Thousands of small business owners launched an online protest against Taobao Mall, a unit of China’s Alibaba Group, over a fee hike that they claim puts them at a disadvantage to bigger businesses, Xinhua news agency reported.
Taobao Mall, China’s largest business to consumer (B2C) e-commerce platform, said on Monday it will increase its annual membership fees from CNY6,000 (USD944) to between CNY30,000 to CNY60,000 depending on the type and scale of the business.
The fee hike caused thousands of Taobao Mall shop owners to protest online on Tuesday night by buying up goods from bigger stores and then asking for refunds, Xinhua said.
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(Source: scmp.com)