“Ordered at the end of February...” Overseas Direct Purchase Turned into a ‘Hamheungchasa’ Due to COVID-19

Items Ordered in Early February from China and Early March from the UK Still in Local Warehouses
Delivery Delays Continue Due to Temporary Local Business Closures and Reduced Flights

On the 4th, overseas direct purchase items bought by domestic consumers during the Black Friday period are piled up at the Incheon Customs Express Logistics Center in Jung-gu, Incheon. / Yeongjongdo - Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] # On February 9, Shin Mo (52), who ordered a bag from the e-commerce platform AliExpress, still has not received the item. Although he was anxious as the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) began to spread, even after waiting for almost two months, the location of the item shown on the delivery tracking site remained in China.

# On March 6, Yeon Mo (33), who purchased several pieces of clothing from a UK site, is also frustrated as the delivery has not arrived for nearly a month. She checks the delivery tracking site several times a day, but the items remain stuck at the Langley International Logistics Center in London, UK. Other items ordered at weekly intervals are also halted at the same location. When inquiring with the seller, the response was that the items had already been shipped and that the delay seemed to be due to COVID-19.

As COVID-19 rapidly spreads worldwide beyond China and Korea to Europe, the United States, and other regions, consumer complaints about overseas direct purchases (direct import) are increasing.

Delivery delays are occurring continuously as countries impose movement restrictions to prevent local infections, logistics warehouses of delivery agencies are closed, and flights to Korea are reduced.

According to the related industry on the 2nd, overseas local business sites have temporarily closed due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, causing disruptions in delivery. Additionally, flights passing through various countries frequently change schedules, and medical supplies are often prioritized for shipment, resulting in insufficient space for general goods.

As offloading delays continue with items not being loaded onto aircraft on time, more people are worried that their direct import goods might arrive in Korea all at once and be subject to combined taxation.

Given this situation, similar complaints can be easily found on online communities related to overseas direct purchases. Major overseas direct purchase shopping malls such as Coupang and iHerb are also notifying customers in advance about possible delivery delays.

One consumer appealed, “I tried to cancel the purchase because the delivery was too delayed, but was refused because the shipment had already started,” adding, “I am now almost half giving up.”

The problem is that in most cases of overseas direct purchases, there is no proper solution even if consumers suffer damages such as delivery delays. This is because domestic laws are difficult to apply when purchasing items directly from overseas without using delivery or purchase agency services.

A representative from the Korea Consumer Agency explained, “Domestic online shopping malls are subject to the 'Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce, etc.,' but overseas shopping malls have their own regulations for each company,” and added, “Consumers should check the relevant regulations before making a purchase to prevent damages.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.