Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s (BABA.N) hugely popular Taobao Marketplace is one of 25 online markets that along with 18 physical markets made the USTR’s annual list of the world’s most “notorious markets” for sales of pirated and counterfeit goods. While Taobao’s inclusion does not carry any direct penalties, it is a blow to Alibaba’s efforts […]

By Cate Cadell BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese authorities have issued a warning to the country’s top e-commerce platforms, including Alibaba Holding Group Ltd’s Taobao.com, over the sale of illegal virtual private networks that allow users to skirt state censorship controls. Five websites have been asked to carry out immediate “self-examination and correction” to remove vendors […]

The item, in five sizes priced at 6,324 yuan (£725) was quickly removed from China’s biggest e-commerce shopping platform Taobao after the offer was widely circulated online.

Taobao, China’s answer to eBay, is a treasure-trove for those hunting for the unusual, eccentric or the just plain worrying, boasting around 760million products for sale at any one time.