Product listings that misrepresent products being sold or set false expectations for customers are considered misleading and are prohibited.
Starting April 18th, 2018 00:00 UTC, product listings that are detected to be misleading will be taken down from Wish and will be subject to fines.
What does “Misleading Listing” Mean?
A “Misleading Listing” is a product listing that misrepresents a product or sets false expectations for customers. This is a violation of Wish policies. These product listings misrepresent the product being sold through the use of deceptive images, titles, descriptions, size/color options, and/or prices. These misrepresentations negatively affect Wish customers and are not tolerated on the Wish marketplace. Listings found to be violating this “Misleading Listing” policy are subject to removal and monetary fines.
Note that based on the current Misleading Listings Policy 2.10 and the Misleading Variations Addendum in particular, a product may be considered as misleading when there exists inconsistencies between product main image, title, descriptions, and the product variations offered. The title, description, price, and images used to advertise a product or variation should clearly and accurately reflect the item being sold. Please familiarize yourself with Wish’s policies on listing products: https://merchant.wish.com/policy/listing & https://merchant.wish.com/policy/inappropriate-reasons/33.
What are some examples of “Misleading Listing” infractions?
“Unreasonable Price Point”
Product price points should fall within a reasonable market value for the product being sold and merchants should provide accurate price information when listing products. In addition, product prices should not vary significantly for different variations within a listing.
Example:
A smartphone listed for free is not a feasible market price.
“Conflicting Customer Feedback”
Listings which consistently receive feedback from customers that indicate the product is not what was advertised will be identified as a “Misleading Listing”.
Example:
Product listing is for “wireless headphones”, but customer images show they received “wire headphones”
“Majority of Images Do Not Show the Product”
All images used in a listing should accurately display the product being sold. Images which are meant to show the product in use or in a demonstrative capacity are permitted, but may not be used as the first image or as the majority of images.
Example:
All images uses show a flat screen TV but the product being sold is a TV antenna.
“Title and Main Image Discrepancy”
The product titles and main image are integral in representing a product. If unnecessary products or product specifications are the focus of the product’s title or main image, the listing will be flagged as misleading.
Example:
The main image and title show and describe a smartphone, but the product being sold is earphones.
“The product is not the focus of the main image"
The listing may be considered as misleading if the product being sold is not the focus of the main product image.
Example:
Product title indicates that the item being sold is a bluetooth wireless keyboard for iPads, but this is not the focus of the main image; neither is the item being sold clearly indicated in the main image.
“Size misrepresentation in product main image"
If the size of the product being sold in this listing is not made clear in the main image, the listing may be considered misleading.
Example:
The size of the crystal stone shown in the main image below (left) does not align with customer feedback, as indicated in the image on the right. The product appears bigger in the main image than what’s actually received by the customer.
“Description and Package Size not as Advertised”
Package sizes which are specified in a listing’s title, images, and/or descriptions must be aligned. Packages advertised must be purchasable in the size/color options provided. In the event that customer feedback consistently indicates the package is not as advertised, the listing is subject to removal and misleading fines.
Package sizes may include the quantity of items advertised, implied box sets, and/or the sale of items with listed accessories. Additionally, advertising memory storage devices with inaccurate or impossible capacities are considered misleading.
Example 1:
The image used shows a 6-pack but the description says only one unit is sold.
Example 2:
The image used shows the untrue “1TB” onto a memory storage device.
“Misleading Variation”
Variation SKUs of a given product should be realistic and consistent with the product being sold. If unrealistic variations are included in a product, the product variations are subject to removal and misleading fines.
Example 1:
Product listing offers extreme, unrealistic sizes with lower prices than the other options:
Example 2:
One of the variation options is to “Choose a Size” in order to create the illusion of a smaller price:
Example 3:
Product option contains false memory capacity, like ‘2TB” which is not a realistic available memory option for a USB memory drive:
"Merchants do not clearly or consistently disclose nonsensical product variations or quantity to customers"
Certain product listings may offer product variations or quantity that are nonsensical to a reasonable customer, but merchants do not clearly and consistently indicate this to the customer throughout the entire product listing. For example, a reasonable customer may expect certain products to be offered at a set quantity (e.g., a pair of shoes, a full deck of cards, etc.), but merchants sell the products in a quantity that is not aligned with this reasonable customer expectation, and do not clearly indicate this in the entire product listing.
Examples:
Product is a pair of shoes, but merchants only list the left or right shoe; or product is a deck of playing cards, but only half a deck is listed.
How much is a “Misleading Listing” fine?
To streamline the “Misleading Listings” fine policy, we have made the following policy update, effective August 7, 01:00 UTC:
If a product listing is detected to be misleading, the merchant may be fined $100 per order and 100% of the order value for orders placed in the last 30 days from when the product was detected as misleading, with a minimum fine of $100 per detected misleading product.
If the last 30 days from when the product was detected as misleading includes orders placed before 5/2/2018 23:59 PST:
- orders placed between 4/18/2018 00:00 PST to 5/2/2018 23:59 PST are fined 100% of the order value.
- orders placed before 4/18/2018 00:00 PST are not fined.
- the minimum fine of $100 per detected misleading product still applies.
“Misleading listing” fines that were created before August 7, 01:00 UTC will be corrected to reflect this updated policy.
https://merchant.wish.com/policy/listing#2.10
Does “Misleading Listing” refer to a product listing’s images, title, and/or description?
A products tagged as “Misleading Listing” may have one or multiple problems which actively leads a user to mistake what product is being sold.
Each listing that receives this tag is carefully evaluated including prices, strikethrough prices, titles, descriptions, images, size/color options, and customer feedback.
What is the difference between “Misleading Listing”, “False Advertising”, and “Ambiguous Listing”?
Products may be flagged for “False Advertising” if it is clear what product is being sold, but untrue, unverified, or exaggerated information is included.
Products may be flagged as “Ambiguous Listing” if the product being sold is not clear. Sometimes this is because of conflicting information between the images and description.
Products may be flagged as “Misleading Listing” if a listing strategically deceives a consumer into believing they are purchasing a different item at an incredibly discounted rate. “Misleading Listing” fines may also occur if the product the consumer receives is different than the product advertised in the original listing. This intentional misbehavior may result in large fines.
Is there any way to dispute a “Misleading Listing” tag? Can the fine be removed?
A merchant may dispute a “Misleading Listing” if they believe the listing was incorrectly identified as “misleading.”
As of June 25, 2018, Merchants may access the the new feature to submit products for re-review.
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