At the start of the month, The Auction House’s booth at the COMEX 2022 IT show saw huge crowds as the online retailer sold mystery parcels for S$6.
According to The Straits Times (ST), although not defined in the law, selling mystery boxes in Singapore is prohibited.
On Tuesday (13 Sep), the police confirmed that a report was lodged against The Auction House. Investigations are ongoing.
On 1 Sep, The Auction House did a livestream on Facebook promoting their booth at the COMEX 2022 show, held from 1 to 4 Sep.
The booth was met with huge crowds as bargain hunters sought out parcels they wished to get.
Source: The Auction House SG on Facebook
In one video, The Auction House founder Ms Melissa Wix showed a few items customers have gotten from the parcels. Some got a vacuum flask, while others got a robot vacuum or a speaker.
Source: The Auction House SG on Facebook
In response to queries, The Auction House said they are aware that mystery boxes are illegal here.
However, they did not consider the parcels they sold to be mystery boxes as the contents were shown on Facebook livestreams.
Source: The Auction House SG on Facebook
It’s noteworthy that while some parcels were opened and shown in these videos, the prices of items were not stated.
The Auction House sold each parcel for S$6. Customers who bought 10 parcels got 2 free.
A spokesperson from The Auction House said they opened quite a few parcels. Many contained repeated items like shoes and bags, reported ST.
Mystery boxes usually contain surprise items that may be of higher value than what consumers would normally pay for them. They are currently prohibited in Singapore.
Back in 2018, merchants operating vending machines that sold mystery items were deemed a form of public lottery. The police later told them to stop operations.
Speaking to ST, lawyer and head of sports and gaming at Rajah & Tann Singapore said while mystery boxes are not defined in the Gambling Control Act, this incident would constitute a game of chance.
He explained that this is because shoppers are all paying the same amount to get randomly allocated boxes. Each box contains different items of differing values.
Previously, the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) expressed its intention to regulate mystery boxes and introduce safeguards. This could mean a price cap of S$100.
However, experts say more clarity is needed on what will be allowed.
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Featured image adapted from The Auction House SG on Facebook and Facebook.
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