MANILA, Philippines — Shopee has released a statement regarding Twitter users’ allegation that the online shopping portal has scammed them using a meet and greet session the website organized in Manila on Thursday for fans of Korean pop group BLACKPINK.
In an official statement released to Philstar.com, the shopping site said: “All of us at Shopee would like to sincerely apologize to users and fans of Shopee and BLACKPINK for the issues involving the Shopee x BLACKPINK meet-and-greet today in Manila.”
FILO BLINKS KILL LOVE FOR SHOPEE PH#ShopeeScam became the #1 trending topic on Twitter after a number of Filipino Blinks claimed that the online shopping site scammed them into a chance of meeting BLACKPINK during their visit to PH by becoming one of the site’s “top spenders.” pic.twitter.com/9nnr8wPF99
— The Philippine Star (@PhilippineStar) June 6, 2019
“The event fell short of the high standards that Shopee users and BLACKPINK fans expect, and we hear our community’s feedback loud and clear. Although we took immediate steps as soon as we discovered our errors to ensure the rightful winners of our contest could claim their prizes, we know that the entire process caused confusion, disappointment, and upset for many Shopee users and BLACKPINK fans. We are reaching out to all those affected by this issue, and we are also taking steps to ensure that such an incident does not occur again in the future.”
During BLACKPINK’s meet and greet in Manila on Thursday night, the hashtag #SHOPEESCAM became Twitter’s top trending topic for the night following Filipino Blinks' allegations that the shopping site failed to give the promised meet-and-greet tickets to top spenders. The tickets for the top spenders were allegedly given instead to celebrities and influencers who allegedly do not know anything about BLACKPINK or K-pop.
Some users claimed to have spent “a fortune” for the hopes of seeing their K-pop idols, in response to Shopee’s promo that said “participant must have a minimum accumulated spend of Php4,000 to qualify as a Top Spender.”
The promo, posted on BlackPinkUpdate.com, said that “Spend on Shopee between May 11—25, 2019. Spend during this period will be cumulative.”
“The 568 Top Shopee spenders who registered will win one fan meet pass for each of the event. Top 40 of the each 568 Shopee spenders will have a chance to go on stage and have autograph with BlackPink members,” the promo added.
The e-commerce platform organized BLACKPINK’s second return to the Philippines and first meet and greet in Manila. The K-pop group behind the smash hit “Kill This Love” serves as the company’s regional brand ambassador.
In another statement released to Philstar.com, the company said the celebrities that attended the meet-and-greet were Anne Curtis, Andrea Brillantes, Kaori Oinuma, Awra Briguela, AC Bonifacio, Kim Chiu, Riva Quenery, Teddy Corpus, Krissha Viaje, Sharlene San Pedro, Glaiza De Castro, Kristoffer Martin, Team Kramer, Ella Cruz and Maymay Entrata.
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