For Mother's Day, I wanted to send flowers to my mom, but the bouquet I ordered online was not what I expected and couldn't be presented. Is it reasonable for the seller to only offer a return and refund?

Many people choose to give a bouquet of fresh flowers to their mother on Mother’s Day. Seeing product images with high expectations and placing an order, only to realize upon receipt that the actual product is a “photo scam,” not only is the item different from the picture but it also wastes time for a re-purchase. Heartfelt anticipation of giving flowers to mom is accompanied by a frustrating consumer dispute. On May 10th, just before Mother’s Day was fully over, many consumers complained about their flower-buying experience that day.

Delayed receipt of bouquets on Mother’s Day, with products not matching the images

Consumer Ms. Zhao told reporters that she had planned to buy flowers for her mother several days before Mother’s Day. On May 7th, she saw a shop selling flowers during a live broadcast. She chose a bouquet she thought looked very nice from the product images, originally priced at 104 yuan, 59 yuan after coupons. She placed the order with delivery scheduled before 10:30 a.m. on May 10th.

△Image of the merchant in the live broadcast.

By 11 a.m. on the 10th, Ms. Zhao checked her order status, which showed the order was completed. By noon, the bouquet still had not arrived. Ms. Zhao called the delivery person and the merchant, but neither line was answered. After multiple calls, the merchant finally answered. The merchant said they didn’t know which order was hers and claimed to be very busy. After locating her order, the merchant said the hugging bucket in the picture was out of stock. Ms. Zhao suggested she could use paper wrapping instead, with a few more flowers added, and the merchant agreed. At 1 p.m., the bouquet was delivered, but the actual product differed significantly from the image. “The flowers sent are too ugly,” Ms. Zhao said.

△The actual item Ms. Zhao received.

Ms. Zhao stated that after placing the order, the merchant never contacted her to inform her that the hugging bucket in the picture was out of stock. “During that time, the merchant kept telling me how busy they were, that they hadn’t slept for three days. They even asked me what I wanted to do. I still wanted flowers, and if I ordered on the same day, no shop could deliver for me.”

After posting her experience online, many netizens shared their own flower purchases that day in the comments. “I thought I was the only one scammed.” “It seems everyone was scammed. I even bought two bouquets.”

△Similar experiences shared by netizens.

Netizen Jency said she placed an order on May 5th during a live broadcast on a short video platform, with a scheduled delivery between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m., but the bouquet arrived only at 6 p.m. When she received it, she found that the size of the bouquet and the color of the roses were different, and the product description listed 11 carnations, but one was missing. She contacted customer service to report that the actual product differed from the images, and the customer service replied, “The live broadcast uses beauty filters and effects, how could the colors match?” She said the number of carnations was fewer, and the customer service offered to take the flowers back and refund her.

△Product images from the live broadcast and the bouquet Jency actually received.

Jency said she needed to give the flowers to someone, “I just want flowers!” The customer service responded, “Can’t do it, can’t give it! Only a refund is available.”

Lawyer: Refunds and returns only at specific time points, may constitute infringement of consumer rights to compensation

Yi Xu, senior partner at Hunan Jinzhou Law Firm, stated that the significant difference between the actual product and the promotional images infringes on consumers’ right to information and fair trading. According to Article 20 of the “Consumer Rights Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China,” operators must provide truthful and comprehensive information about the quality, performance,用途, and validity period of goods or services, and must not make false or misleading advertisements. The images of flowers displayed in live broadcasts or on product pages constitute clear commitments to the quality and appearance of the product. If the received product significantly differs in flower types, quantity, or size from the images, it may constitute false advertising, infringing on consumers’ right to know the true situation of the product. If the merchant’s conduct is deemed fraudulent, consumers can also demand punitive damages of three times the refund under Article 55 of the “Consumer Rights Protection Law,” with a minimum compensation of 500 yuan if the amount is less than that.

“During special time points like Mother’s Day, the merchant’s practice of only offering refunds and returns may not fully compensate consumers’ losses and could even infringe on their right to compensation,” Yi Xu pointed out. “On holidays like Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, consumers buy flowers with strong time-specific and emotional purposes. If merchants only agree to refunds but refuse to exchange or remake the flowers during the holiday, consumers miss the opportunity to give gifts, and the time and emotional value they invested cannot be recovered.”

“Some cases indicate that irresponsible behavior by merchants can negatively impact consumers’ schedules and moods during special time points, and consumers have the right to demand that the merchant remake the bouquet according to the agreement or bear corresponding compensation,” Yi Xu said.

Xiaoxiang Morning Post · Morning Video Reporter Li Shu