Woman's Gold Purchase Hit with "Mystery Box" Scam, Consumer Protection Committee: No Refund Support!

Recently

Gold prices have been soaring

So many netizens are thinking

Take old gold jewelry to exchange for new

Not only trendy but also “preserving value”

But accidentally stepping into a big trap!

Some lost nearly 40% directly

What’s more frustrating is

Complaints to the Consumer Protection Committee still haven’t been supported

How deep is the water of gold exchange?

Fangji secretly visited several chain jewelry stores in Shanghai

Found these tricks really hard to guard against!

11.1 grams of old gold exchanged for 6.94 grams of new gold, receipt weight covered by a red stamp

Recently,

Ms. Yan, a citizen, went to a chain jewelry store

Used 11.1 grams of old gold jewelry from home

Paid an extra 780 yuan

And exchanged for a gold bracelet priced at 12,460 yuan

That day,

Gold price was about 1,000 yuan per gram

At that time,

The staff didn’t clearly say

This is a “fixed price” gold

The price tag also didn’t show the weight

Ms. Yan thought

Since it’s an exchange of old for new,

And she paid the difference,

The new bracelet’s weight should be roughly the same as the original

But after returning home and carefully examining the receipt, she found

The most critical “weight” column

Was heavily covered by a red bold stamp

Barely seeing “6.94 grams”

Less than her old gold by 4.16 grams

So,

She filed a complaint with the district Consumer Protection Committee

Zhou Kai, staff at Jiading District Consumer Protection Complaint Department:

She always thought that based on the gold price at that time, the weight should be roughly the same, but the actual situation was quite different from her expectations.

Ms. Yan then went to the store to negotiate, requesting a return and refund. But the store said that the receipt clearly states “No return or exchange for non-quality issues,” which she signed to confirm, and the old gold had been melted and tested during the transaction, so her request could not be met.

Zhou Kai, staff at Jiading District Consumer Protection Complaint Department:

The store said that “fixed price” items are not calculated by weight, and the staff said they had already informed the total price obligation, and each item has a price tag, so the exchange cannot be canceled.

Information gap in exchange rules makes consumer complaints hard to support

Consumers’ psychological disappointment

comes from the difference between “fixed price” jewelry and

traditional by-weight sales of gold jewelry

The merchants state

↓↓↓

• “Fixed price” gold jewelry combines the value preservation of pure gold with the fashionable feel of K-gold, with craftsmanship costs up to 200 yuan per gram, several times higher than ordinary gold jewelry;

• Exchange by weight is based on “exchange gram for gram”, first accounting for old gold loss, then paying craftsmanship fees of 50 to 100 yuan per gram, to calculate the total price.

Faced with such a complex exchange process

Consumers are naturally confused

Zhou Kai, staff at Jiading District Consumer Protection Complaint Department:

Consumers are not professionals, and there is a certain information gap between them and jewelry sales staff regarding exchange rules.

Moreover,

Some design aspects of the transaction process

also objectively

increase the difficulty of obtaining information

↓↓↓

For example, the price tags on “fixed price” gold jewelry usually print the selling price on the front, as important information about the gold product’s weight, which is marked on the back or not marked at all. If consumers do not carefully flip or ask, they find it hard to get complete information immediately.

Therefore,

Complaints related to consumers are gradually increasing

Zhou Kai, staff at Jiading District Consumer Protection Complaint Department:

In 2025, we handled over 100 complaints about gold, showing some growth compared to the previous year, mainly about misleading “fixed price” exchanges, where merchants hide the gold weight of “fixed price” jewelry. They use phrases like “no craftsmanship fee,” “new and stylish,” to induce consumers to give up the “by gram” exchange plan, resulting in insufficient new gold for old gold.

According to the “Consumer Protection Law,” consumers have the right to know the true situation of goods and services.

But for cases like Ms. Yan’s, the specific circumstances at the time of transaction are no longer traceable, and consumers cannot provide evidence of merchant inducement or concealment, so most such complaints, including Ms. Yan’s, are not supported.

