Pandabuy Warehouse Raids

Submission 5,907

Part of a series on China. [View Related Entries]

Overview

The Pandabuy Warehouse Raids refers to a series of 2024 raids by Chinese law enforcement on warehouses owned by the popular Chinese shopping agent Pandabuy which is notorious for its international sales of counterfeit goods. Pandabuy is most known in the fashion and streetwear communities who use the site to buy authentic knock-offs of designer brands. As news of the raid spread in April 2024, viral reactions surfaced on TikTok, Reddit and YouTube (among other sites) where streetwear influencers and resellers discussed the event.

Background

In late March 2024, Pandabuy suffered a database breach from hackers who nabbed the data of roughly 1.3 million users. The leaked data allegedly included user IDs, full names, phone numbers, email addresses, IP addresses, home addresses, and order data. A hacker advertised the data on a cybercrime forum on March 31st, 2024.^[1]^[2]

Later in the month, on April 13th, 2024, World Trademark Review reported that Pandabuy was raided by Chinese police following the initiation of legal action from 16 brand owners. The raids reportedly started on April 11th, 2024, at the Pandabuy headquarters. The raids were focused on six large warehouses where counterfeit goods were allegedly stored. The raids were conducted along with British authorities who'd been operating similar raids on counterfeit warehouses in the U.K.^[3]^[4]

The World Trademark Review further stated that Pandabuy, since launching in 2022, became viral on western TikTok and Reddit's /r/FashionReps, leading to its international success and large profits.^[3]

Online Reaction

YouTubers and TikTokers in the streetwear community began covering the Pandabuy raids soon after the news, like YouTuber^[5] Jei on April 13th, 2024, whose video on the topic received roughly 23,000 views in three days (shown below, left).

On April 14th, 2024, streetwear YouTuber^[6] Elliot Page covered the Pandabuy raid in a video titled, "End of Fake Sneakers? PandaBuy Raided!" The video received over 75,800 views in two days (shown below, right).

Viral videos and discourse also surfaced on TikTok, evident in a video posted by TikToker^[7] @mypandabuyistrash on April 14th, 2024, who discussed the raid but quelled consumer fears, speculating that buyers were not the top priority in the investigation. The TikToker also speculated that one of the 16 brands was likely Nike. Over two days, his video received over 3.8 million plays and 370,300 likes (shown below, left).

On April 14th, 2024, TikToker^[8] @goat.pandabuy_finds2 posted a Slow Fade-In meme with the Mr. Take That Risk sound, joking about a Pandabuy warehouse worker escaping the raid by hiding in a customer's package, gaining over 735,200 plays and 110,900 likes in two days (shown below, right).

Developments

Pandabuy's Company Response

On April 15th, 2024, World Trademark Review reported on an update shared by Pandabuy which confirmed that the company was facing legal trouble. Among many statements, the company said that the situation was "challenging" but it pledged to "overcome the difficulty."^[9]^[10]