Is free-shipping in the Online Marketplace (Online Shop) Riba?

Question:

What are the free-shipping facilities provided by Marketplace to consumers, including usury?

Answer:

Bismillah was shalatu was greeting 'ala Rasulillah, wa ba'du,

There are some notes about the marketplace that we understand,

[1] The marketplace does not have goods, so the marketplace does not sell goods.

[2] A marketplace is a container or a place that brings together sellers and buyers in online malls.

[3] The marketplace is not only a place, but an institution that has the authority to make policies in its market

[4] Generally marketplace parties guarantee security for visitors with the escrow service (ES) system (joint account)

[5] Consumers who buy never meet the owner of the goods. All transactions are serviced by machines

[6] Not authorized to set prices for goods sold

[7] Do not get profits or profit sharing from merchants when items are sold

[8] Do not bear the risk of goods

[9] Sometimes renting out advertising features for some merchants, such as advertised or displayed in front

[10] The funds deposited at escrow service (ES) are regulated by the government and cannot be utilized by the marketplace - according to the info I have heard -.

The conclusion we want to underline, is that the marketplace is not a seller, not a representative of the seller, the marketplace is only media that brings together sellers and buyers with certain rules.

Before a further understanding of the marketplace, we will first learn 2 things:

First, the consequences of the sale and purchase agreement.

When a sale and purchase agreement is made, there will be a transfer of ownership rights. When the A sells the smartphone to the B for 100 dollars, then there is a transfer of ownership, smartphone moves the ownership rights of the A to the B, and 100 dollars transfers the ownership rights of the B to A.

Second, joint accounts and escrow

The existence of escrow in the marketplace is essentially to guarantee security for all parties. Especially consumers. Moreover, online transactions in the present are very vulnerable to fraud. When a marketplace company makes a market, of course, he wants the market to be safe from the existence of fraudsters. The intensity of fraud will not only harm all parties, including people's trust in the market will also be lost. And when the market is quiet from visitors, it will eventually be abandoned by the sellers. The large capital of the marketplace company in making transaction systems and machines, there is almost no hope of being able to return.

Not because of problems building suudzan, but choosing a safe position, in this case, is recommended. The sahabah familiarize this action, in order to avoid any opportunity for the emergence of disputes.

Imam al-Bukhari in Adabul Mufrad mentions the chapter title,



Then he brought a story from Salman al-Farisi radhiyallahu 'anhu,




Al-Urraq is a bone that has been cleaned, and there is still a small amount of meat attached. In the past, this was sold. Salman has a maid who is in charge of this bone shuttle courier. When he sends and receives, it is always counted first.

Salman's reason is that it is more calming for the heart.

Of course, you will not feel comfortable when your transaction is filled with suspicion. You buy online and you are filled with worries, lest you be cheated ... therefore, making the atmosphere comfortable when the transaction, by closing all gaps that can trigger disputes, is recommended in Islam.

Transaction Scheme in the marketplace

The seller registered himself to open a stall in the marketplace, then he posted a photo of the item there. Then the A is interested in buying it, then the A puts the item in the shopping basket. After being inspected and truly appropriate, the A buys the item by transferring the price of goods + freight costs (if not free).

The money transferred by consumers is not immediately accepted by the seller, but is held at the escrow service until there is a notification that the goods have arrived at the buyer safely. Then the nominal goes to the seller's virtual wallet, and then the seller has the right to withdraw it.

If we make a flow diagram, the sequence is as follows:

Sellers display goods A => consumers choose goods => Consumers enter goods into shopping cart => consumers buy by transferring the price of goods and postage => sellers receive notifications from marketplace to send goods => sellers send goods => goods arrive at consumers.

The question is, who is own the money stored in the escrow service (ES)?

Every property is online, of course there are owners. By looking at the marketplace scheme above, who owns the money?

Because there are 3 parties involved in the transaction, the answer is 3 possibilities,

[1] Belongs to MarketPlace

[2] Owner's seller

[3] Consumer Owned

And every answer certainly has consequences.

If we answer, the money belongs to the marketplace. The next question is, on what basis does the marketplace have the money?

Is he (marketplace) a seller? The answer: no.

Is he the recipient of debt from consumers?

Since when do consumers want to give marketplace money?

Therefore, if we understand this money as belonging to the marketplace, we find it difficult to provide a reason for what the marketplace has the money.

The answer is only two possibilities, between the consumer's or the seller's.

To determine this, you can use the consequence contract theory. If a contract has occurred, it means that there has been a transfer of ownership rights between the seller and the consumer. Where the money already belongs to the seller, and the goods become the consumer's rights.

The next question is, when the A is shopping in the marketplace, when does the sale and purchase agreement take place? See the scheme and flow chart above. There are 3 possibilities, when did the contract take place?

[1] When a consumer places a list of items he chooses in the shopping basket

[2] When consumers transfer money to Rekber

[3] When consumers receive goods.

For the first, when a consumer places a list of items he chooses in a shopping basket, obviously this is not a contract. Therefore, to put it in a shopping basket, there is absolutely no bond whatsoever.

For the third, when consumers receive goods, this is also impossible. Because here consumers only accept goods and do not make contracts. So that the contract has happened before. Therefore, the best answer is the second, when consumers transfer money to Rekber.

For this reason, it has become a rule in online transactions, when a consumer is declared to have a transaction deal if he has made a payment by transfer or another method.

So that the money deposited in the escrow service (ES) is the seller's money and no longer belongs to the consumer. But the seller has not been able to withdraw his rights, until there is certainty that the goods have arrived safely at the consumer's place. So that this money is essentially guaranteed as a sale and purchase transaction between the seller and the consumer in the marketplace.

conclusion

In conclusion, the money deposited in the account is not a consumer loan fund to the marketplace. So that if the consumer gets any prize like (free shipping) from the marketplace, it does not include profits due to accounts payable transactions.

Thus, Allahu a’lam.