After being besieged by small and medium sellers last October, Taobao.com (Weibo) has once again caused dissatisfaction among sellers on its platform due to new policies. Yesterday, Taobao's latest announcement showed that the store opening certification system has been fully upgraded. By June 30th, all new and existing store users must complete certification and registration. If necessary information is not filled out in time, Taobao will delist products from the store or block the store. In the eyes of industry insiders, although the intention to upgrade the certification system is beyond reproach, Taobao may inadvertently harm innocent parties again.
The store opening certification system has been upgraded according to Taobao's latest announcement yesterday. The Taobao member store opening certification system will be upgraded for certification and annual inspection review based on the current system. Sellers opening stores on Taobao (excluding Tmall Mall users) must upload a close-up photo holding their ID card original and a half-body photo of themselves when submitting their "Taobao ID information," for a total of two photos. If sellers cannot certify in time, Taobao will delist products from the store or block the store.
When I checked a seller's Taobao account, Taobao provided a "close-up photo" template: a lady took one photo holding her ID card facing the camera and another photo facing the camera alone.
According to my understanding, despite the comprehensive upgrade announcement of Taobao's store opening certification system being issued at the beginning of the year, many sellers did not pay attention until recently when the seller interface displayed a prompt stating, "Failure to conduct Taobao certification by the end of February will affect search rankings; certify immediately, become a seller with an 'identity.'"
It is worth noting that a few days ago, eight ministries including the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce jointly issued a notice titled "Promoting the Healthy and Rapid Development of E-commerce." It clearly stated that the entry threshold for e-commerce would be raised, and standards for identification and transactions would be standardized.
This has caused discontent among many sellers. Although Taobao's new certification rules align with policy requirements, the introduction of these rules has caused much hardship for many sellers. This is the second time, after being attacked by small and medium sellers last year, that Taobao has sparked controversy due to new policies.
According to a person close to Taobao, currently, there are a large number of sellers on Taobao who use others' ID cards to open stores, including many high-credibility merchants who have been operating for years. If they cannot complete identity verification, the operation of these stores will be affected. A seller dealing in sports goods on Taobao said that this issue mostly occurs in stores that have been opened for 3-5 years on Taobao.
He explained that since the start of their ventures, eBay was still around, and compared to Taobao, its "American-style" approval process was very strict, leading many sellers to choose Taobao. In recent years, the application process for opening stores on Taobao has also become increasingly stringent.
Some sellers expressed that although Taobao's new rules are commendable, some store applicants have already changed industries or left. If Taobao blocks the store, they will face significant losses.
A seller dealing in creative toys believed that delisting products from the store or blocking the store is almost equivalent to "closing the store."
No solutions have been announced yet.
Yesterday, when I called the "Taobao Marketplace Merchant" hotline, customer service personnel stated that if physical sellers cannot timely fill out necessary information before June 30th, later actions will include delisting products from the store or blocking the store. Moreover, under normal circumstances, Taobao's certification information cannot be modified.
Another customer service representative said that recently, many sellers have been consulting about this issue, but Taobao does not currently have corresponding solutions. He said, "Sellers can only call back after some time; then there might be corresponding measures introduced."
Analyst Su Huiyan from Analysys International (Weibo) believed that Taobao's upgrade of the store opening certification system mainly targets illegal individuals who take advantage of incomplete information during seller registration to steal seller accounts or fraudulently open stores using others' ID cards, thereby harming consumer interests.
Su Huiyan also mentioned that the number of mismatches between documents and stores during this certification upgrade far exceeds Taobao's expectations. Taobao should set a transition period and introduce some remedial measures. "For cases where documents do not match the store, other reasonable methods should be used for verification to avoid inadvertently harming innocent parties."
Business reporter Wang Cuiyi