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Taobao, which just announced in December last year that "if buyers initiate after-sales services that meet relevant circumstances, they will make quick refunds or return refunds", announced on July 26 that it would "optimize the 'refund only' strategy". The new changes will reduce or eliminate after-sales intervention for high-quality stores on the platform. Industry insiders said that this means "Taobao's refund only policy will be put on hold". Taobao said that the relevant strategy will be officially implemented on August 9.

It is reported that after the relevant strategy is launched, for merchants with a comprehensive experience score of ≥4.8 points on the Taobao platform, the platform will not actively intervene through Wangwang and support only refunds after receiving the goods, but will encourage merchants to negotiate with consumers first. For merchants in other segments, the Taobao platform will grant different degrees of autonomy based on the experience score and the nature of the industry. The higher the experience score, the greater the merchant's disposal rights.

Pinduoduo is the first domestic e-commerce platform to offer a "refund only" service. Pinduoduo stipulates that when a consumer applies for a "refund only" due to product quality or other reasons, if the merchant does not take action within 48 hours, the system will automatically initiate a refund by assuming that the merchant agrees to the refund application. This mechanism, which clearly favors consumers, is also considered one of Pinduoduo's key strategies to break out of the e-commerce red ocean. In November 2023 and May 2024, Pinduoduo's market value surpassed Alibaba twice.

A few years after Pinduoduo implemented the "refund only" service for buyers who make mistakes, Taobao and other e-commerce platforms also announced in December 2023 that they would change the platform dispute handling rules. If the buyer initiates an after-sales service that meets the relevant circumstances, a quick refund or return refund will be provided. Therefore, "refund only" was considered to be one of the new standard services of domestic e-commerce platforms at the end of June 2023.

However, while “refund only” has been widely recognized as protecting consumer rights to a large extent, it poses considerable uncertainty and risk to merchants. When such disputes between consumers and merchants increase, the platform’s service capabilities are greatly tested.

On July 26, Taobao announced the "optimization of the 'refund only' strategy", which stated that it would enhance merchants' after-sales autonomy based on the new experience score, reduce or cancel after-sales intervention for high-quality stores, and no longer enforce the "refund only" service. Taobao also issued new rules for refund only appeals, that is, after merchants file an appeal, the platform will ask a third-party testing agency to conduct random inspections on the products. If the inspection passes, the platform will compensate the merchant for the loss.

Zhao Hui, Chief Reporter of Peninsula Morning Post and 39 Degrees Video