Shops in One Beijing Electronics Market Caught Cheating Customers

(Image source: market.zpooo.com)

Buying electronics in China can be an interesting experience. Generally speaking, they’re sold in large markets containing hundreds of small shops, each with different employees and branding even though the market itself is also branded. In Beijing, BuyNow is one of the most noticable and well-known electronics markets, especially for people on the east side of the city who prefer visiting the large BuyNow shop in Chaoyangmen over trudging all the way to Zhongguancun.

Recently, after one BuyNow shopper reported to the Beijing Morning Post that she had been lied to and sold a computer at an unfairly high price, the newspaper launched an investigation. Apparently without much trouble at all, the reporters discovered pushy salesmen (duh), salesmen who lied about the capabilities of the devices they were selling, and even one shop that called guards to escort an undercover reporter out of the building after he declined to buy a laptop. Later, one of the guards told the reporter that it was relatively normal for shoppers to be threatened by shopkeepers this way.

This story fits pretty well with my own experiences at BuyNow. I used to live quite close to the Chaoyangmen location, but I learned pretty quickly not to trust it after purchasing a Kindle there for the explicit purpose of buying some books from the Kindle store. Salespeople in the BuyNow shop assured me that this would be possible, but it wasn’t, and after some discussion with Amazon.com staff, it turned out that “my” Kindle had been reported stolen. I attempted to return it to the shop, but they refused to take it at first , agreeing to only after a lengthy argument that ended with me reminding them that the police might be interested in learning they were selling stolen goods. (I did subsequently report this to the police and to BuyNow’s management anyway, but I’m not sure whether anything happened as a result). I also used to witness fistfights there on a pretty regular basis, and I once saw a shopkeeper threatening to hit a customer with a fire extinguisher (although in his defense, the customer had just made some very derogatory comments regarding his mother).

Anyway, I think the message here is pretty clear: just don’t shop at BuyNow. Just don’t do it.

[Beijing Morning Post via Sina Tech]