Alibaba has long been criticized for not being tough enough on cheats and counterfeiters who use platforms like Taobao to trick consumers. And while they clearly have a ways to go — just see this article from earlier today for evidence of that — they’ve taken a good step forward today by launching Taobao Baoguang Tai, a platform to help consumer separate the real from the fake.
The site, which you can access here, features tips for consumers about how to identify fake products. There’s a scrolling list of names of vendors who have been caught selling fake products, and another list of vendors caught repeatedly selling poor-quality products. There are convenient buttons to facilitate users reporting fake or low-quality products. And there’s a giant fist made of fire, because why not?
From top to bottom: Consumer tips, name-and-shame lists, and buttons for reporting cases
It remains to be seen whether the name-and-shame approach will have any real effect on how safe Taobao is for consumers. Alibaba has removed millions of counterfeit items from their services over the last year, but it appears millions more have appeared in their place. Will one giant fist made of fire be enough to deal with them? Only time will tell.
But in the meantime, consumers can check out the tips on the site and learn to avoid the fakers and cheats, which we guess is better than nothing. Online shopping addicts, time to get reading!