'Absolutely ridiculous': Shopee customer orders AirPods, receives staples instead

Expecting a new pair of AirPods, a Shopee customer was instead greeted by rows of staples when she opened the box delivered to her doorstep.

In a TikTok post on Tuesday (Oct 20), user momo043522 shared how she had purchased a pair of AirPods from Shopee Mall's Apple Flagship Store, which claims to be an authorised Apple reseller with over 186,000 followers.

However, she was horrified to find stapler bullets in place of earphones inside the box she received.

"Where is my AirPods?" wrote momo043522 in her post, addressing Shopee.

The customer, identified only as Hu, told Stomp that she had ordered the AirPods on Oct 17 at 8.23pm for $254 on Shopee, after applying vouchers and the platform's reward points system, Shopee Coins.

Checks on Shopee showed that the original price of the AirPods Pro 3 would cost $349, although it is currently offering a 9 per cent platform discount.

It also claims the product is 100 per cent authentic and has a 4.9-star product rating based on over 9,000 reviews on Shopee.

Checks on Apple's official online store show that the same pair of earbuds costs $349.

Hu told Stomp that she received the parcel at her doorstep on Oct 18 and opened it around 2.30pm that day.

"The outer packaging was intact and I did not notice anything unusual," said the 24-year-old teacher, adding that the seals on the box appeared to be untouched as well.

But when she found rows of staples inside the box, Hu said: "I was shocked and couldn't believe my eyes."

She shared that she had never experienced anything like this before and took the matter extremely seriously.

Refunded, but still 'ridiculous'

Hu wrote that she immediately contacted Shopee's customer service upon discovering the issue.

The seller reportedly requested for the AirPods' serial number for investigation and instructed her to submit a return and refund request.

"We apologise for the inconvenience but please know that this is not what we want you to experience," wrote the seller in a message to Hu.

It added that it was unaware of the matter as "all products are brand new and sealed".

Hu shared that she had returned the item on Oct 19 and received a refund later that night.

"Later that night, I discovered that the seller had already issued my refund even before receiving the returned item," Hu said, adding in the comments section of her post on Oct 20 that she was "surprised" by the quick refund but she still found the entire ordeal "absolutely ridiculous".

She is hoping the seller will provide an explanation for the incident and also advised online shoppers to always record an unboxing video for expensive purchases.

"I also hope Shopee will strengthen its platform oversight, improve customer service and take cases like this seriously," wrote Hu.

Shopee has taken 'appropriate action'

A Shopee spokesperson told Stomp that it has looked into the matter and issued a full refund on Oct 19.

Shopee added that it has completed its investigation and taken appropriate action, including reviewing measures to prevent similar incidents.

The spokesperson also expressed thanks to the customer for raising the matter to the company.

The platform said: “Providing our customers with a safe and reliable shopping experience remains a key priority for Shopee.”

Hu's post has amassed over 120,000 views on TikTok, with more than 3,300 likes and almost 4,000 shares.

AsiaOne has reached out to momo043522 for more information.

laili.abdeen@asiaone.com

一位 Shopee 顾客原本期待收到一副新的 AirPods，结果打开送到家门口的盒子后，看到的却是一排排的订书钉。

周二（10 月 20 日），TikTok 用户 momo043522 在帖子中分享了她如何从 Shopee Mall 的 Apple 旗舰店购买了一副 AirPods，该店自称是 Apple 授权经销商，拥有超过 186,000 名粉丝。

然而，令她震惊的是，她收到的盒子里装的不是耳机，而是订书钉子弹。

用户 momo043522 在帖子中写道：“我的 AirPods 在哪里？”，并向 Shopee 发帖。

这位名叫胡的顾客告诉 Stomp，她在 10 月 17 日晚上 8 点 23 分在 Shopee 上订购了一副 AirPods，价格为 254 美元，使用了优惠券和 Shopee 平台的奖励积分系统 Shopee Coins。

在 Shopee 上查询发现，AirPods Pro 3 的原价为 349 美元，不过目前平台提供 9% 的折扣。

该产品还声称是 100% 正品，在 Shopee 上基于超过 9000 条评论获得了 4.9 星的产品评分。

查看苹果官方在线商店可知，同一款耳机的售价为 349 美元。

胡女士告诉 Stomp，她于 10 月 18 日在家门口收到了包裹，并在当天下午 2 点 30 分左右打开了包裹。

“外包装完好无损，我没有发现任何异常，”这位24岁的教师说，并补充说，盒子上的封条似乎也没有被动过。

但当胡女士在盒子里发现一排排订书钉时，她说：“我震惊了，简直不敢相信自己的眼睛。”

她表示自己以前从未经历过这样的事情，并非常重视此事。

已退款，但仍然觉得“荒谬”。

胡女士写道，她发现问题后立即联系了Shopee的客服。

据报道，卖家要求提供 AirPods 的序列号以便进行调查，并指示她提交退货退款申请。

卖家在给胡女士的信息中写道：“对于给您带来的不便，我们深表歉意，但请您理​​解，这并不是我们希望您遇到的情况。”

该公司补充说，他们对此事并不知情，因为“所有产品都是全新的，并且是密封的”。

胡女士表示，她于 10 月 19 日退货，当晚就收到了退款。

“当晚晚些时候，我发现卖家甚至在收到退货之前就已经退款了，”胡女士说。她在 10 月 20 日的帖子评论区补充道，她对快速退款感到“惊讶”，但她仍然觉得整个过程“绝对荒谬”。

她希望卖家能对这起事件做出解释，并建议网购者在购买贵重物品时务必录制开箱视频。

胡写道：“我也希望 Shopee 能加强平台监管，改善客户服务，认真对待此类事件。”

Shopee已采取“适当措施”

Shopee 发言人告诉 Stomp，他们已经调查了此事，并于 10 月 19 日全额退款。

Shopee补充说，公司已完成调查并采取了适当措施，包括审查防止类似事件发生的措施。

发言人还对客户向公司反映此事表示感谢。

该平台表示：“为顾客提供安全可靠的购物体验仍然是 Shopee 的首要任务。”

胡的帖子在TikTok上获得了超过12万次观看，超过3300个赞和近4000次分享。

AsiaOne已联系momo043522以获取更多信息。

laili.abdeen@asiaone.com