Low prices online are tempting, but are they worth it?
Flash sale! Unbeatable prices! Today only! Up to 90 per cent off! These are the phrases included in the splashy headlines associated with many enticing offers for electrical and electronic appliances on the Internet. Find out why it’s important to resist these tempting offers and ensure that both your bank balance and the environment benefit in the long run.
The coffee machine for CHF 40 instead of CHF 120, a screwdriver for CHF 100 instead of CHF 269, the electric toothbrush in a double pack for only CHF 199 instead of CHF 399 and a laser pointer for just CHF 2.95! Honestly, who can resist such incredible prices?
Beguiling for your bank balance, critical for the environment
Offers like these appear to be a real steal at first glance, with enormous savings just a click away. Nevertheless, consumer protection organisations repeatedly warn against such purchases. To begin with, the full costs are often not clearly disclosed. For example, deliveries from abroad can incur high shipping or customs fees, and the appliances might have incorrect plugs that require an additional adapter. Consumers often have to wait a very long time for their products, as many low-cost suppliers use “dropshipping”, meaning they have their goods sent directly from the factory to their customers in order to avoid expensive warehousing costs. What’s more, many appliances from Asia do not meet the safety standards that apply in European countries, with some of them having high pollutant levels that can endanger people and the environment. This has been shown in recent tests carried out by the Swiss Toy Association.
Look for branded products and licensed merchandise
President of the Swiss Toy Association Hans Christian von der Crone therefore recommends that consumers look for branded products and licensed merchandise when shopping online. These items not only guarantee high quality and therefore a longer service life but also the necessary level of product safety. Mr von der Crone expressly advises against cheap foreign platforms such as Temu and Shein: “Consumers will find many products in these shops that are similar to branded items. In most cases, these offers constitute product piracy; that is, they are counterfeit versions of branded products that are manufactured as cheaply as possible and often without proper certification. Test reports consistently indicate that many of these products contain hazardous substances.”
Buy from Swiss manufacturers – They are dedicated to protecting the environment!
Warehousing, delivery, safety checks and the quality of the materials used all have their price, and the same applies to recycling. To encourage proper recycling of products, many Swiss manufacturers, retailers and importers have voluntarily joined the nationwide SENS eRecycling take-back system to help the environment. As ARC partners, they charge an advance recycling contribution (ARC) on their appliances when they are purchased, thanks to which consumers can return their faulty appliances free of charge to any point of sale that sells similar electrical or electronic appliances. Disposal at over 750 SENS collection points is also free of charge for consumers. In collaboration with SENS eRecycling, the partners are dedicated to ensuring responsible, sustainable disposal, actively honouring their commitment to the environment.
How the SENS take-back system works
Participation in the SENS take-back system is voluntary for importers, manufacturers, specialist retailers and installers. Partners who have joined the SENS network levy an advance recycling contribution (ARC) on the purchase price of a new electrical or electronic appliance and pay this amount into a SENS eRecycling fund set up for this purpose. SENS eRecycling then uses this to finance the transport, collection and sustainable disposal of electrical and electronic appliances. Thanks to the ARC, consumers can return their disused electrical and electronic appliances free of charge to SENS collection points throughout Switzerland or wherever similar products can be purchased.
Low-cost manufacturers from abroad weaken the Swiss waste disposal system
The advanced recycling contribution is often not paid on appliances purchased abroad or ordered from a foreign online shop. This applies in particular to cheap online shops from Asia such as Aliexpress, Shein and Temu. Nevertheless, Swiss electrical and electronic retailers are obliged by law to take back their goods and send them for recycling. Pretty unfair, don’t you think?
In fact, suppliers who are not affiliated with the SENS eRecycling take-back system are increasingly undermining the Swiss recycling programme. This is because the more electrical or electronic appliances are handed in for which no advanced recycling contribution was paid at the time of purchase, the more expensive the system becomes. Ultimately, those who pay a fair and correct price for their appliances end up being penalised.
Do the right thing and pay for recycling!
Anyone who has purchased an electrical or electronic appliance abroad or online that does not include an advanced recycling contribution can pay this voluntarily on the SENS eRecycling website.