Did you know that unclaimed packages on the Internet, in markets, shopping centers or pop-up stores are sometimes sold by weight? Main observation, according to the INC magazine, “parcels sold by weight deserve a warning”.
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Reading time: 5 min
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To read this month in 60 Million consumers, the investigation by Lionel Maugain, on this funny business of parcels lost and resold by weight. There is a good intention of the law at the outset. Unfortunately, we find ourselves buying products without knowing what’s in them.
franceinfo: Clarification already, when we talk about unclaimed packages, what does that mean, where do they come from?
Lionel Maugain: In fact, it is a phenomenon that comes from a law that was passed and promulgated in 2022. It is the anti-waste law which now requires all platforms to no longer destroy non-food products, as is the case. was the case before. And they must sell it in a different way, either give it away or resell it, after having recycled it.
So these products are recycled, and we can buy them back, without knowing what’s in them?
So this is a business that has developed since this law. Indeed, we see them appearing in shopping malls, in pop-up shops, unclaimed parcel shops, lost parcel shops. They are sold by the kilo and we don’t know what’s inside. And that poses a number of problems.
What we also need to see is that the recycling of lost packages is a real business, sometimes there is nothing lost in these packages, is it pure and simple business?
Yes, there are several actors too. We noticed that some people had taken advantage of this legal system to create so-called lost packages from scratch. In fact, these are not lost packages at all, they are packages containing merchandise that cannot find a buyer.
So, we come across completely useless things, or even risk being subscribed to this type of product on the internet, sold by the kilo. So these are really scams. There are more scrupulous players, who collect unclaimed packages from Amazon in particular, and who offer this by the kilo, in real life or on the Internet.
We see these packages in particular in supermarkets, is it a slightly more reliable channel?
Yes, so that’s a little different. It’s true that Carrefour and Auchan in particular have benefited from this craze since there is a kind of excitement in buying something whose content we don’t know. They find there a way to destock. We have mystery carts on Fridays at Carrefour for example, which are priced at €50 instead of €150. But here, we are a little more sure of what they contain since in general, they are small household appliances, products for the home. In any case, there are guarantees that there are not with the other actors.
And the products are really guaranteed? Are there any unpleasant surprises on these packages?
No, there are no unpleasant surprises, unfortunately unlike those sellers of lost packages. And there, unfortunately, the consumer has practically no guarantee. You may come across a counterfeit product, you may come across household appliances that don’t work or all sorts of things that you probably won’t like.
And you have no recourse since by definition, the consumer does not know what he is buying, the seller does not know what he is selling, and therefore it is very difficult to prove that you bought this product in a mystery package, and therefore no guarantee behind it to protect you.
We must also talk about the Post Office which also has a service to dispose of unclaimed packages. The big difference is that we know what’s in the box, how does it happen?
Yes of course, there are unclaimed parcels every year, a lot of them, especially at the Post Office. But La Poste opens its packages and then sells them at auction. If she really can’t find the one who sent it, or the one who was the recipient. So every year there is the auction. We know perfectly well what we are buying since all the packages are opened.
So it’s an activity that exists, but you should avoid making this type of purchase. When you leave the store you are in, you will find things that unfortunately will have to be thrown away most of the time.
If we take stock, the morality of the story, is this concept of recycling not really virtuous?
Yes, there was a good intention of the law at the start. Unfortunately, we find ourselves buying products without knowing what’s in them. And when you open them, you have merchandise that was made for no one and which will often end up in your trash.