China online auction fetches US$25,000 for Internet sensation dog

A dog became a darling of the Chinese public in 2018 when local newspapers including the Beijing Youth Daily reported that it had been left by its owner at a pet school with unpaid fees. —Photo by Jaycee Xie on Unsplash

An abandoned dog that has become an Internet sensation in China has been sold in a marathon online auction for 160,000 yuan (US$25,000/RM103,987).

The eight-year-old Shiba Inu named Deng Deng was sold by a court in Beijing for 320 times the initial asking price, according to an auction platform belonging to e-Commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd that offers livestreaming.

The auction lasted 29 hours, and attracted 480 bidders and more than 165,000 views. The website didn’t say who the buyer was. Public relations representatives for Alibaba didn’t immediately respond to an email and phone call seeking comment.

Deng Deng became a darling of the Chinese public in 2018 when local newspapers including the Beijing Youth Daily reported that it had been left by its owner at a pet school with unpaid fees. A court then agreed to auction the dog off on behalf of the school, where Deng Deng has been living.

Livestreaming sales have grown popular during the pandemic as Chinese consumers stay home due to the draconian control measures the government has used to curb outbreaks.

Last month, Li Jiaqi, a top livestream salesman widely known as the "lipstick brother,” sold US$1.9bil (RM7.9bil) in goods on the first day of Alibaba’s annual shopping festival.

Li’s sales were a record for any show livestreamed on Alibaba’s Taobao online marketplace, according to data from Taosj.com, a website specialising in e-Commerce data. – Bloomberg