In Depth: ‘Exorbitant’ Fines Land Temu in Hot Water With Chinese Merchants

Hundreds gathered outside Temu’s Guangzhou offices to voice anger at the platform’s increasing levying of penalties for product defects without providing evidence

Chinese cross-border e-commerce platform Temu is facing mounting criticism from merchants for what they see as exorbitant penalties being levied unfairly.

Hundreds of frustrated merchants clamored outside Temu’s offices in Guangzhou, South China’s Guangdong province, on Sunday and Monday, videos circulating on social media showed. They were protesting against the platform’s increasingly common practice of levying “after-sales fines” for alleged product defects without providing evidence of any problems, according to the sellers.

Other videos appeared to show dozens of merchants flooding Temu’s offices on Monday, calling themselves “victims” of the company and requesting a meeting with management.

This was the second time in July where merchants have gathered at Temu’s offices to vent their anger about the fines, and one of multiple occasions this year, a denim-clothing seller at Monday’s protest told Caixin.