SHANGHAI - The Dongfang Tiandi Expo 2010 Shanghai Licensed Products Store was shut down on Monday for selling free Expo gift packs, including free tickets.
Free Expo gift packs were distributed to all Shanghai residents at the beginning of the event as a token of thanks for enduring years of inconvenience from construction in preparation for the mega fair.
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According to previous news reports, a woman, surnamed Wang, bought an Expo ticket from the store in July and found it was only valid for that month, like all free tickets in the Expo gift packs.
She later contacted the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination and local media to inquire about the validity of such tickets.
"We received a call from the customer who wanted to check whether her ticket, which was only valid for that month, could be sold at an Expo-licensed store," the source said.
Dongfang Tiandi Expo Licensed Products Store, situated on Madong Road, was one of the 4,000 licensed stores in Shanghai selling Expo-related products.
The source said further investigations would be carried out to check and normalize the sale of Expo tickets, as many local grocery stores and small shops have started selling secondhand tickets and Expo gift packs.
According to a statement by the Shanghai Expo Bureau, it is illegal for any Expo tickets to be sold in Expo Licensed Products stores.
"Expo tickets are available only at assigned ticket offices and certain flagship stores, while Expo products may be purchased from Expo Licensed Products Stores.
"Tickets valid only for a certain month are only issued with Expo gift packs and are not allowed to be sold," according to the Expo 2010 Shanghai Licensed Products sales department.
