A buyer claimed the durian was rotten after eating it and demanded a refund. Half a month ago, for this 190 yuan malicious refund, merchant Cheng Yan drove twice from Henan to Shandong, traveling 1,600 kilometers round trip to defend his rights. It was this experience that earned him widespread support and a surge in orders. However, when we met Cheng Yan on Thursday morning, his company was closed.
Cheng Yan: There’s still over 100,000 yuan worth of goods (durian).
Reporter: Over 100,000 yuan worth of goods, how long can they last?
Cheng Yan: Frozen durian generally lasts between 6 to 12 months.
Reporter: Why did you take a break?
Cheng Yan: Because there were too many inquiries, and I was worried about affecting quality and delaying shipments.
Cheng Yan: They might be acting on impulse, feeling that what I did was satisfying and resonated with them, so they came to support me. I saw many comments saying, “I’ll place an order just to support you for this.” That’s impulsive buying, and it’s not what I hoped for.
Six months ago, Cheng Yan started selling frozen durian on an e-commerce platform. As the weather warmed up, business began to improve. On the morning of April 28, a buyer sent a message requesting a refund only.
Cheng Yan: The buyer said it was rotten. I told her to flip it over and take a video, because we’ve encountered many cases where people photoshop images. I asked her to take a video, but she refused.
Cheng Yan: She said, “Your product is spoiled, and you still want me to take pictures?” At that point, she did send a picture of the back, but it was completely different from the front. We saw there was frost on it, because we use cold chain logistics, and the fruit flesh was still relatively intact.
What Cheng Yan didn’t expect was that within less than five minutes, before his communication with the buyer had ended, the platform had already automatically refunded the money to the buyer. Unwilling to accept this, Cheng Yan filed an appeal, but it was quickly rejected by the platform.
Cheng Yan: It was as if they accepted those pictures from the buyer as representing our product. Rotten, spoiled, or deteriorated fruit means our product has issues, and it gets recorded in our store’s performance score.
After the refund was successful, the buyer immediately blocked Cheng Yan. This made him both angry and suspicious. On one hand, he firmly believed his product was fine, as it was shipped via cold chain and delivered in less than a day. On the other hand, he couldn’t understand why, if the buyer claimed to have gotten sick from eating it, she didn’t ask for compensation.
Reporter: Is this your shipping video?
Cheng Yan: Yes, now we specifically record videos for fresh products to prevent mistakes or omissions. We record the entire process. The tracking number and time are all there. Below, we put two kilograms of dry ice at minus 78 degrees Celsius. The durian comes in three bags, each 1000 grams. On top, we add two ice packs. After packing, we seal the box. I even did an experiment myself. I left the durian at room temperature without any protection for a whole day and night. It just softened, and the color changed a bit. But things like rotting, molding, or fuzziness are unimaginable.
To resolve his doubts, Cheng Yan decided to go to Shandong to find the buyer. However, his wife immediately opposed the idea.
Cheng Yan: She told me, “If you go, you might not even find the person. And even if you do, you might not get the money back. And even if you do, your travel and accommodation costs will far exceed the value of the goods.” This isn’t about the money. I have to get to the bottom of this. I’m just a durian seller. Being accused of having a bad product without reason is an insult to any merchant.
In the end, Cheng Yan decided to go anyway. For safety, he brought along his friend Xiao Lu and had him record the entire process. After driving five hours to
