A fruit vendor in Puyang, Henan, faced a ‘returnless refund’ claim from a Shandong buyer alleging moldy durian. Suspecting package tampering, the seller drove 1,600 km twice to confront the buyer. Police later arrested the buyer for fraud after finding only the original packaging in a trash bin.

Social Context

China’s e-commerce ecosystem enables ‘only-refund’ policies under the E-Commerce Law (Art. 49), but abuse has surged amid weak identity verification and asymmetric evidence collection. The State Administration for Market Regulation issued 2023 guidelines urging platforms to implement AI-based image forensics and require video unboxing for high-value claims.

Safety Tip

Merchants should record real-time unboxing videos with time-stamped geolocation and retain shipping metadata; report suspected fraud immediately to platform dispute centers and local market regulators—not just police—to trigger administrative investigation.