Group buying on the internet is growing in popularity these days. Cheap prices are attracting more and more online shoppers, but sometimes, these deals turn out to be scams.
Ms. Huang is a big fan of online shopping. She spends almost all her income buying a wide variety of products on the Internet. This pair of shoes was on her recent shopping list.
"The price was attractive."
The shoes were sold at 148 yuan on this website, representing a saving of almost 90 percent.
Ms. Huang said "I bought it without a second thought."
Three days later, Ms. Huang received the shoes, and was caught with a surprise, and not a good one.
"I immediately found many problems with the product. The decorative hair was everywhere and the stitching was horrible."
Feeling deceived, Ms. Huang contacted the website.
Ms. Huang said "The customer service agent who answered my call sounded very nice. She asked me to send the shoes back to them and promised a refund."
Then, the long wait began. One month later, Ms. Huang found the website had shut-down, and could not get through to the service hotline.
In various scams, it has not only been websites that have disappeared, but actual shops have also vanished overnight. Mr. Tan is one victim of this scam.
He bought several coupons allowing him to play at a game shop for a very low price. His first visit to the shop was pleasing.
"All the machines were occupied. The shop was crowded with people. And I had a very good time there. I was really happy. "
But the good feeling didn't last long. In his second visit, he found the shop was closed, and the owner was nowhere to be found, just another example of the many scams that are becoming more and more prevalent.