Sochi glitch brings business for China's online vendors

HANGZHOU - China's online businesses are profiting from a technical glitch at Friday's Sochi Olympics opening ceremony through T-shirt sales.

After one of the five Olympic rings failed to light up during the ceremony on Friday, vendors started selling T-shirts, sweaters, and tops featuring a "four-ring" version of the Olympics symbol.

The merchandise was available on Taobao.com, China's eBay, starting on Saturday, just one day after the opening ceremony. Prices ranged from 18 yuan ($2.97) to 168 yuan.

As of Monday noon, 65 items with the four-ring design were displayed on the website. Sales for the most-bought design hit 58 items over the past two days.

Netizens said the four-ring design reflected "beauty with flaw, " and considered the quick response of vendors a sign of Chinese businesses' ability to find creative ideas in world events.