China Courier Standard Two Weeks On: Inspect-Before-Sign Still Faces Roadblocks Amid Price War

Two weeks after China's national Courier Service standard took effect on May 1, consumers in many regions are still complaining: even when a waybill states the right to open and inspect the package, courier companies require them to sign before inspecting, and some frontline couriers are not even aware of the new national standard. Industry insiders say thousands of courier companies in China remain locked in a chaotic price war, while the new standard lacks strict oversight and penalty mechanisms, making loopholes likely among small and medium-sized couriers. Reporters found that inspect-before-sign implementation at courier companies is far from satisfactory.

On the 8th, reporters posing as consumers called the Haimen branches of SF Express, Huitong, STO Express, and Yunda. Two said that only when the outer packaging shows obvious damage or other abnormalities will the courier tell the recipient to inspect the goods before signing. Two said they had not yet received notice from above and would not implement the new rule for now. The remaining companies did not give a clear answer over the phone.

“I had never heard of this rule,” said Ms. Xu, an avid online shopper. She bought clothes online a few days earlier and received the package yesterday. The courier did not remind her to inspect before signing, and she signed first and opened the package as usual. Ms. Xu also said that sometimes couriers leave parcels directly in the reception room, leaving her no way to inspect before signing.

Master Wang, an SF Express courier, told reporters: “Checking every item one by one slows us down, and customers find it troublesome too.” He said many customers, when sending packages, do not cooperate with courier inspections because they worry about inconvenience or privacy leaks. Some couriers, looking to save time, are also unwilling to let customers inspect before signing.

Whether You Can Inspect Often Depends on the Courier Company

Yesterday, a consumer in Beijing told reporters that last Friday she received a cash-on-delivery package sent by EMS. Although the waybill clearly stated “right to open and inspect,” the delivery person explicitly refused to allow the box to be opened for inspection. The consumer had no choice but to sign reluctantly. In Hainan, another consumer buying a laptop online was also required to sign before inspecting, and the courier was not even aware of the new national express standard.

However, reporters learned that some small and medium-sized sellers on Taobao have limited bargaining power with courier companies. Their cooperation contracts focus mainly on “driving down prices,” while services such as on-time delivery and inspection often depend on the courier company's attitude.

Courier Companies Still Focus on Price Wars

Yesterday on the Taobao forum, reporters saw sellers teaching each other how to “lower cooperation prices with courier companies” while also complaining about delivery speed. Some industry insiders believe that thousands of courier companies in China are still fighting a fierce price war, and some companies are bound to have loopholes in implementation.

An industry insider said the new rules are indeed good for ordinary consumers, but for courier companies facing fierce competition and thin profits, implementation difficulties are inevitable: if the entire mailing process strictly followed procedure—for example, accepting each sender's package by first inspecting the goods and then signing—courier efficiency would drop significantly and delivery times would be delayed. If more couriers were added, operating costs would rise, inevitably pushing up delivery prices and forcing consumers to bear the higher costs. That is a situation no one wants to see.

— Source: China Packaging Network (pack.cn); original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362072.html