电商平台“会员制营销”模式中的法律责任认定——以Costco、山姆为例

Confirmation of Legal Responsibility in “Membership Marketing” Mode of E-Commerce Platform —Taking Costco and Sam as Examples

摘要: 电商平台“会员制营销”模式在提升用户黏性与运营效率的同时，也引发了诸多法律争议。本文以Costco与山姆会员店为例，分析其在会员费退还、商品服务质量及算法应用等方面的典型纠纷，指出当前法律实践中存在的三大核心问题：会员资格法律性质模糊、平台责任边界不清、算法权力侵蚀消费者权益。为解决上述问题，本文提出构建“合同–侵权–监管”三维一体的法律责任认定体系：合同层面明确会员资格属性并规范格式条款；侵权层面强化平台对表见代理及混同模式下的责任；监管层面推动资金存管、算法审计与线上纠纷解决机制。通过系统性的法律保障路径，为会员制营销模式的合规发展提供理论支持与实践指引。

Abstract: The “membership marketing” mode of e-commerce platforms has not only improved user stickiness and operational efficiency, but also caused many legal disputes. Taking Costco and Sam member stores as examples, this paper analyzes their typical disputes on the refund of membership fees, the quality of goods and services, and the application of algorithms, and points out three core problems in current legal practice: vague legal nature of membership, unclear boundary of platform responsibilities, and the erosion of consumers’ rights and interests by algorithm power. In order to solve the above problems, this paper puts forward to build a three-in-one legal liability identification system of “contract-tort-supervision”: at the contract level, the membership attribute is clarified and the standard terms are standardized; at the infringement level, strengthen the platform’s responsibility for agency by estoppel and confusion mode; the regulatory level promotes fund depository, algorithm audit and online dispute resolution mechanism. Through the systematic legal protection path, it provides theoretical support and practical guidance for the compliance development of membership marketing model.