Customer anger at claims Taobao staff are in cahoots with vendors
Source: Xinhua |
May 2, 2012, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
WEB users have reacted with anger to claims that employees of Taobao.com, China's largest online marketplace, conspire with site vendors to deceive consumers.
Chinese magazine IT Time Weekly reported last month that some employees at Taobao, part of Alibaba Group, have taken bribes from online shop owners to secretly help them remove consumers' unfavorable comments and raise credit ratings.
The story also alleged that some employees misused advertising tools on the Taobao transaction platform.
Corruption extends from low-level staff to technicians and project planners, the story claimed.
"This has become the biggest obstacle for Taobao to conduct online business transactions on a level playing field," the report alleged.
Although the validity of these accusations has yet to be verified, the report has been forwarded on more than 10,000 times on the Sina Weibo microblog platform.
Web users were angered by the claims and unsure who to trust. "I don't know who I should believe because Internet vendors may be getting away with selling inferior quality products because they have deals with Taobao employees," wrote web user "Tulip" on Weibo.
Others called for tough legislation in the sector. "Only by implementing strict laws can we eradicate corruption," wrote netizen "Old Young."
Tao Ran, vice president of Alibaba Group, said in a big business it was inevitable that a minority would seek to act illegally for their own gain.
"As Taobao is like a virtual society, it is unavoidable that some businessmen try to obtain illegal profits by getting involved in bribery," Tao said.
"Some people lose their way when faced with financial temptation, but they are a minority."
Wang Shuai, chief marketing officer of Alibaba Group, claimed IT Time Weekly has a vendetta against Taobao because the e-commerce giant chose not to advertise in the title.
Tao pointed out that Taobao set up a department in 2010 to investigate reports of illegal activities concerning employees.
In 2011, Taobao had more than 400 million users and annual sales worth 600 billion yuan (US$95.5 billion) - 80 percent of China's online shopping.
Chinese magazine IT Time Weekly reported last month that some employees at Taobao, part of Alibaba Group, have taken bribes from online shop owners to secretly help them remove consumers' unfavorable comments and raise credit ratings.
The story also alleged that some employees misused advertising tools on the Taobao transaction platform.
Corruption extends from low-level staff to technicians and project planners, the story claimed.
"This has become the biggest obstacle for Taobao to conduct online business transactions on a level playing field," the report alleged.
Although the validity of these accusations has yet to be verified, the report has been forwarded on more than 10,000 times on the Sina Weibo microblog platform.
Web users were angered by the claims and unsure who to trust. "I don't know who I should believe because Internet vendors may be getting away with selling inferior quality products because they have deals with Taobao employees," wrote web user "Tulip" on Weibo.
Others called for tough legislation in the sector. "Only by implementing strict laws can we eradicate corruption," wrote netizen "Old Young."
Tao Ran, vice president of Alibaba Group, said in a big business it was inevitable that a minority would seek to act illegally for their own gain.
"As Taobao is like a virtual society, it is unavoidable that some businessmen try to obtain illegal profits by getting involved in bribery," Tao said.
"Some people lose their way when faced with financial temptation, but they are a minority."
Wang Shuai, chief marketing officer of Alibaba Group, claimed IT Time Weekly has a vendetta against Taobao because the e-commerce giant chose not to advertise in the title.
Tao pointed out that Taobao set up a department in 2010 to investigate reports of illegal activities concerning employees.
In 2011, Taobao had more than 400 million users and annual sales worth 600 billion yuan (US$95.5 billion) - 80 percent of China's online shopping.
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