KFC coupon dispute brings "seckilling" in vogue in China

NANJING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Seckill, short for "second kill," has become a buzzword in China overnight following intense media coverage and online discussion of a dispute between U.S. fast food chain KFC and its customers over "seckill coupons."

Angry customers laid siege to scores of KFC restaurants across China after the restaurant chain declared discount coupons some customers had tried to use counterfeit.

KFC authorized KFC's "Super Tuesday" service on Taobao.com, China's largest e-commerce website, to launch the promotion, dubbed "seckilling," which was set for 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. last Tuesday and involved 100 e-coupons for each time.

According to the promotion instructions, the e-coupon could be used after it is printed; photocopies of coupons are also valid; and the coupons can be used from April 6 to 9.

KFC said that some unauthorized websites offered downloads of the e-coupons for the second (2 p.m.) and third issue (4 p.m.), so KFC decided to reject all coupons from the two issues.

The company Monday posted an apology letter on its website for rejecting the coupons and for the "ill-conceived" promotion.

"I had no idea about what "seckill" was about until I read the KFC news story online," said Wang Qing, a graduate student in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Although many Chinese were not familiar with the term until last week, "seckill" must have rung a bell with computer game players and online shoppers as it has been widely used in those two arenas in China.

The expression comes from online games, and it means to kill an enemy in just a few seconds before they have time to react.

It also refers to the sales strategy that took off in 2009 through which online shoppers can snap up goods at a very low price while sellers get publicity for their shops and brands, according to Xu Xiaojing, who owns a shop at Taobao.com.

Online sellers usually post in advance a list of goods to be sold and the time they will be available. When the time comes, shoppers have to grab their mouse and be the first to click on the "buy it now" button to claim the deal. The seckill is complete once payment is made.