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Looks like e-commerce companies like @amazonIN and @Flipkart are ignoring the guidelines and allowing shady companies to do massive business in India. Read on (and please share it enough to make the voice heard).
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A friend got a new MacBook Pro with all USB-C ports and that means he needed an adapter to plug in his old USB devices and his extra monitor that uses HDMI. So he opens up Amazon and start searching. Comes across the following product: https://www.amazon.in/TOTU-Adapter-Ethernet-Compatible-Laptops/dp/B07M8HLGBF/
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He asks me if its any good. The number of reviews which cross 1K and the aggregate rating of 4+ are good indicators. The price is good too. The name "Totu" is funny though (it's a play on the hindi term for "parrot"). I got interested and started searching for the company.
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One web search and I find the website: http://iple.com/ Interestingly, the brand and the website are very differently named. On the website, there is no mention of the name of the company, only the registered trademark. By this time, I am suspicious & want to dig deeper
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So I load up the Privacy Policy page, About us page and Contact us page. None of them have any indication about where this company is located (I would be grateful if you could locate on that site what my eyes might have missed). The company is already looking pretty shady!
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So I turn to the WHOIS database which is the public database of domain registrations to check who the domain is registered by. As expected, the actual contact information is hidden. Have a look: https://www.whois.com/whois/iple.com
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The website is registered with a Chinese domain registrar. So summing that up: there is probably a Chinese company trying to hide its identity and whereabouts as far as possible, selling expensive electronic gadgets in India via Amazon and making good amount of money.
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After the June/July clashes between India and China at the border, India banned many Chinese apps and there were a set of rules passed that the sellers on e-commerce websites will have to list the "Country of Origin".
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The responsibility for the same lies with the sellers though (read the notification here: https://consumeraffairs.nic.in/sites/default/files/E%20commerce%20rules.pdf ; clause 6.5.d). However, clause 5.2 of the same document states that it is the responsibility of the e-commerce marketplace entity to ensure that the sellers...
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...provide the right set of data to them. I am yet to see any
product on http://Amazon.in which lists the country of origin on the page. Even for extremely popular goods the information is not available; at least not easily.
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product on http://Amazon.in which lists the country of origin on the page. Even for extremely popular goods the information is not available; at least not easily.
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Even for extremely popular products like the Redmi 8A phone which is sold by Appario Retail (which is one of the largest sellers listed on Amazon), the information (was the phone made in China or India?) is not available.( https://www.amazon.in/Redmi-8A-Dual-Blue-Storage/dp/B07X4R63DF/)
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This ignorance towards laws allows shady companies to do business without being noticed. We as consumers have to be more diligent but we also know that most can't be/don't have time for researching into every single purchase they make online.
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This ignorance and free-hand given to sellers is very much apparent on Flipkart too (most products have no info around country of origin). I think that strict action needs to be taken to ensure that the listings are being done as expected.
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Kindly share the info online and offline to make your friends and family stay aware of shady companies which probably won't fulfill warranty promises when the need arises (e.g. faulty product returns after return window closes).
Jai Hind. Jai Bharat.
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Jai Hind. Jai Bharat.
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