82% of Family Sale Sites Do Not Allow Order Cancellations
Refunds Not Permitted, Exchanges Only Even for Defective Products
Ongoing Discounts Continue After the Event Ends
Recently, "family sales," where products are sold at dramatically discounted prices on official brand websites, have been attracting attention. However, many companies restrict refunds due to the limited-time special discounts, leading to an increase in consumer complaints.
On December 16, the Korea Consumer Agency announced the results of a survey on the operations of 23 major domestic online family sale sites. The majority of these sites either refused order cancellations because the products were discounted or failed to provide information about key transaction conditions such as delivery schedules.
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The number of related consumer consultations is on the rise. Over the past three and a half years, there have been a total of 83 consumer consultations related to family sales reported to the 1372 Consumer Counseling Center. Notably, in the first half of this year alone, 44 cases were received-more than double the number from the previous year, indicating a sharp upward trend.
Most of these cases were related to the refusal of order cancellations. Of all consumer consultations, 88% (73 cases) involved refusal to cancel orders for discounted products. By product category, "clothing" accounted for 62.7% (52 cases), "miscellaneous goods" such as bags and sunglasses for 13.3% (11 cases), and "jewelry" for 9.6% (8 cases).
The majority of family sale sites were found to operate terms and conditions that restrict order cancellations. Among the 23 sites surveyed, 82.6% (19 sites) did not allow order cancellations for products purchased through family sales. Additionally, 13% (3 sites) stated that even if the purchased product was defective, order cancellations were restricted or only exchanges were permitted.
According to the Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce, consumers are entitled to cancel their orders within seven days of receiving the product, regardless of whether the product is defective. The consumer protection guidelines under this law define the refusal to accept returns for discounted products as an act of obstructing order cancellation.
The average payment amount for the 69 cases where the purchase price could be confirmed was approximately 1.51 million won. The Korea Consumer Agency analyzed that this is because, given the short event period and high discount rates characteristic of family sales, consumers tend to purchase large quantities of products at once.
It was also found that ongoing discounts continue even after the family sale ends. For top-selling products during the family sale, the average discount rate was 64.3%, while after the event, the same products were offered at an average discount of 38.4%. Even after the family sale, additional discount events and clearance of leftover stock resulted in continuous discounts of around 40%.
There were also cases where key transaction conditions such as delivery schedules were not adequately disclosed in advance. Among the surveyed sites, 13% (3 sites) did not provide estimated delivery dates before purchase. Of these, one business did not disclose the expected delivery date on the product page but still restricted order cancellations due to delivery delays.
The Korea Consumer Agency advised consumers to: ▲ refrain from making impulsive purchases solely because of low prices; ▲ use price comparison sites before purchasing to verify if the price is reasonable; and ▲ check key transaction conditions, such as order cancellation policies, in advance before making a purchase.
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