Russian sellers report that their Chinese competitors on Ozon are stealing their product cards. They shared this information with Business FM. It seems that such cases are becoming more common. Ozon claims to be fighting this, but Russian sellers seem to have a different opinion.
Several entrepreneurs told Business FM how the Chinese are stealing product cards and engaging in dumping on the marketplace.
This story is already familiar to many. There is a Russian seller offering a product on Ozon at one price, and there is a Chinese seller offering the same product noticeably cheaper. The only way to tell that the product is not in Russia is by a small note in small letters on the product card indicating that it is shipped from abroad. Many Chinese sellers, without hesitation, copy product photos from Russian sellers, and often even the entire product cards, says Brodeks’ Marketing and Dealer Sales Director, Konstantin Belyaev:
Konstantin Belyaev Marketing and Dealer Sales Director at Brodeks
Brodeks is a registered trademark, and trading products with Brodeks without the rights holder’s permission is not allowed. But the Chinese trade anyway. To be fair, after a complaint, the marketplace hid the Chinese counterfeits from the storefront. Here’s how Anna Chaika, a representative of Ozon’s press service, commented on this:
Anna Chaika Ozon Press Service Representative
Other businesses are also facing unfair Chinese competition. Not all cases involve selling counterfeits. Many products are manufactured in China and sold by both Russian and Chinese sellers, but under different conditions. Pavel Vodyankin, the CEO of “Perfecto Group,” which sells electronics, elaborates:
Pavel Vodyankin CEO of “Perfecto Group”
The consequences for Russian sellers are quite dire. Their products drop down in the search results on Ozon, while Chinese clones rise to the top positions. As a result, sales decline. Some face the situation where dissatisfied customers who bought products from China leave negative reviews not for the Chinese sellers, but for the Russian ones whose product cards were stolen.
The expansion of Chinese sellers on Ozon and other Russian marketplaces may not please buyers either. Firstly, delivery from China usually takes about a month. Secondly, it’s unknown what will be received – it’s like a lottery, and not everyone gets a winning ticket. Additionally, returning a low-quality product from China is much more difficult than returning a faulty item from Russian sellers at order pickup points. Lastly, starting from April 1, the duty-free threshold for importing goods into Russia for personal use was lowered to 200 euros. For exceeding this amount, a duty will have to be paid. Those buying high-end smartphones and other expensive electronics need to be particularly vigilant.