Taobao to Launch Third-Party QC Service
Sina Tech, 3/13/13
On March 13, Hangzhou-based C2C & B2C e-commerce site Taobao announced plans to introduce a third-party quality inspection service, starting with trials in the product categories of mobile phones, digital cameras, and home furnishings. Customers who order mobile phones or digital cameras will have the option of initiating a third-party quality inspection workflow after taking delivery of orders. If a product is confirmed by a third-party service provider to be counterfeit, Taobao will compensate the customer up-front on behalf of the merchant, and will subsequently bill the merchant for repayment.
Owing to the special nature of home furnishing products, Taobao has brought on China Pacific Insurance (CPIC) and Ping An Insurance. In the event of questions about the quality or authenticity of covered products sold by vendors who have purchased insurance, the parties involved will be able to request that the insurance firms conduct an inspection. Sellers will issue a full refund in cases where product issues are found not to be the result of counterfeiting or other human error; in cases where product issues are human in origin, the inspection firms will cover 50% of the cost of the refund.
Among the third-party quality inspection organizations contracted for the service by Taobao are China Certification & Inspection Group, the National Testing Center for the Union of Textile and Apparel, Chinatesta Textile Testing & Certification Service (CTTC) (Beijing), Guangdong Testing Institute of Product Quality Supervision, and the Suzhou Fiber Test Service Center (part of the State Silk and Apparel Product Quality Testing Center) (unofficial translation). Taobao says that after service trials for mobile phones, digital cameras, and home furnishings, it will expand the service to other product categories.
Keywords: e-commerce Taobao insurance Internet certification B2C C2C
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