Nghe An: Goods at the markets "forget" to list their prices

(Baonghean) - According to state regulations, sellers must list retail prices on packaging, or write them on price lists, so that buyers can easily observe them. However, in reality, sellers are "ignoring", especially in markets, if they do, it is only to cope, making buyers distrustful.

Everywhere selling "crows", no listing

Not trusting the seller - that is the mentality of the majority of buyers today in markets as well as shops and kiosks. Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong, Nam Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district shared that for clothes, shoes, etc., she often goes to big shops in the district to choose to buy, and for daily consumer goods, she goes to the market or kiosks near her house because here, most of the sellers list the price on each product, but she still bargains every time she buys.

Because the same product, but each store has a different price, it is impossible to know whether the seller sells at the right price or not. Some opinions say that the current price posting is not strictly managed by the market management board and the authorities. When violations occur, they are not firmly handled, causing the business people to ignore it even though they know they are breaking the law. As for the buyer, it depends on the "conscience" of the seller.

Goods sold at Do Luong Commercial Center Market mostly do not have retail prices listed.

Do Luong Commercial Center Market is the place with the largest quantity of goods in the area. However, when we walked around the market, there was absolutely no kiosk that listed the prices publicly, maybe only a few domestic consumer products with prices printed on the packaging.

However, when asked, the sellers do not sell at the listed price, often selling at a lower price. Ms. Thuy, who sells handbags, briefcases, and suitcases of all kinds, said: Although the selling price has been listed by the manufacturer on each domestic product, in reality it depends on the customer. There are customers who look at the price and pay, but most customers bargain, feel that they can make a profit, so they sell.

At the clothing kiosk of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa in Do Luong market, most of her products are from China, there are no printed prices on the products, nor is there a price list. Therefore, when a customer comes to ask for an item, she gives a price, and the customer pays whatever is reasonable, then sells it.

When we asked about the retail price listing according to the state regulations, the traders at Do Luong market said: "Sometimes the market management force comes to check and remind. Some stores have been fined but not often and the fines are not much."

Mr. Nguyen Hoang Sy - Director of Do Luong Market Management Board, said that in the market area there are 1,200 stalls, with over 700 business households. Every year, the market management force inspects and imposes penalties for violations of regulations on posting retail prices, but the number of penalties is not many, mainly reminding traders. In reality, most traders in Do Luong Commercial Center Market have not yet listed retail goods according to state regulations, goods are mainly floating, of unknown origin, and prices are arbitrary.

Need to strengthen management and strict handling

Only a few domestically produced items have their retail prices listed by the manufacturer (Photo taken at the market in Con Cuong town).

In the retail network of goods, the market is still an important distribution channel that affects people's lives, from cities to rural and mountainous areas. Therefore, implementing good price posting is one of the important and regular tasks. According to regulations, all goods traded on the market must have their prices listed and sold at the listed price.

However, the implementation of this regulation is still lax, especially in markets. In fact, it is difficult for the authorities to impose administrative sanctions, because according to Decree 109/2013 of the Government, for the first violation of not posting the selling price, the penalty is a warning, the second violation is an administrative penalty; the regulation is like that, but within 1 year, the authorities are not allowed to inspect the same content more than 2 times.

In most supermarkets and large stores, the prices of the items on display are fully listed. Consumers can simply look at the price to know how much they can buy depending on their budget. In markets or small grocery stores, most of the items are not listed, making it difficult for consumers to determine the real price.

The items with the least listed prices are those that retailers buy in bulk and sell at retail, such as clothes, sugar, candy, cakes, etc. In addition to not knowing the price of these items, consumers also have another concern: not knowing the origin of the goods because the packaging has been removed by the seller.

Posting retail prices at the market is completely possible if the market management board gets involved. In addition to the tasks of fire prevention, ensuring security and order, collecting fees, etc., the market management board needs to pay attention to monitoring the posting of selling prices.

Accordingly, the market management force drafts regulations and guidelines on how to list prices for each type of item, then coordinates with market management boards to propagate to all business households. With the support of market management boards, if implemented resolutely, sellers will be disciplined and buyers will feel more secure.

Customers buying goods at rural markets have to bargain because traders do not list retail prices (photo taken at Con Cuong market).

Xuan Hoang