More than 300 group buying websites went out of business in August, according to statistics by leading group-buying aggregator Tuan800.com.

Of the thousands of group buying websites listed on Tuan800.com, many website names have turned grey, indicating they are out of order or have been shut down.

The latest nationwide survey of group buying sites found 116 sites in Beijing either could not be opened or had stopped providing group-buying services. Another spot check of 185 local group buying sites in eight other Chinese cities found 12 percent of the sites hadn't been updated in the past month and 4 percent had halted group-buying services for website revision or other changes.

Many bankrupt group buying websites?- mostly small?- closed down without repaying money they had collected from customers for services they would no longer provide. Some sites simply disappeared overnight, leaving angry customers with nowhere to turn.

Meanwhile, seven major Chinese group buying sites just celebrated their sales volume in August exceeding 100 million yuan.

China's business press carried the story above on Wednesday.