Eric Tsang sells alcohol on livestream, draws ire after buyers receive counterfeits

Eric Tsang is best known for his comedic acts, but no one was laughing after they allegedly received counterfeit alcohol sold by the comedian, reported Apple Daily.  

Several days ago, the 67-year-old Hong Kong veteran took part in a sales stream — a popular form of livestream where hosts, and sometimes celebrity guests, promote merchandise for fans to buy during the session — hosted on Douyin, China's version of TikTok. 

The livestream lasted over 4.5 hours, during which Eric hawked 22 different types of alcohol — including wine, baijiu, beer, and more — as well as snacks such as duck neck and crayfish.

Although it was his first time doing a salestream, the session racked up over 10 million viewers and his sales exceeded 13.5 million yuan (S$2.68 million).

However, negative comments began rolling in soon after.

Netizens alleged that they received bottles of counterfeit alcohol — some received bottles of brandy that had invalid authenticity barcodes, while others received bottles that came without packaging.

One netizen also claimed that they paid for three bottles of baijiu from the famous brand Wuliangye, but received only one bottle. The remaining two are from other brands.

"All the alcohol sold that day were fake. Looking at the reviews, everything was fake. I've asked for a refund for all four orders I placed, including those that have yet to be dispatched. I'll never buy anything from celebrity streams ever again," one particularly angry netizen wrote.

Another wrote: "I fell for it hook, line and sinker. I believed your credibility, in the end all I received were Taobao goods. There weren't even discounts, I won't believe these sort of tricks anymore."

Some argued that Eric might have been presented with the actual products during the livestream and was therefore unaware that netizens were sold counterfeits. At the time of writing, he has yet to come out and address the allegations.

rainercheung@asiaone.com