Squid Game Merch Keywords is Banned from E-Commerce Stores in China | Merchants Find a Workaround

Urian B., Tech Times 26 October 2021, 12:10 pm

China's massive e-commerce platforms have all apparently banned keywords search for certain products related to Netflix's own Squid Game show. This has prompted merchants to find certain workarounds for consumers to find these particular goods online.

Squid Game Keyword on Marketplace

Based on a story written on South China Morning Post, an online check by them has yielded no results when using the "Squid Game '' keyword on Taobao Marketplace, Pinduoduo, and JD.com. Taobao, China's own largest online shopping platform, is said to be operated by the official Alibaba Group Holding, which currently owns the Post.

Alibaba, JD.com, and Pinduoduo all did not give an immediate response to requests for comment. Products that are related to Squid Game can still be found on the massive Chinese shopping platforms through the use of different keywords like "squid mask," "Halloween costume," and even "Korea" as per the search online.

Squid Mask for Different Products

It was stated that an online toy merchant with the surname Zeng, who is now based in Yiwu city in eastern Zhejiang province, said he found his Squid Game-related products which could not be seen on major e-commerce platforms while using the show's own title as a keyword. They then tried other works like "squid mask," which could work to search for different products.

Zeng opted not to use his full name because of different potential copyright issues. This is based on our own experience that only "Squid Game" can't really be used to search on these particular platforms. As of the moment, Squid Game dalgona candy is also very popular on TikTok as the recipe is being revealed.

Squid Game-Related Merchandise

Zeng noted that he had only listed these Squid Game-related merchandise in his very own online store to help generate even more traffic in light of the whole show's popularity in China. This is where the show has not officially been released due to Beijing's strict content licensing rules.

The search workarounds that certain online merchants actually provided show that Squid Game's wide popularity is most likely to continue to generate a windfall for them in the foreseeable future. Different factories in mainland China are also busy churning out different Squid Game-related products for domestic and overseas shoppers to capitalize on the popular show.

China Bans Squid Game

The goods also include different black jumpsuits, black face masks, and track kits that are used by the characters in the whole nine episodes of survival drama television series. Although Netflix remains unavailable in mainland China, over ten thousand internet users in the country have found readily available information on where users can watch Squid Game illegally.

This includes illicit streaming of video sites, peer-to-peer downloads, as well as cloud storage providers. As per EpicStream, Squid Game remains popular despite being illegal in China.

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Written by Urian B.