A courier delivers Tmall parcels in Lhasa, Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. Photo: IC

An avid online shopper has been banned for nearly 1,000 years from online shopping platform Taobao after he bought an expensive watch and immediately asked for a refund. 

The man, surnamed Zhu from East China's Fujian Province, said in a post on Weibo that his Taobao account had been blocked for 980 years after he bought an Omega watch costing about 33,000 yuan ($4,811) but then applied for a refund less than a  minute later. 

Zhu posted a screenshot of a message he received from Taobao saying his account was being blocked until precisely 2999-01-10:01 for "abuse of the purchase of goods and applying for refunds."

A Taobao customer service agent said Zhu's account was being blocked for "multiple malicious refund requests," suggesting that Zhu often impulsively orders something but then quickly applies for a refund. 

Zhu defended his habit of requesting refunds because Taobao's agreement with users gives them the right to a refund before a purchase is delivered. "Even my ashes will be long gone before I get my account back," Zhu complained.

The topic of "980-year Taobao ban" went viral on Sina Weibo with more than 37 million views since it came to light on Friday. 

Many netizens showed some sympathy for Zhu, noting that he is obviously an impulsive buyer, who should seek professional help. "Impulsive purchasing has led to an impulse ban," wrote a netizen on Sina Weibo.