Seven out of nine e-commerce sites sell fake goods

(ECNS) -- Seven out of nine randomly chosen e-commerce platforms have been found selling fake or unlicensed products, China Central Television reported on Monday, citing quality checks from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) and the China Consumers' Association.

Out of 92 samples, 38 failed quality tests, while online shopping platforms such as Jingdong Mall, Taobao, Tmall, The Store and zol.com all had unlicensed products on sale.

Taobao was the worst performer, with 32 samples out of 51 products without license.

Merchandise problems include the sale of imitation goods, poor quality items, refurbished products, lack of safety certification and the use of unauthorized sales channels, along with goods failing to match product descriptions.

The SAIC conducted an investigation and punished illegal operators of online stores and third-party online trading platforms according to the law.

The SAIC advised that police should strictly monitor these e-business platforms and that consumers approach their purchases rationally – if something seems to be too good to be true, it probably is.

Statistics released by Bank of China indicate that the country currently has 350 million online shoppers and that the total amount spent online in 2014 hit 1.05 trillion yuan ($167.9 billion), an average of over 3000 yuan ($479) per person.