Take our user survey and make your voice heard.
Has this ever happened to you? You’re sitting at home, looking through your favorite social media app Crabhouse and sipping on a cold glass of crab cola when suddenly the phone rings. On the other end is a shady salesperson trying to sell you crabs, but when you politely tell them you’re already well-stocked with crabs, they just continue their high-pressure sales pitch.
If so, you’re among the growing number of people in Japan victimized by what’s being called “crab negative option sales” in the media. In 2021 alone there were a reported 5,189 cases of this, which is more than twice that of the previous year.
Negative option sales is when a company constantly sends a product and automatically charges for it, until the customer tells them to stop. Oftentimes, in these instances the company makes it incredibly difficult to cancel so they can continue making money. So too do crab negative option sales groups try to rope people into long-term seafood commitments against their will.
▼ A news report on the rise in crab negative option sales
Among the reports are incidents of people dealing with relentless sales reps over the phone trying to force people into buying crab, salmon, or other seafood products. In some cases the salesperson will try to tap into people’s sympathies with claims such as, “I’m in trouble because I’m losing income from the pandemic.”
In other, more serious reports, even after denying salespeople on the phone, some people have been getting cases of seafood sent to their home by cash on delivery. The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan is reminding everyone not to accept any unordered item sent to them, and instead take note of the sender’s information and report it.
It’s important to note that the figures presented are only the reported cases, suggesting that a great deal more people have experienced crab negative option sales too. Comments to the news seem to suggest that as well, with a large number mentioning some encounter with such shady seafood sales.
“If you pay for it once, they’ll just keep sending stuff to you. It’s a hassle.”
“I got a call to my house by someone selling seafood, be careful everyone.”
“The cash on delivery system should just be banned.”
“If I lived alone it would be easy to refuse, but living with other people I might assume that someone else ordered it and accept it.”
“I just never answer the phone or the door. It’s never anything good on the other end anyway.”
“Sounds like what NHK does, doesn’t it?”
“My dad got suckered into this last year.”
“I’d eat it and then send back the shells by cash on delivery.”
Taking advantage of people’s inability to refuse is one thing, but the other horrible aspect is the food waste that goes on. Once the package has been sent and returned, the seafood inside is likely not very usable.
Nevertheless, the most important thing is to take a hard line with these crab pushers and refuse all of their advances, otherwise they’ll just be encouraged to do it more.
Source: Ameba Times, YouTube/ANNnewsCH
Read more stories from SoraNews24.
-- We try “Chilli Crab Seafood Noodle” — Nissin’s new cup noodles with a Singaporean twist【Taste Test】
-- Is that restaurant in Tokyo with the giant mecha crab sign any good?
-- Hotel guest who boiled crabs in room’s kettle angry to have to pay for damages
- External Link
- https://soranews24.com/2022/07/19/cases-of-people-getting-unwanted-crabs-skyrocketing-in-japan-salmon-too/
31 Comments
Login to comment
divinda
Until I reached the word "salmon" in the title, I was under a completely different impression as to the meaning of this....
Disillusioned
Another unscrupulous business scam in Japan. This only happens due to Japan's continual rape of the oceans resulting ina glut of products they have to force people to buy. If seafood stocks were properly managed these scammers would not have products to force people to buy.
u_s__reamer
As many others must have felt, the "Unwanted (!?) Crabs" headline gave me a sudden itch until "salmon, too" provided the relief. The work of a mischievous editor, methinks.
Kumagaijin
x 2
Chico3
I think the title is a bit misleading considering the hot and humid climate with itchiness from mosquitoes and other things.
Seigi
Genius headline writer! Thought that cases of crabs are on the rise among Japanese...
BigP
Getting unwanted CRABS!!
Oh, those crabs. You had me worried there for a moment.
Ichigo
kani kani sagi
wallace
We ignore all sales calls.
COD means you can just refuse to pay.
Mark
Negative sales is a popular and very effective way to increase sales, it is practiced by almost all major retailors and service businesses.
Just to give you an example:
Duskin home cleaning were they get you to buy cleaning products even when you already have a years supplies.
DoCoMo Softbank and UQ all push options and apps that hardly ever use at the start of a contract then after a month if you want or try to cancel you a tech wizard to help you get out of it.
