Hundreds of Temu sellers protested outside of the e-commerce giant’s Guangzhou headquarters on July 29, over claims that the company had levied excessive fines against vendors for customer returns.
Speaking to Reuters, one merchant said that the new penalties went into effect in April, fining sellers up to five times the original value of a sale when a customer returns a purchase for a refund.
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“I’m fine if I must refund consumers — what vendors want is for Temu to stop fining us without a reason,” the merchant said, claiming that several have gone out of business since the fines started. Another seller said that they “can’t simply quit Temu, because I have workers to pay and clothes worth several million yuan in the warehouse.”
“I have no way out,” they added.
In response, Temu said that it is working with vendors to find a solution, and that sellers at the protest “have declined to resolve the disputes through the normal arbitration and legal channels stated in the seller agreements.” The company also clarified that the fines “are necessary to maintain a high-quality marketplace,” and have largely been centered around refunds related to complaints over the quality of products.