Reporter’s undercover visit: jewelry mixed display, no weight marked, no weighing allowed

How do stores actually operate the “fixed price” gold exchange?

Is there any misleading?

The receipt Ms. Yan showed is hard to restore the scene.

Therefore,

Fangji secretly visited several jewelry stores in Shanghai

To investigate the situation

At a chain jewelry store,

Fangji found

Jewelry displayed in a mixed manner inside the counter

No price tags visible

Unable to tell at a glance whether sold by weight or “fixed price”

Fangji then took out a roughly 10-gram old gold necklace and asked about “old to new” exchange, the staff then guided the reporter to “pick a style first.”

Fangji: How does the exchange work with old gold?

Staff: First look at your choice.

Fangji: Is this exchange based on the original weight?

Staff: Both are possible.

Fangji: Why isn’t there a weight on this? Is it a fixed price?

Staff: Yes, discounted.

Then, the staff recommended several similar products, such as a gourd pendant. When the staff took it out from the counter, Fangji saw a price tag hidden at the bottom of the jewelry box, only marked 5,000 yuan, with no weight info.

When asked further,

the staff finally revealed the weight:

Staff: If you just count the gourd, it’s 5,000 yuan.

Fangji: How many grams is this gourd?

Staff: About 2 grams. It’s a very good shape.

A 2.5-gram gold gourd

priced as high as 2,500 yuan/gram

minus the gold price of about 1,500 yuan/gram that day

which means the craftsmanship fee per gram

reached 1,000 yuan

Seeing Fangji hesitate,

the staff began to emphasize

the advantages of “fixed price” craftsmanship gold

Staff: If this gourd is calculated by weight (pure gold jewelry), it might flatten out, but this one won’t. If you’re exchanging frequently, fixed price might be more cost-effective.

Fangji visited several other stores and found

mixed sales and unmarked weights are common

One store even claimed

fixed price gold jewelry

cannot be weighed before purchase

Fangji: Is it true that no weight is marked, and it can’t be weighed?

Staff: Correct.

Fangji: Why can’t it be weighed?

Staff: For high-end craftsmanship, it’s based on value later, not by weight.

Fangji: At least I want to know how many grams I have.

Staff: You can weigh it yourself after purchase.

If “no weighing allowed”

creates a clear obstacle for consumers,

then incomplete labeling

makes it even more complicated.

In another store,

a fixed-price jewelry piece embedded with diamonds

Although the price tag shows a total weight of 10.12 grams,

Is this pure gold weight?

Or total weight including diamonds?

Different staff give completely opposite answers

↓↓↓

Some say

the marked weight is pure gold

but others say

it includes the diamond weight

Fangji then asked, since it’s sold by total price, how to calculate for old exchange or resale.

Fangji: Will you subtract the diamond weight again?

Staff: I can only tell you that if you come here to exchange, it might be based on the actual labeled weight. If you go to another brand, I can’t guarantee. Honestly.

Lawyer’s opinion: Concealing weight = Violating the right to informed choice!

Lawyers say

The staff’s statements are inconsistent,

concealing key weight information

suspected of infringing on consumers’ right to know.

Chaoyang, Shanghai Smail Law Firm Lawyer:

Weight is a very important raw material cost, and should be truthfully disclosed to consumers. It’s not enough to just give a total price; the composition of the price, the pricing method, and units should be clearly published, and labels should be very clear and prominent.

Have you recently bought or exchanged fixed-price gold jewelry?

How do you think the prices are calculated?

Have you encountered any tricks?

Share quickly to remind family and friends,

especially elders who often buy gold jewelry,

to avoid falling into merchants’ traps!

Reporter: Tu Jun, Zhou Yulin, Xi Lingyan

Editor: Zhuang Jiangshen

Cameraman: Qin Jian

Chief Editor: Jin Yingying