No-drone zone: DJI, consumers grapple with Beijing sales ban and registration rule
Stores empty shelves as e-commerce sites including Alibaba’s Taobao and JD.com stop shipments to comply with ban effective on Friday
A sweeping rule change for drones in Beijing, which bars sales in the Chinese capital and requires identity registration linked to each device from Friday, has left sellers and consumers scrambling to cope with some of the country’s toughest regulations on the sector.
At a flagship retail store operated by DJI, the world’s largest drone maker, in Beijing’s bustling Guomao area, a shop assistant said that the store had been preparing to clear its shelves of all drone products in accordance with the ban.
The store was set to remove all drone products – from the affordable Neo series to the most expensive Mavic models – on Thursday, the employee said, adding that the shop was running low on stock due to an influx of customers snapping products before it was too late.