news

the xianyu platform announced on the 26th that starting from september 1, it will charge a basic software service fee of 0.6% to all sellers, with a cap of 60 yuan. if there are more than 10 orders per month and the cumulative transaction amount is greater than 10,000 yuan, the basic software service fee for each order will increase to 1%. it is worth mentioning that xianyu will not refund orders that have not been completed and for which service fees have been charged. there is nothing wrong with the platform charging a certain amount of intermediary fees based on the services provided, but xianyu’s above-mentioned approach clearly violates the established practice of intermediary services for thousands of years and is a short-sighted profit-seeking behavior.

the essence of the platform is an intermediary. whether it is an internet platform or a traditional intermediary agency or individual, its core function is to connect supply and demand parties and facilitate the completion of transactions. according to the civil code of the people's republic of china, an intermediary contract is a contract in which the intermediary reports to the client the opportunity to conclude a contract or provides intermediary services for concluding a contract, and the client pays remuneration. if the intermediary does not facilitate the conclusion of the contract, no remuneration may be requested.

it can be seen from the above regulations that the basis for the platform to charge relevant service fees is the contract signed by the user. if there is no contract or the user does not have a similar commitment (such as agreeing to the relevant regulations of the platform, etc.), charging is illegal. at the same time, the law stipulates that the prerequisite for platforms to require payment of remuneration is to facilitate the completion of the transaction. if the intermediary fails to facilitate the establishment of the contract, it is not allowed to request payment of remuneration. in the view of some users, the above-mentioned charging behavior of xianyu is only a unilateral provision made by the platform and belongs to the overlord clause. in addition, the behavior of still compulsorily charging service fees for unfilled orders clearly violates the consistent practice of intermediary services that has been established for thousands of years.

public information shows that 4 million idle items are posted on xianyu every day. xianyu’s average daily transaction volume has exceeded 1 billion, with 162 million monthly active users, accounting for 70% of the second-hand e-commerce market. in terms of scale, the platform’s benefits from transaction fees, value-added services, advertising cooperation and financial services are already very considerable. xianyu started charging sellers with a monthly transaction volume of over 10,000 yuan in june 2023 for the first time in the name of combating "scalpers", then introduced the "quick lending" financial business, and even prepared to harvest the wool of all sellers this time. it can be seen that at a time when internet traffic dividends are gradually fading, platform investors are obviously no longer satisfied with relying on the limited profit margins brought by second-hand trading business. today, capital's pursuit of profit is forcing platform managers to gradually stay away from their core businesses, constantly introducing some short-term and fast businesses, and even killing chickens to keep warm, in order to obtain new profit growth points as soon as possible.

in a market economy environment, obtaining reasonable profits for a platform or enterprise is not only a need for its survival and development, but also a reflection of fulfilling social responsibilities and complying with market laws. ‌there is no doubt that xianyu has a unique advantage in the second-hand commodity trading market, which is probably the reason why the platform dares to launch overlord clauses. however, for the platform, brand image and credibility still come first. once it loses the trust of users, the only thing waiting for it is to be abandoned.

ziniu news commentator zhang zhong