Major Russian online retailers disclaim responsibility for goods lost in drone attacks

Russian marketplace Megamarket has followed Wildberries and Ozon in changing its terms for sellers: the online retailer has disclaimed responsibility for goods lost in drone attacks.

Source: Russian Telegram channel Mozhem Obyasnit (We can explain)

Details: Megamarket, owned by Sberbank, has followed its competitors in changing its contract terms with sellers, significantly expanding the list of force majeure circumstances.

The company stated that it will not be liable for loss or damage to goods resulting from the use of weapons, military equipment, drones, or munitions, or from bombardments and explosions.

Previously, the list of force majeure circumstances consisted only of general categories, such as natural disasters, military action and decisions by state authorities. The new rules will come into force on 8 August.

Quote: "Following a series of Ukrainian drone attacks on Wildberries warehouses, Russia's largest marketplaces have begun rewriting their terms of service. Wildberries, Ozon and Yandex Market have updated their rules for sellers, abandoning their obligation to compensate them for lost or damaged goods if the cause was military action, including drone strikes."

Details: Many sellers received compensation that turned out to be dozens or even hundreds of times lower than the value of the goods lost.

Entrepreneurs have published evidence of payouts ranging from RUB 2,000 to 15,000 (US$26-192) for losses worth hundreds of thousands of roubles. They have also complained that they were unable to retrieve even surviving goods from other warehouses and criticised the marketplace's offer to help them rebuild their businesses through preferential loans rather than guaranteed compensation.

Background:

• On 18 July, drones attacked the town of Kotovsk in Russia's Tambov Oblast, causing a fire at a Wildberries logistics centre.
• Large Wildberries logistics centres in the Russian cities of Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk in Stavropol Krai caught fire following a drone attack on the night of 21-22 July.
• On 24 July, it was reported that explosions had been heard across Russian-occupied Crimea for the third consecutive night, with social media users reporting drone strikes in several cities, including on a Wildberries warehouse in Simferopol.
• Following Ukrainian drone attacks on Wildberries warehouses, the online retailer has removed the tag "Everything for the SMO", under which over 200,000 products had previously been listed. The Russians refer to their unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine using the term "the special military operation" (SMO).

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