Substandard goods: description and characteristics

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

An off-spec product that has a small defect in the form of a scratch or mismatched color, lost packaging or a non-functional part of the package can save a lot of money and last for many years as intended. Often, non-conformity is confused with marriage, which plays into the hands of dishonest manufacturers or sellers and misleads the consumer.

What is substandard

Substandard is a product that does not meet the standards, technical specifications for any parameters. Substandard goods are the result of non-compliance with production technology. There are several types of deviation from the norm:

• Product conditionally usable.
• Item is usable after repair.
• The product is not usable and must be disposed of.

Marriage or substandard

Goods conditionally suitable for operation, including after repair, are substandard. If no change orrepairs will not be able to return things to their function, then this is a case of marriage. A substandard product differs from a defective one in that products with minor flaws can be used for their intended purpose after appropriate modification by the manufacturer or after-sales service.

Causes of occurrence

Substandard goods may appear not only in the production cycle, but also for other reasons. For example:

• Damage to products during shipping.
• Loss of parts or packaging, damage to packaging.
• External damage to the goods (scratches, chips, loss of color, etc.).
• Minor breakdowns.

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Cost of non-conformity

The costs of producing high-quality and substandard goods for the manufacturer are the same. The appearance of substandard goods with hidden defects indicates a gross violation of the technological process, the result may be a completely damaged batch. In this case, the manufacturer decides what is more profitable (from a financial and reputational point of view) to take. Disposal entails double losses, sale at a reduced cost can return production costs, but in this case it is necessary to inform the potential buyer of all defectsilliquid.

Quite often, retail chains buy wholesale goods where there is illiquid stock, and there is no way to make claims against the supplier or manufacturer. Most often, the cost of marriage and illiquid assets is dissipated by the price of a quality product. The seller of the retail network can sell substandard goods at a reduced cost, while the seller will ultimately incur losses. A sale is also practiced, in which all costs are returned in monetary terms (sale without profit and loss). The last ways to get rid of non-conformity are repair with subsequent sale, sale at the lowest cost, return to the manufacturer, disposal.

Defects and their classification

What does substandard goods mean? These are products with any defects, which, in turn, are divided into several types:

• Obvious defect. The type of damage that is detected when quality control methods are followed.
• Hidden defect. This type of damage is not detected by standard testing methods.
• Critical defect. In the presence of this type of illiquidity, the use of products is practically reduced to zero or impossible for security reasons.

Defects also vary in degree:

• Significant. It has a significant impact on the correct use of the product / product for its intended purpose, reduces the service life and suitability.
• Minor. Has an almost imperceptible effect on practical usegoods/products for their intended purpose and for the period of its operation.

Sub-standard goods with defects can be repaired, which also has its own differences:

• Removable defects. Product repair is feasible, technically feasible and cost effective.
• Fatal defects. In fact, this type of defect is a marriage.

Where does the substandard go

Things with any defects can be found at any point of sale, and due to the difficult economic situation, shops of substandard goods have appeared. Most often, substandard settles in various drains, and in this case, for the buyer, the purchase of such a product means a lottery ticket, and not always a winning one. It's good if the purchase will serve faithfully for a long time, but there are no guarantees for a successful outcome.

Stock stores stock up on unsold seasonal leftovers from major brands, chains or counterfeit products. This also includes everything that has any defect. For example, clothes in the showroom are often tried on, and they lose some of their attractiveness - buttons can come off, sleeves stretch, or a stain appears. These are signs of a substandard product. If we are talking, for example, about building materials, then in this case there may be a variety of grades, incomplete equipment or defects of varying degrees.

If the company preserves its image, then substandard goods will be sold at a reduced cost, and all defects will be indicated on the card. And if hebeen renovated, this will also be announced. Goods stale in the warehouse are also considered substandard, and you can meet them not only in hardware stores, but also in grocery supermarkets. Slightly crushed ice cream does not lose its taste and nutritional qualities, but expired products are a he alth risk and their sale is unauthorized.

