Who buys “good night messages” on Chinese e-commerce sites? The woman who delivers them spills the beans

A woman in China has been sending ‘goodnight messages’ to complete strangers for 12 years – for a small fee.

Jiumei, in his 30s, sells the service on Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao, operated by Alibaba, which owns the South China Morning Post.

About 10,000 people bought his messages for one yuan (14 US cents) a night. She has sent more than 50,000 messages in total.

The wording varies from a simple “good night” in Chinese to poetic verses and consolations.

Jiumei told mainland media outlet Personage that his messages are a comfort to “modern people suffering from loneliness” and a window for him to gain insight into the lives of others.

Many customers have purchased good night messages for people they are secretly in love with or miss exes.

Jiumei refuses to send messages from single people to married people to avoid causing problems for the recipients and their families.

A mother asked Jiumei to say good night to her 14-year-old daughter, who suffered from anxiety and was addicted to her cell phone.

The young girl no longer trusts her parents who have difficulty understanding her illness. The mother wanted to “comfort her lonely heart and remind her to sleep early.”

Another person purchased the service for his brother, an advanced cancer patient who is becoming increasingly isolated from his family. She hoped the messages would keep her company.

Another customer, a man in his 30s who ran a start-up, purchased the messages himself for help.

Jiumei also took well to the fact that people stopped buying her services, as she hoped it meant they no longer felt alone.

Goodnight message service has been Jiumei’s part-time job for 12 years. During this period, she also became a manager of a company in the city of Shenzhen in southern China’s Guangdong province, and later opened a cafe. She is married and has two sons.

She says her business has never been profitable, earning her a maximum of 3,000 yuan ($400) a year. She considered giving it up, but changed her mind after former clients contacted her to thank her.

Jiumei said the service also helped her emotionally. The ninth daughter of a Chaoshan family in southern China’s Guangdong province, she said her parents had showered all their love on her little brother, their only son.

She considers her goodnight messages to bring a “sense of ritual” as well as comfort.