Can you believe the “lowest price on the entire Internet” on “Double 11”? The "lowest price in 30 days" is actually more expensive than without discount!

This year's "Double 11" kicked off ahead of schedule, and "the lowest price on the entire network" has become a selling point for many e-commerce companies. Recently, some brands and different sales channels have caused controversy over "pricing power." Consumers don't know what's going on behind the scenes. But judging from consumer experience, there are many mysteries about "the lowest price on the entire network."

The “lowest price in 30 days” is actually more expensive than no promotion

Mr. Wang, a white-collar worker, plans to buy a high-end mobile phone during this year’s Double 11. After he searched for the mobile phone model on a well-known e-commerce platform, the first option in the search results had a bright red promotion label "lowest price in 30 days." Clicking in shows that this mobile phone is the platform's "preferred new product" with a price tag of "starting at 8?99 yuan." But when he got to the purchase page, Mr. Wang became more and more confused: in this store, there are several actual sales prices of this mobile phone. Among them, the price of the model with the smallest memory ranges from 8,699 yuan to 9,099 yuan depending on the color. However, on the official online channel of the phone, phones with the same memory in different colors are priced the same, 8,999 yuan. In this store, the price gap between models with larger memory is even greater. Taking a product priced at 10,999 yuan through official online channels as an example, the highest price in this store reaches 12,499 yuan.

It’s clearly offering a “30-day lowest price” discount, so why is it more expensive than official channels that don’t offer discounts? The reporter's investigation found that this is related to the phenomenon of "one product with multiple prices" on e-commerce platforms.

Different from "one product, one price" in physical stores, the phenomenon of "one product, multiple prices" is very common on e-commerce platforms - the same product introduction page actually contains multiple products with different prices. When consumers finally make a purchase, they will find that the prices of different products vary greatly, but what is displayed on the page is the price of a certain product, and it is the lowest price. However, some "low prices" are misleading.

For example, electronic products, cosmetics, and daily necessities are all popular categories during "Double 11". However, the product prices displayed on some platforms may be accessories for consumers' target products—electronic products with market prices of hundreds or even thousands of yuan. The price on the promotion page is only The price of tens of yuan actually corresponds to the charger and other accessories of the electronic product, but the product itself is the same as the market price; the page shows cosmetics of tens of yuan, and the photos used are genuine specifications, but when consumers purchase, they will find that the The price corresponds to the small sample or the medium sample... All of these, it seems that the price is clearly marked, but it is an "edge ball" of price fraud.

In addition, the final pricing of some products is related to whether consumers are familiar with the platform’s promotion rules. In recent years, the discount rules of “Double 11” have often been criticized as “more difficult than Mathematical Olympiad questions” because consumers find that different discount combinations will bring different settlement prices. This year, even if you don't do the "Math Olympiad", some discounts are very hidden and ordinary consumers may not be able to find them. For example, some merchants remind on the product page that "it is cheaper to buy in the live broadcast room", but when consumers enter the live broadcast room, they find that there is no discount - it turns out that you can only get coupons after contacting customer service in the live broadcast room. Only when you place an order with a coupon will you get a discount.

"When placing an order, look for the 'lowest price on the whole network' lightning sign, and you will be able to buy the lowest-priced product on the whole network." This is a purchasing tip given by an e-commerce platform. However, the reporter noticed that this "trick" has a qualification: it can only guarantee that the product will have the advantage of being the "lowest price on the entire network" during the period when consumers place orders.

Ms. Chen, a senior "hand-picking shopper" who is well versed in the rules of "Double 11", reminded that the "lowest price on the entire network" during a certain period may not be the true "lowest price on the entire network." It’s completely different. The price of an item is variable, and the ‘lowest price’ is hard to come by.”

Specifically, in the past, the "lowest price" for "Double 11" was implemented from 0:00 on November 11. Now, the "Double 11" event lasts for several weeks. Different platforms will continue to launch different marketing activities and promotion combinations. For the same item, The prices of products on different dates on the same platform are different. If consumers do not follow the entire process, it is difficult to know which point in time or which promotion has the cheapest price. Moreover, the "cheapest" may be on a certain day or even a few hours. If consumers want to wait for the next opportunity, they may miss the "cheapest".