Electricity providers , yes that is true they get you to sign a high amperage contract like 50 or 100 amp claiming you need so much power because you are using an IH or the so called ECO water boiler when you only need about half of they they get you contract depending on your life style.
We all remember to medicine box that they ask you to try it for a month and if you use any of it's content the price is 3 times what it is at the drug store, and if you try to cancel then a long legged short skirt sales lady comes to convince to keep it.
Life or medical insurance, boy watch out, this the worst of them all were you end up signing your life savings away, buying unwanted, overpriced insurance which you will almost never use.
My advise NEVR answer or pick up, and if you do!!!? when you hear ISOGASHI .............. immediately HANG UP.
Sorry for the long post, but I am listing my bad experiences hopping others will learn from them.
Mark
Another way of baiting you is they will send a box of goodies, then the wait for about 2 weeks, and of course you have already consumed it or used thinking it's s gift or the lord loves you, then they come knocking on you door pushing you to accept their service, younger people are a big target with this scam.
wtfjapan
My advise NEVR answer or pick up, and if you do!!!? when you hear ISOGASHI .............. immediately HANG UP.
I have no time for these type of scammers, both international and domestic, as soon as I know theyre trying to sell me something, I just say ,
Not interested, do not call me back, hangup.
dont feel bad people they do this for a living Im most certain theyre not going to be offended by your words, , you shouldnt feel obliged or feel bad when outright rejecting them.
Yes they may call back, just give them the same reply, eventually they get the picture.
finally rich
you probably forgot those people offering little balloons for the kids and their "free" water coolers, always in the middle of the busiest shopping malls, I do my best to avoid them
Speed
Solution: Don't pay.
Cash on delivery, tell the delivery man you didn't order it and don't accept or pay for it.
Pressure phone calls keep coming, tell them no and hang up.
You're sent a sample and they leave it on your doorsteps, put it somewhere, and when they come to collect on it, give it back to them. If they call and they tell you to pay for it, say no. Again tell them to pick it up. If they persist, call the cops.
The Avenger
Just reading the headline I had a different interpretation in my head...
Paustovsky
Best not to go to Hub then.
Captain Obvious
What do expect from SoraNews24? Every time I read an article here, I generally know if it's a Reuters or SoraNews24 article when I'm a quarter of the way through.
virusrex
That people still keep doing this means that it is still a profitable scam, taking into account how much money is lost in wasted food and returned packages then a lot of people must still be a victim of this.
I can only guess that because of the pandemic a lot of people began to order things and ended up unable to refuse the negative option sales, there should be an easy way to accuse companies doing it.
Thunderbird2
I don't understand how this works - surely if you never ordered it why would you pay for it?
Antiquesaving
As someone pointed out in the article.
If you are living with other people you may pay thinking they ordered something.
I occasionally pay things my wife or children order when the are not home.
Antiquesaving
My favourite comment in the article!
NHK and fraud/scammers one and the same.
wallace
If an order arrives without a name then no one ordered it. If a member of a household orders an item it will arrive with their name on it. Most ordering is online with credit cards. COD are often not an option. COD then just refuse.
We even refuse to accept the free milk samples from Meiji. We tell them we are allergic.
Mr Kipling
Please, please , please send me some crab without me ordering it and come to my door expecting payment...
I love crab as much as I enjoy winding up scammers.
englisc aspyrgend
Me too.
Used to have a problem like this in the UK, with book clubs especially but they introduced some effective distance selling regulations and the problem went away. Still get scam phone calls, usually routed from abroad to get round the measures put in place to stop them. We have an answer phone on all the time and only answer when we hear who it is, most junk calls cut out when they get the answerphone message, the rest don’t get answered.
Agree an appalling waste of food.
Well done Mr Kipling, in the past one of my favourites was to answer and get them talking and appear really, really interested then come up with some excuse I had to dash off, pan boiling over or something telling them I will be back in just a moment and leave them hanging on wasting time and money. My best was a very pushy conservatory salesman who I strung along for ages to the point he thought I was going to order and had my card ready at which point I asked how they would cantilever it? He was very confused, so I explained I lived in a second floor flat (3rd floor in Japan) he hung up, very rude I thought :)
finally rich
Do you even read the 1st quarter? I usually skip half the article and go straight to the actual news
kaimycahl
When things get tough expect more of this!