Li Ao (李敖) is a famous writer and social commentator in Taiwan. Recently, the famed writer's eldest daughter, Li Wen (李文) had a row with a seller on Taobao.com (the biggest online shopping platform in Asia) over discounts for a dress. Li had been interested in purchasing a linen dress selling at 480 yuan from a shop on Taobao. She went ahead and discussed dress sizes with the shop owner “deerlightly (net name),” and after finding out that she might have to pay extra to have the dress altered on her own, proceeded to discuss possible discounts – suggesting sending them an autographed book in exchange for 150 yuan off the listed price. Failing to receive the response she was obviously expecting, Li Wen ahead and introduced herself: “I'm Dr. Hedy W. Lee, a Chinese American, a professor of English, a writer, an etiquette teacher, a professional speaker, a professional hostess, an advocate of equality, a lady of elite birth, a commentator on social etiquette and urban culture, and the eldest daughter of famed Taiwanese writer Li Ao.”

Li Wen 李文

During the exchange with the shop owner, Li wrote in both English and Chinese, parading her flashy titles and affiliations with the rich and famous. The shop owner grew angry and decided to call off the deal altogether, refusing to sell the dress to Li Wen. Subsequently, Li proceeded to complain to Taobao about the seller calling off transactions single-handedly after she had already confirmed the transactions on her end. She also filed complaints about the seller’s personal attacks – comments like, “Your native language is English, so you should get back to your own country! Quit trying to bully your way in our land!”

Li Wen 李文

Li Wen further explained that she had just started making purchases on Taobao this month and has had previous experience with exchanging her autographed book for discounts. But the seller, Mrs. Wang, said Li Wen had only confirmed her purchase after she had already closed transactions on the dress, and that doing business is about the willingness on part of both parties, “I don't offer discounts. You think you can force your deal on me?”

After investigating the matter, Taobao decided to penalize the seller with a yellow flag warning, citing “bad customer service” on part of the seller in dealing with the situation.

Li Ao (李敖) and his daughter Li Wen (李文)

Li Ao is a well known writer, historian, scholar in Taiwan; he's also a well-known “independent politics commentator.”

Taobao.com is the biggest online shopping platform in Asia. It was founded by the Alibaba Group on May 10th, 2003. Taobao.com specializes in C2C (consumer to consumer) and B2C (business to consumer) commerce. As of December 31st, 2008, Taobao.com had over 98 million registered users.

Source: Huanqiu.com

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