GoodsFox Daily Insights – November 27, 2025: Black Friday Sales Fall Short: Nearly 80% of Sellers Report Disappointing Results
- Chongker Taps the U.S. Senior Market With Hyper-Realistic Pet Replicas
- Black Friday Performance Drops Sharply as Sellers Call It the ‘Worst Peak Season’
- Shenzhen Launches VAT-Free Export Pilot for Cross-Border Sellers
- Germany Probes Temu for Potential Price-Fixing Practices
- Founder of Youkeshu Files Lawsuit Against His Own Company
1. Chongker Taps the U.S. Senior Market With Hyper-Realistic Pet Replicas
Chongker started as a pet-memorial brand. After joining Amazon in 2021, it shifted to hyper-realistic plush pets. The brand targets older U.S. shoppers who want emotional companionship.
Its products use customized fur materials, silicone paws, and strict 3C-level quality control. Entry-level items sell for USD 50–70.
Sales doubled this year, while return rates stayed between 3% and 5%. The brand’s growth came from a reverse strategy: “audience–keywords–product.” It enabled precise customer acquisition.
Chongker plans to expand to Amazon Middle East and Australia. It is also exploring AI-powered robotic pets as a future category.
2. Black Friday Performance Drops Sharply as Sellers Call It the ‘Worst Peak Season’
Amazon’s 2025 Black Friday event saw an unexpected slump. After the first week, many sellers said sales fell far below expectations.
This contrasts with Adobe’s forecast of 8.3% growth and USD 11.7B in U.S. online Black Friday sales.
Real-world performance was hit by technical issues, including zero ad impressions, system glitches, and delayed order synchronization. These disruptions affected major regions such as the U.S., Europe, and Japan.
The extended 12-day promotion window diluted demand. At the same time, consumer spending weakened. Platforms such as Temu and SHEIN launched early deals, diverting traffic from Amazon sellers.
Nearly 80% of sellers showed little interest in joining this year’s event. Reasons include tax compliance pressure, a USD 245 registration fee, mandatory 30% discounts, and peak-season storage fees rising to triple the usual rate.
Many sellers chose to skip the promotion entirely, waiting for later sales cycles or shifting focus to product improvement.
3. Shenzhen Launches VAT-Free Export Pilot for Cross-Border Sellers
Shenzhen logistics providers recently invited sellers using the “buyer-export” model to join a new VAT-free registration test.
This is Shenzhen’s first participation in this tax-innovation pilot, following earlier rollouts in Guangzhou and Hangzhou.
Participants must be Shenzhen-registered businesses. Logistics companies will file export declarations under code 9810. Sellers must sign an agency agreement and complete export tax-rebate registration via the e-tax system.
After filing through the city’s cross-border e-commerce service platform, goods approved by the commerce department become exempt from VAT.
The pilot aligns with China’s 2025 Announcement No.17, which aims to regulate buyer-export practices and support compliant transformation.
If successful, the program could ease long-standing issues around invoicing, tax reconciliation, and supply-chain authentication. The policy, however, remains in its early testing phase.
4. Germany Probes Temu for Potential Price-Fixing Practices
Germany’s Federal Cartel Office has opened an investigation into Temu. Authorities suspect the platform may be enforcing unfair price limits on sellers.
According to a complaint filed by the German Retail Association, Temu requires prices on its platform to be no more than 85% of prices on other channels.
Andreas Mundt, head of the Cartel Office, warned that such rules restrict competition and may raise prices across other marketplaces.
Regulators are assessing whether Temu’s pricing policy violates German antitrust law. The case shows tightening scrutiny over marketplace behavior in Europe.
5. Founder of Youkeshu Files Lawsuit Against His Own Company
Youkeshu Technology, a Shenzhen-listed cross-border e-commerce firm, is in a leadership dispute.
Founder Xiao Siqing filed a lawsuit requesting the court to nullify the company’s “2025 First Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting” decision.
The meeting held on October 10 elected a new board, forcing Xiao and the original management team to step down.
Xiao accused the current majority shareholder, Wang Wei, of multiple violations, including undisclosed judicial freezes on equity, unclear investment funding sources, and failure to meet performance commitments.
Youkeshu stated that the meeting followed proper procedures and said it will respond legally.
The power struggle has deeply affected operations. Revenue in H1 2025 fell 81.33% year-on-year to RMB 42.57M. Q3 financial results remain delayed.
Youkeshu once generated over RMB 5B annually. It began restructuring in 2024 to save the business. After Wang Wei promised “RMB 5B cumulative revenue in three years,” conflicts escalated, leading to multiple lawsuits between both sides.
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