For those who worry about irregular behavior or power abuses by consumers, there is no need for concern. This is because the new system has proved to be an effective push to restore market order in practice. The root cause of domestic market chaos is the lack of a credible system.

Chen Yizhou (Xinmin Evening News): Individual consumers may seek to change or return purchases if their right to know is not fulfilled. Take online transactions or prepaid items for example. Consumers can only find defects of products after delivery. The "cooling-off period" doesn't mean consumers could unconditionally or unilaterally violate contracts.

Market rule

Chen Fengying (www.nen.com.cn): Voluntary transactions and the principle of autonomy of will are essential to a market economy. All signatories should abide by a signed contract. Otherwise any side can suffer from losses by contract violations. The "cooling-off period" gives buyers more power than sellers, which undoubtedly violates market rules, destabilizes market order and increases trading costs.

Wang Lin (Southern Metropolis Daily): Some people insist that most useful information about products is obtained after use, and thus the establishment of a "cooling-off period" is quite helpful for consumers to make the right choices. But the problem is that market chaos is unavoidable by offering one side privileges over the other. After initial use, the value of some products rapidly depreciates, bringing in extra losses to suppliers.

Given various buyer groups, shopaholics always spend on impulse. When these consumers regret their choices, they may pull out using the excuse of a "cooling-off period." In fact, unlimited consumer rights are not the best way to address fraudulent sales, but lead to new problems instead.

Another major controversy about the so-called "cooling-off period" lies in whether it is a legal or contractual right. If it is considered a contractual right, Chinese consumers have long enjoyed it. For instance, many vendors now allow buyers to unconditionally return purchases in three working days. However, it is not a common practice. Provided it is effective in protecting consumers, a number of suppliers should give this right to consumers to maintain business competitiveness.

Xu Guangmu (National Business Daily): Daily transactions are based on mutual accountability and honesty between vendors and buyers. Sales service is a showcase of not only brand image, but also product quality. The current consumer protection law stipulates that suppliers of goods or services shall be responsible for a product's quality, and cannot delay or refuse consumers' requests for repairing, changing or refunding products. It seems that this rule extends beyond the "cooling-off period."

Also, the contract law states that defective deals made based on huge misunderstandings or advertisement fraud are basically invalid. The solution is not to give consumers a "cooling-off period," but to crack down on rampant market fraud.

Deng Yuwen (Shanghai Business Daily): Amway, a U.S. direct sales giant, entered the Chinese market with its "cooling-off period" system several years ago, but it soon cancelled the rule facing mounting refunding cases at its outlets. In fact, the implementation of a "cooling-off period" is preconditioned on a highly developed social credibility system, both for consumers and vendors. Otherwise, it won't take effect, but harm the market environment by producing chaos.

In recent years, the building of the credibility system has been largely improved in China due to joint efforts of market players. But we all know that there is still a long way to go. n