Consumer rights

The legal right of the consumer is to return the product to the store if its defects were discovered after purchase, and the seller did not warn about them. The algorithm of actions is determined by the legislation of the Russian Federation (Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights No. 2300-1 of February 7, 1992):

• Return of goods must be recorded in writing. To do this, the buyer writes a statement in free form, where he indicates his data, the shortcomings of the goods and demands a refund of the amount paid. According to the law, the money must be returned to the buyer within 15 days after the sale. In this case, the seller may offer an alternative - replacement with a similar thing or repair. The application is written in duplicate - the original is given to the seller, a copy with the store's stamp remains with the buyer.
• The seller is obliged to accept the return statement, the product itself is of poor quality, and also check it for compliance with the statement.
• In the event of a disputable situation, when the seller does not agree with the identified shortcomings, it is necessary to conduct an examination, which the consumer has the right to attend. The assessment is carried out at the expense of the seller. If the buyer does not agree with the conclusionsexpertise, he has the right to sue. If the court finds that the defects were not the fault of the seller, the buyer shall reimburse the costs of the examination, judicial and commodity (storage, transportation, etc.) costs.
• According to the law, the seller must return the money within 10 days after receiving the application. The amount must be paid in full, withholding funds for the loss of operational, aesthetic qualities of the goods is not made.
• The buyer must return the item requested to the seller.
• If the seller refuses to return the money, and the illiquidity of the goods is proven, it is worth going to court. In this case, the applicant has the right to demand additional compensation (for losses, receive a pen alty, a fine, partial reimbursement of court costs, etc.).

Out of stock and returns

Substandard goods in the store are divided into two categories: "A" and "B". Group "A" includes products that require testing, repair, returned by the buyer. After that, the goods of this group are sent to the service center for further work - repair, testing. Immediately, experts make a conclusion about the state of things, and if they cannot be repaired, a conclusion is made on the basis of which the buyer is refunded (if the goods are returnable) or a replacement is made.

The expert opinion is transferred to the store, where negotiations with the buyer will take place. It is unprofitable for the store to keep defective products, therefore, substandard products are withdrawngoods and its transfer to the manufacturer along with claims. If there is no return agreement with the manufacturer, then full or partial disposal is carried out.

Substandard assortment in the store

The non-standard group "B" includes products that have a non-standard type of goods, incomplete packaging, requiring the removal of client settings. It also includes goods that have identification discrepancies, such as a mismatch of stickers on the packaging and directly on the product, defective accessories, items with inappropriate equipment (for example, headphones of a different model are included with a mobile phone).

Part of the goods of group "B" is sent to the pre-sales warehouse, where client settings are deleted, there is a markdown, a change in the status of products, etc. A specialist assesses the need and possibility of repair (testing). After the decision is made, the goods are either dismantled or sent to a service center. In this division, client settings are cleared and things are transferred to retail outlets, while the expert makes a decision on the appropriateness of the markdown.

Goods that cannot be repaired / restored are disassembled into spare parts for further use in repairs. Products that cannot be used in any form are transferred to the commodity producer or disposed of.

Reviews

Any enterprise has substandard goods. Customer reviews oftentake the form of a dispute about the advantages and disadvantages of buying defective goods. There is no consumer who has not acquired illiquid assets at least once. In most cases, such a product attracts with low cost and sometimes lasts for years. Those who advocate such purchases share their own experience, which turned out to be successful.

Many people point out that the purchased product required a small home repair on their own, and there were no further problems with it. For the most part, this applies to low-tech products, where substandard goods are household appliances, furniture, fabrics, metal products, etc.

Most of the negative reviews are about expensive or high-tech purchases - cars, mobile phones, computers, etc. Most buyers agree that such purchases are not worth the risk: repairs can turn out to be more expensive than the purchase itself, and there are no guarantees of quality work after the intervention.

For most buyers, the main problem when buying was the dishonesty of the seller or manufacturer. Many are ready to buy substandard goods, the description of which corresponds to the real state of affairs, and which has a reduced cost. Unfortunately, many retail chains sell refurbished non-liquid goods as a quality product and do not notify the buyer of existing problems, repairs or defects.