Because of this, Ms. Chen believes that the platform’s use of “lightning logo” and “specific time period” to promote the “lowest price on the entire network” is actually playing a word game – consumers can only enjoy the “lowest price on the entire network” during a certain period of time. price", but there is no guarantee that this "lowest price on the entire network" will be the "lowest price on the entire network" during the entire "Double 11" event.

So, is there any way to find the true “lowest price on the entire Internet”?

Ms. Chen said frankly that it was difficult, “There are too many promotions during the ‘Double 11’ period. Today it may be a direct drop in platform subsidies, tomorrow it may be a coupon promotion in the live broadcast room, and the day after tomorrow there will be cross-store discounts or special category promotions... Generally speaking, if you are not as good at buying as you are at selling, you may not be able to achieve the 'lowest price in the entire network' if you spend a lot of time and effort."

She suggested that consumers can choose merchants and stores that provide "price protection" services. "Price protection" means that within a certain period of time, the platform will track changes in commodity prices and promise to provide "price difference" services to consumers who buy more expensive products.

However, "price protection" is not a panacea. The price tracked by the platform is the product price, but during the price guarantee period, there are different forms of promotions, resulting in the same product having the same price but different final settlement prices. In this case, the platform often has the right to interpret whether it "makes up the difference".

"I thought the 'Double 11' will definitely be cheaper, but I didn't expect that after comparing my previous orders, it was dozens of yuan more expensive." After major platforms announced the launch of the "Double 11", white-collar Li Ying decided to stock up on some commonly used contact lenses. She found that the same product was on sale on different platforms with similar prices, and some even said "Double 11 with guaranteed price". But when she dug out her previous orders, she found that it was not cost-effective to buy them now.

According to the "Regulations on Prohibiting Price Fraud" of the National Development and Reform Commission, "original price" refers to the lowest transaction price with transaction notes that the operator has made on this trading venue within the seven days before this promotion; if there is no transaction within the first seven days, the original price will be the lowest transaction price. The last transaction price before the promotion will be used as the original price.

Why are the prices on "Double 11" higher than on normal days? The core is that the "original price" is unclear.

"Increase prices first and then promote promotions" has been criticized in the "Double 11" over the years. Now as the "Double 11" starts earlier and earlier, in the weeks-long activity cycle, what is the "original price" of the product? , not to mention that consumers are confused, the platform will also be blurred through various promotional methods.

The reporter checked the price of the contact lenses Li Ying planned to buy and found that her last purchase date was in early September, so the price at that time could no longer be counted as the "original price" of the "Double 11". If the "original price" in the current promotion was adjusted by the merchant 7 days before launching "Double 11", then it cannot be said that the merchant "raises the price first and then promotes the promotion." But judging from the objective results, consumers cannot benefit from "Double 11".

For another example, the same "original price" will have different results under different promotional conditions. Take a product priced at 399 yuan as an example. If you follow the promotion rules of "50 off for purchases over 300 yuan in the same store, up to 50 off", the actual transaction price of the product is 349. If you follow the promotion rule of "50 yuan off for every 300 yuan spent across stores", then the actual transaction price of this product after ordering is 332.5 yuan. So, during the "Double 11" activity cycle, this product participated in the "cross-store discounts" promotion one week, and then offered the "same-store discounts" the following week. Has its price increased or decreased? What is the "original price" in these promotions?

For most consumers, "50 yuan off for every 300 yuan spent in the same store, up to 50 yuan off" is similar to "50 yuan off for every 300 yuan spent across stores", and the product pricing has not changed, so they think there is no "first price increase" re-promotion” phenomenon. Comparing different settlement prices, you can find that the price of this product has actually increased.

The above phenomena show that even if there are no "Math Olympiad questions" in the "Double 11" promotion, the discounted price is not as easy to get as advertised by the merchants. In view of this, many experienced "hand-picking people" suggest that consumers should not be fooled by labels such as "lowest price on the Internet" and "lowest price within 30 days". When purchasing, they should not only shop around, but also consume rationally.