Qoo10 Affiliates Tmon and Wemakeprice Face Collapse Risk
Sellers Foreseeing 'Timep' Crisis Contact Consumers
Advising "Cancel Payment" to Customers
Amid the controversy caused by delayed settlements involving Timon and Wemakeprice, subsidiaries of Singapore-based e-commerce platform Qoo10, a seller's story has recently come to light about advising buyers to "cancel their payments" before the 'Timpef (Timon + Wemakeprice)' incident became widely known.
On the 24th, a post titled "The Mysterious Good Samaritan in the Timon Bankruptcy Incident" was uploaded on an online community. The post was a compilation of a comment by netizen A on a summary of the Timpef incident, containing details about being advised by a seller to cancel a payment without understanding the reason before the settlement delay became public.
A said, "About ten days ago, I made a payment of around 1 million won on Timon, and last week I received a call from the seller," explaining the situation. "The seller said, 'It's difficult to explain the reason, but it would be better if you cancel the 1 million won payment,'" they added.
Angry at the seller's advice, A said, "At first, not knowing the reason, I was very upset and said a lot, then canceled the 1 million won payment, and last Friday I received a refund from Timon." They continued, "After the Timpef incident occurred, I realized I barely received the refund, so I feel strange." A also expressed regret, saying, "I wonder what kind of feelings the seller had to endure insults while making those calls."
A's comment became a hot topic on social networking services (SNS) and online communities. Netizens responded with comments such as "Let's call the seller to thank them now," "It would be good to call back and say thank you," "They are a savior," "At least sending a thank-you message is the right thing to do," "They took on the role of the villain," and "They must be having a hard time not receiving settlements, but they are truly admirable."
Netizen A, who claimed to have foreseen the T-Mef incident, said the seller contacted them to "cancel the payment." [Photo by Online Community]
Meanwhile, Qoo10 has failed to pay settlements to its sellers on time and is facing a crisis of collapse due to liquidity shortages. People who purchased products from Timon and Wemakeprice have even gone to the headquarters demanding refunds. Industry insiders pointed out that Qoo10 was only focused on increasing transaction volume by acquiring domestic e-commerce companies like Timon and Wemakeprice, but failed to systematically control its domestic subsidiaries, which is the root cause of this incident.
Ryu Hwayeon, CEO of Wemakeprice, stated, "We will do our best to prevent consumer damage, and secondly, to minimize damage to small business owners and self-employed individuals." She added, "The unsettled payments owed to sellers from the combined Timon and Wemakeprice amount to about 100 billion won, which Qoo10 has secured. (The Qoo10 CEO) will find a solution and come forward in front of everyone."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
