Varvara Grankova

Dossier:

1972 Born in Samara. 1999-2002 Chairman of the Central Committee of the All-Russian Inter-Industry Trade Union of Small and Medium-Sized Business Workers. 2003 Became Chairman of the International Public Organization "Society for the Protection of Consumer Rights "Public Control". 2005-2010 Three books and a number of scientific publications on consumer rights.

There's a total attack on online trade. On all fronts.

This week, the Federal Customs Service finally reached an agreement with representatives of international express delivery companies that foreign parcels worth up to 200 euros and weighing up to 10 kg will be processed according to the register, and therefore it will not be necessary to provide a complex package of documents for each individual parcel. As a result, DHL is resuming delivery to individuals.

But the Russian online trade market is still in turmoil. The most unpleasant thing is the draft of innovations, according to which a 30% duty will have to be paid for goods costing more than 150 euros (previously this threshold was 1000 euros). In connection with this, the Consumer Rights Protection Society (CPS) is calling on people to go to Bolotnaya Square on February 8 and take part in a protest. Pyatnitsa spoke with Mikhail Anshakov, chairman of the CPS, about how many people this rally can gather and what awaits Russian consumers who make purchases in foreign online stores.

- Everyone is worried on social networks: how can we shop now? Is it really that bad?

- Of course! People were practically getting into their pockets. This reminds me of the consumers of the Soviet period, who were given thirty flavors of sausage, forty flavors of cheese. When a person has already tasted all of this, the only way to drive him back into the Soviet Union is by force. He will resist to the last.

- How many people do you expect to bring out?

- We have submitted an application for 10 thousand people, but I will not undertake to predict how many there will actually be. But I am sure that the protest will be massive. Our Russian consumer is in a different situation than the Western one. Try to put forward such an initiative there. The party that lobbies such amendments will lose a lot in the ratings. And we have no opportunity to influence decision-making. Protest is all that remains.

- Is this the first time you've invited people out?

- Previously, we only held pickets - for example, several years ago, when the prices for suburban trains were sharply increased. Then we picketed the Ministry of Transport. But in addition to protest activity, we also call for another - to boycott purchases in Russian online stores.

- Do you think this is possible?

- Theoretically, yes. For example, in America there are many consumer societies, and boycott is an effective tool. In Russia, such a practice needs to be created.

- Are more responsible consumers emerging in Russia?

- Yes, and all of this can be clearly seen on our forum. Now our forum and our site are visited by up to 50 thousand people a day. And the site is legal, people come specifically for consultations.

- Is an angry consumer a force?

- This is certainly a social force. But in our conditions it can also become political.

- But the circle is narrow.

- No, you are mistaken. Quite a few people use online stores.

- But only a minority of the minority buys from foreign online stores.

- But these are very different social groups, not just wealthy "advanced users". Low-income families or families with many children often buy. Toys, diapers and onesies are cheaper in foreign online stores, even taking into account delivery. Several families unite and order for everyone. They share the costs. They collect a parcel for a total of up to a thousand euros. This all worked before. And by the way, it relieved social tension, people could afford something inexpensive and high-quality by chipping in. Recently, the format of collective purchases has been developing in general, when many people unite and buy something abroad in bulk, it turns out to be tens of times cheaper. You won't be able to put the toothpaste back in the tube. People will resist.

- What upsets them most?

- It is difficult to single out one thing here, there is a total attack on online trade, on all fronts. There are three initiatives. The first is, under the pretext of fighting terrorism, a restriction on anonymous online wallets; you can transfer no more than a thousand rubles a day. The second is duties that are going to be introduced for purchases in excess of 150 euros, although now the duty is paid on amounts from 1,000 euros. And the third is the supposed complication of documents required for customs clearance of goods.

- But the forwarders eventually came to an agreement with the customs officers.

- Of course, when it became clear that the Russian divisions of international express delivery companies were leaving the market, the state got scared - after all, the taxes would leave with them. The Federal Customs Service began to "resolve the issue." But I seriously doubt that these agreements are final.

- If the main players in express delivery reduce their presence in the transportation market, who will win? Russian Post?

- It is unlikely, they can't even cope with the current flow. As our consumers joke, they get their salaries from our parcels. This did not prevent Russian Post from sharply increasing its budget for creating an image. But the number of complaints about it is not decreasing.

- Who benefits?

- The Association of Internet Trade Companies (AKIT). It has about 20 players, including KupiVIP, Enter and the Russian branch of eBay. By the way, eBay's position is quite paradoxical. It probably wants to develop the Russian division, to occupy a niche in such a dubious way. By the way, this is very typical for foreign business. We have already stopped being surprised. At home, they have one set of standards - corporate, image-based - and as soon as they come to Russia, they adapt very quickly. And they adopt all our rules of underhanded struggle. In short, this is beneficial for the companies that are part of AKIT, that is, for offline business.

- Why offline? Isn't this a fight between domestic online stores and foreign competitors?

- Yes, but in the end our underdeveloped Russian offline still wins. AKIT includes mainly offline stores - like M.Video - with a small online segment. This is where a conflict of interests arises. And for many it is more profitable to strangle the Internet altogether and develop offline.

- But KupiVIP.ru does not have offline trading.

- They don't. But most of them do, and they see the Internet as a competitor who will bury them after some time. They are more interested in the offline format. In addition, they are really interested in pushing Western retailers out of our market. Here, the interests of Russian offline and online coincide.

- Why are large companies ready to sacrifice the Internet segment for the sake of real retail? If the Internet is more promising, why not go there?

- But they already have a real, established business. Shopping centers are open, areas are rented, electricity is installed, goods are received, bribes are distributed - where to put all this?

- AKIT provides compelling arguments in favor of restricting online purchases abroad. They say that in this way they are fighting gray schemes and protecting the consumer.

- Yes, yes, it's like Ostap Bender said that his goal is to help children. Of course, the unfortunate Russian consumer, having bought some gadget, turns out to be unprotected, because, supposedly, it is not Russian jurisdiction. These are just cynical excuses. And about the gray sector - nonsense. Consumers will encounter precisely the gray sector, because there are few white online stores in Russia. And the prices there are generally sky-high. And the average online store is a set of documents in a nightstand, issued on the passport of any fictitious person. They accumulate tax claims, and then OOO Romashka closes and Romashka Plus opens. This is not even a gray, but a black sector. Consumers are driven here.

- If the initiatives are implemented, what awaits us?

- People will probably go on shopping tours or buy through intermediaries. Maybe shuttle traders will appear, like in the early nineties.

Interview - Mikhail Anshakov, Chairman of the Consumer Rights Protection Society