Taobao seller sends body bag to dissatisfied customer
Staff Reporter 2012-09-19 16:08
A woman in Fuzhou received a body bag from an online seller to whom she gave a negative evaluation. (Internet photo)
An online seller on Taobao, China's largest e-commerce platform, sent a body bag to a buyer who had given a negative evaluation to the store, reports the Fuzhou-based Fujian Daily.
A customer surnamed Lin wanted to return the poor quality clothes she had purchased from an online vendor on Taobao, the quality of which she said could not be discerned from the photos provided by the seller online. The seller agreed to accept Lin's request as long as the wrapping and price tag of the product had not been damaged. Lin said the plastic wrapping has been broken but the tag and clothes were intact. A misunderstanding seemed to occur, which finally ended with a negative evaluation from the buyer on Taobao.
The seller responded with a harsh letter saying that a negative evaluation could not threaten sellers anymore due to revised rules on Taobao.
Lin later received a package that contained a body bag and found that it had been ordered by the seller. "I did not expect they would do this to me simply because I gave them a negative evaluation. I live with my children and grandparents, who were frightened and angered to receive something like this," Lin said.
Lin believes the parcel was obviously an act of revenge and hopes Taobao will punish the seller and protect customers' rights.
Lin's has not yet received a response from Taobao. A customer service representative told the reporter that before September, a customer could only file a complaint either for after-sales service or for harassment. A customer cannot appeal for both. Since Lin put the order in before September and chose to complain about the former, Taobao cannot accept her further complaint about the body bag. The representative suggested that Lin file a lawsuit against the seller.
The representative added that a customer can complain about both after-sales service and harassment beginning from September by uploading evidence such as messages between the buyer and seller, within 15 days of the order.
If accepted, the seller would need to double their advance payment to Taobao and have their ranking lowered, the representative said.
