"Celebrity bookworm" Kang Xia, 26, has apologized for hoodwinking buyers over the sale of his books before leaving for New York to study at Columbia University.
When he advertised his collection of 1,471 volumes online last month, he received 771,595 yuan ($124,381) from around 6,500 buyers in 24 hours.
Kang had said he would send seven books for 99 yuan or three for 60 yuan on a first-come, first-served basis until the books ran out and refund the rest.
But Kang, who lives in Beidaihe, a city about 285 kilometers east of Beijing, now admits buying an additional 6,000 books to send to buyers.
His ruse was uncovered when people who received books began going online to complain that something was fishy. Many found they were receiving the same books as others. Some complained about the poor quality of the books. Others said they received children's books.
According to buyers' postings, Kang sent out at least 10 copies of "Alice in Wonderland."
Other books mailed more than once included "The Boxer Rebellion, Peking 1900," by Italian writer Adriano Madaro, "My Dear President" by American author Gerard Gawalt and "Studies in Humanism" by FCS Schiller.
Kang apologized on his Weibo account.
"Sorry to all of you," he said. "You will all be refunded no matter whether you received books or not."
Kang's reason for the deception is unclear, though an interview he gave in Beijing at the weekend suggests he might have panicked when so many orders flooded in and bought the additional books to handle the demand. "It was not a good thing to do," he told the interviewer. "I didn't give it much thought. I was not expecting such a bad result."
One Shanghai buyer wrote online: "I feel cheated, disappointed and angry.
"I have sent the books back. Whether I receive a refund from him or not, this is a lesson learned."
Another wrote: "Whatever his initial plan, he lost people's trust eventually. It could have been a lovely story if only Kang had kept his sincerity until the end. He cannot be forgiven."
When Shanghai Daily contacted Kang, he said he felt devastated but didn't want to discuss the matter further.
Earlier, he had claimed to be a business journalist in China who had given up his job to study at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs.
