Overseas Online Shopping Malls Receive Most Complaints About 'Cancellation and Refund'

Consumer Agency Analyzes Consultation Results from 5 Consumer Centers

Status of Consumer Inquiries Received by Overseas Shopping Malls.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] As the number of consumers using mobile applications (apps) of overseas online shopping malls increases, complaints related to cancellations or refunds have been found to be the most frequent.

On the 18th, the Korea Consumer Agency announced that there were 691 consumer consultations received from 2018 to 2020 regarding the five most used overseas online shopping malls by domestic consumers (Amazon, AliExpress, iHerb, eBay, Qoo10). By year, there were 200 cases in 2018, 269 in 2019, and 222 last year.

The number of consultations was highest for Qoo10 (245 cases, 35.5%), followed by Amazon (177 cases, 25.6%), AliExpress (153 cases, 22.1%), eBay (72 cases, 10.4%), and iHerb (44 cases, 6.4%). By product category, consultations related to IT and electronics accounted for 43.4%, the largest share, followed by food and pharmaceuticals (8.3%) and hobby goods (8.3%). The reasons for consultations were cancellation, refund, and exchange delays or refusals (27.6%), delivery-related complaints (25.5%), and product defects, quality issues, and insufficient after-sales service (24.0%), among others.

The Consumer Agency pointed out that upon reviewing the mobile apps of these five shopping malls, there were problems with the proper provision of key information regarding returns and customs clearance. For example, the AliExpress mobile app did not provide information related to customs clearance costs. The Amazon, eBay, and AliExpress apps did not provide item-specific customs clearance information that should be noted upon import, which could lead to the possibility of products being discarded during the customs process.

Unlike the PC website, Amazon’s mobile app did not allow payment currency selection in Korean won, and the other shopping mall apps that allowed payment in Korean won did not provide warnings that fees might be incurred when using overseas won payment services. Additionally, Amazon, AliExpress, and iHerb did not directly provide return-related information on the product detail pages, requiring multiple clicks on those pages or confirmation through customer centers, making it highly likely that consumers were unaware of the return policies.

Based on this investigation, the Consumer Agency recommended that overseas online shopping mall operators strengthen their information provision. Consumers were urged to check customs information and precautions when using overseas direct purchase through the Customs Service website or the International Trade Consumer Portal.

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