Taobao locks horns with regulator

Nearly half of goods sold online fake, claims watchdog by Hao Yan, chinadaily.com.cn

Only just over 50 percent of goods bought online are genuine and meet national quality standards, China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce said.

A survey conducted between August and October revealed that 54 out of 92 items purchased from online shopping sites were authentic.

The biggest offender was found to be Taobao.com. Of 51 items bought there, only 19 were genuine.

Elsewhere, 6 of 7 items from Tmall.com; 18 of 20 from JD.com and 9 of 10 from Yhd.com proved genuine.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma Yun, discussing the online sale of fake goods at the World Internet Conference in November, said sellers of fake goods are afraid to sell their products on Taobao, as they can be tracked down easily and reported to police.

JD.com Inc said by email that they have taken action against sellers of fake goods and were arranging compensation for affected customers.

One seller was removed from the online shopping mall in August, the company said.

The company imposes strict penalties on staff involved with fake goods as well as fake or sub-standard goods sellers.

It randomly checks goods at least three times a week.

Yhd.com has removed the suspected goods after the government announced the survey result, and both the company and the sellers are tracking and investigating the goods, said Gao Ying, the company's spokesman.

He told chinadaily.com.cn that the consumers affected will be compensated in accordance with the Consumer Protection Law.