📩 03/11/2023 11:11
The Ministry of Commerce warned citizens not to suffer from discount sales campaigns. In the statement made by the Ministry, it was stated that the studies, investigations and follow-up regarding the actions that are not suitable for commercial life and contrary to trade ethics, to ensure that citizens do not suffer from victimization, continue with sensitivity, and added: “In this context; It is known that discount sales campaigns, called 'Legendary November Discounts', 'Great Friday Discounts', where discounts are announced at various rates on many products throughout November, are a widely preferred marketing method in our country, as well as all over the world. It was said.
In the statement, it was emphasized that distance/e-commerce shopping, which allows consumers to access a wide variety of products under suitable conditions, especially with changing shopping habits, easily and inexpensively, without time and place limitations, may also cause some consumer grievances, and the following statements were made:
“As the Ministry of Commerce, we need to pay utmost attention to some issues in distance contracts in order to prevent our consumers from suffering from the discount campaigns carried out intensively on the internet and mobile applications, especially in November, and to prevent sellers or providers from facing administrative sanctions due to these grievances they may cause.”
In the statement, consumers should "determine their needs correctly before shopping, conduct a preliminary examination of the seller/provider, research the price of the goods or services to be purchased compared to their counterparts, pay attention to the discount amount or rates, check whether the website address belongs to the seller or provider, and use social media channels to It is stated that it is of great importance to be careful about the redirected pages, to check whether the website has security elements such as SSL certificate and 3D security, and to read in detail the preliminary information that must be conveyed to the consumer before making the payment.
Seller/suppliers who engage in discounted sales campaigns and practices must specify "the start and end dates of discounted sales and, if the amount of goods or services offered for sale at a discount is limited, this amount should be stated in a clear and understandable manner, which goods or services will be subject to discounted sales or how much discount will be applied." Not including expressions or images that may mislead consumers by causing ambiguity or creating the impression that a larger discount is being applied than it actually is, while calculating the amount or rate of the discount, the previous price from the discounted price should be taken as basis, and the price of the goods or services subject to discounted sales should be kept within thirty days before the date on which the discount is applied. It was emphasized that the company should operate in accordance with the following: the lowest price applied within the period should be taken as basis, and if there is a period or stock limit regarding the validity of the price, this period and stock amount should be clearly stated in the advertisements.