While online shopping is certainly convenient, the downside is that it makes it far easier to dupe people. After all, you have to rely on the integrity of the seller and not everyone online has pure intentions. The ones who suffer aren’t only the buyers, it’s also the original sellers.
Khairul Amin Kamarulzaman, or better known by his online handle Khairulaming, has been dealing with an onslaught of faked products for his famous recipe, Sambal Nyet. Many have been masquerading as resellers and sale agents for the product on Shopee.
For Khairul, the war is never-ending. The 29-year-old been battling these resellers and sales agents for the past few months. Recently, one seller even went as far as to create her own fake Sambal Nyet. According to Khairul, the ‘reseller’ known as Masturaaliyah has managed to sell around 700 bottles of the fake Sambal Nyet to customers. To add insult to injury, customers complained that the product “smelled bad” and was spoilt.
These customers made their complaints, not to the ‘reseller’ but to Khairul himself. Confused and concerned, Khairul started investigating the matter. He discovered that the product was fake when he saw the label and the postcard (which accompanied the product) were copies and not originals. He also realised the texture of the sambal was not the same as the original.
Needless to say, the original Sambal Nyet creator was not happy. When the mess started, Khairul had already advised and asked people to not buy his product from resellers on Shopee. “When people buy the fake sambals from the resellers, they will complain about the product on social media and ask others not to buy it because it is spoilt, it smells bad etc. But, they do not mention they bought it from a reseller,” Khairul lamented. “I struggle to sleep at night because I’m frustrated at trying to retrace the root of my problems.”
After lodging a police report on 28th April about the ‘reseller’, Masturaaliyah herself met Khairul yesterday (29th April). She admitted to making the fake Sambal Nyet and selling it on her Shopee page. Khairul made three demands, of which she has presumably fulfilled. The ‘reseller’ was supposed to compensate Khairul, make a public apology and give a written confession to the police.
Khairul clarified that he would not be refunding those who had bought Masturaaliyah’s product. Instead, he will be donating the money and will not be taking a single cent. He clarified it was because the refund process is difficult and he wants the buyers to be accountable for their actions as well. Although the lady had changed her shop name to DK Perfume Shop, Shopee has already banned it.
While Khairul hopes this incident will derail other ‘resellers and sale agents’, it remains to be seen. The popularity of the Sambal Nyet Khairulaming has become so widespread, e-sellers in China are also taking advantage of it.
Khairul apologised for the mismanagement of the Sambal Nyet sales as they cannot keep up with the customers’ demands. However, he will continue to face this struggle and hopes everything will smoothen out eventually.
