Product anti-counterfeiting codes should be checked. On February 2, Mr. Liu, a citizen, spent 1,150 yuan to buy a Canon A3300IS digital camera with anti-counterfeiting features at a certain digital anti-counterfeiting specialty store. When purchasing the camera, the merchant verbally guaranteed that the camera was a genuine new unit with anti-counterfeiting features.
After returning home, Mr. Liu went online and entered the official Canon anti-counterfeiting website, inputting the 16-digit anti-counterfeiting code from the inner layer of the anti-counterfeiting label on the camera's packaging for verification. To his surprise, the website query results showed that the digital camera had already been queried on December 19, 2011. "This result can indicate two situations: one, the camera is not new, it has been sold before and was returned for some reason, after which the seller re-covered the anti-counterfeiting label and sold it without disclosing this; two, this camera is simply a counterfeit product borrowing the anti-counterfeiting code of a genuine item." Mr. Liu analyzed for the reporter.
The reporter learned yesterday from the 12315 Command Center of the Municipal Administration for Industry and Commerce that among the thousands of product-related complaints (consultations) handled each year by the center, only about 40 cases are due to consumers discovering issues themselves through querying the anti-counterfeiting code of the product. Many consumers merely rely on their own experience to "feel" there is something wrong with the product but do not know how to conduct professional inquiries. "An anti-counterfeiting code is a self-protection measure used by manufacturers to safeguard their rights. Products with anti-counterfeiting codes are now very common. Consumers should develop the habit of promptly checking the anti-counterfeiting code after purchasing a product," an industry and commerce staff member explained. Currently, the industrial and commercial department mainly relies on quality supervision departments' appraisal reports to determine whether a product’s quality meets standards, while identifying whether a product is counterfeit primarily depends on the manufacturer's authentication of the product. However, for products like alcohol that are difficult to identify as counterfeit just by appearance, querying the anti-counterfeiting code on the official website of the product can be a simple and effective method of identification.