Taobao feng shui shop earns 10m yuan a year   

风水网店售“灵符”年入千万 买家怕报应给好评

自命大师、微博微信树名、假冒开光、淘宝卖符……记者近日调查发现，部分“风水从业者”以“风水大师”、风水机构为名，借淘宝网等互联网交易平台高价兜售“灵符”等风水吉祥物赚取高额利润，骗局虽十分低级，但受骗者数以万计。其中，一皇冠级别淘宝网店销售开光“灵符”，年收入近千万元。[查看全文]

(ECNS) -- A top-rated store on Taobao, China's largest online marketplace, has earned nearly 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) in less than a year by selling feng shui products, according to Xinhua News Agency.

"Lucky" hierograms drawn and blessed by "masters" are among the more than 160 items at the store, which vary in price from 38 yuan to 5,888 yuan.

Nearly a thousand hierograms, which the store claims can improve one's love life, sold last month for 300 yuan each. The store has earned nearly 10 million yuan from the sale of 17,826 feng shui products since it opened ten months ago.

One buyer complained online that she had been cheated, however, as her luck had worsened after paying for a feng shui item. The store-owner responded by saying the fee had been donated as a blessing, and would cause harm to the customer if refunded.

Luo Shun, the post-80s generation store-owner, claims to rank among the "Global Top 10 Zhouyi Masters" and to be the "Honorable President of the 2nd Global Zhouyi Experts Conference." He also has hundreds of thousands of followers on WeChat, Sina Weibo and other social media. However, reporters found that his titles were granted by a Hong Kong-based private company, not a non-profit academy.

It is estimated that more than one million feng shui products are for sale on Taobao. But insiders say fake feng shui masters often collect money through illegal means on online stores, where there is a lack of regulation.

Lou Yulie, a prominent researcher of Confucianism, says modern people are hoping to change their fates though superstition due to high pressure.