciation of the goods' value or cause major losses to the operator. The goods are not suitable for no-reason return just because they are "second-hand" in nature. Moreover, the defendant failed to appear in court to provide evidence to explain the legitimate reasons why the goods were not subject to the no-reason return policy, nor did he prove that the plaintiff agreed that the goods "did not support the seven-day no-reason return policy".

    II、Whether the defendant Wang Mou committed fraud？

The tablet involved in the case is a second-hand commodity. The defendant has already disclosed in detail the main problems such as screen scratches and battery replacement. The aging of the screen should be a normal phenomenon for second-hand tablets. The defendant did not intentionally conceal this information and there was no fraudulent behavior. The plaintiff's demand for the defendant to "return the price and pay three times the compensation" is not supported by law.
     Therefore, the court ruled that the defendant Wang should return the payment of 3,450 yuan to the plaintiff Shao, and at the same time, the plaintiff Shao should return the goods involved in the case to the defendant Wang (the freight incurred thereby shall be borne by the plaintiff Shao). The other claims of the plaintiff Shao were dismissed.
    The defendant was dissatisfied with the first-instance judgment and appealed to the second-instance court. After a trial, the second-instance court upheld the first-instance judgment.

Judges Say

   In reality, some merchants use second-hand trading platforms to sell brand-new products, attempting to cover up their identities as operators through these platforms and thereby evade legal responsibilities. This not only infringes upon consumers' rights and interests but also disrupts the order of the second-hand trading market, making online second-hand transactions a high-incidence type of disputes in current online sales contracts。
   The seven-day no-reason return policy stipulated in Article 25 of the "Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law of the People's Republic of China" aims to protect consumers' right to know and choose, make up for the defect of information asymmetry in online shopping, and grant consumers the right to unilaterally terminate the contract within a certain period. Therefore, the seven-day no-reason return policy has become a relief clause that prevents consumers from on-site inspection during the transaction process. It should be made clear that the "seven-day no-reason return" system for online shopping set up in this clause is only aimed at profit-making operators. In reality, many people sell goods on second-hand platforms, mostly to dispose of their old items. Even if consumers are not satisfied with the purchased goods, the "seven-day no-reason return" policy cannot be applied, unless the seller is a legal operator.
    Second-hand goods are generally used or have depreciated to some extent, so it is inevitable that there will be certain quality defects. The awareness of evidence preservation should be enhanced during the purchasing process. For instance, during the consumption process, pay attention to keeping the shopping vouchers and chat records. After receiving the goods, record the unboxing video and take photos, etc., to avoid disputes in the future return and exchange process.

This article is reprinted from the wechat official account "Shandong Higher People's Court". We express our gratitude here!