Chinese man sues online shop after ordering $1,400 excavator and receiving toy

The People’s Court of Luzhai County, Liuzhou City of Guangxi on Tuesday heard the civil case between the plaintiff, only identified as Lou, and the defendant, Chu, owner of an online company.

The lawsuit revealed that in February, Lou needed a mini excavator for his fruit garden.

He made the purchase through an online platform selling used goods and chose a multifunctional mini crawler excavator weighing one ton from Chu’s online store, Chinese news site The Paper reported.

The mini excavator’s product page stated: “A machine for grinding/wood gathering/grass scraping/drilling can be used for multiple purposes, not just digging.”

The excavator was priced at 10,000 yuan.

After confirming the functionality and specifications with store owner Chu, Lou made the payment via online payment software and created an electronic order, according to Chinese news site Sohu.

On Feb. 25, Lou received the goods from Chu. Upon opening, he was stunned to find a toy excavator, vastly different from the agricultural excavator he had confirmed purchasing.

After unsuccessful negotiations with Chu, Lou filed a lawsuit in court on April 15.

During the trial, Lou submitted chat records with the seller, proving he had asked Chu about the product before buying the excavator, and Chu promised that the machine could be used in rural fruit gardens.

The court found Chu’s sales practices to be fraudulent, ordering a refund of the purchase amount of 10,000 yuan and a compensation penalty three times that amount, totaling 40,000 yuan.

In return, Lou sent the toy excavator back to Chu.