---
title: "A Farewell from a Pinduoduo Merchant"
description: "Before the 2022 Spring Festival, Lu Wei gave up his Pinduoduo store in Yiwu, Zhejiang, after nearly a year of daily losses. Many of his peers also left the platform in 2021, but in May, some returned after Pinduoduo adjusted its traffic rules to reduce merchant losses."
author: "吴依涵"
publisher: "New Distribution"
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published: "2022-07-14"
language: "en"
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---

# A Farewell from a Pinduoduo Merchant

> Before the 2022 Spring Festival, Lu Wei gave up his Pinduoduo store in Yiwu, Zhejiang, after nearly a year of daily losses. Many of his peers also left the platform in 2021, but in May, some returned after Pinduoduo adjusted its traffic rules to reduce merchant losses.

********Click to read the original article for details********
Before the 2022 Spring Festival, Lu Wei returned the house and warehouse he had rented in Yiwu, Zhejiang, closed his Pinduoduo store, and prepared to go back to his hometown in Hunan for the Spring Festival, never to return after the holiday.
He had been running a store on Pinduoduo for three years, initially with good profits, but starting in 2021, he began losing money every day. After trying various methods without success and seeing no hope after nearly a year, he decided to give up.
Lu Wei had more than a dozen friends who ran Pinduoduo stores, and all of them fled the industry in 2021. Some went to Xinjiang to open bars, some returned to their hometowns to start agricultural product live-streaming e-commerce, and others went south to Dongguan to work in factories.
However, in May of this year, Lu Wei and many peers returned to Yiwu and reopened their Pinduoduo stores, only because the platform realized that merchants were leaving in large numbers and modified its traffic rules so that merchants would no longer lose money.
From its early development, Pinduoduo labeled itself as "cheap" to meet consumers' pursuit of cost-effectiveness, building public awareness. This gave rise to a group of consumers who "fleece" the platform.
The first batch of merchants to enter Pinduoduo, some seized the opportunity and made a fortune, but at the same time, they faced many uncertainties, such as issues with fund withdrawal.
As Pinduoduo matured, the platform transitioned from the "pioneering period" to an era of traffic checks and balances, and merchants were gradually regulated. The platform's increasingly stringent rules made merchants miserable, with some stores even facing continuous losses and closure.
Not long ago, Pinduoduo finally revised its promotion rules, and many merchants like Lu Wei returned. Can this reverse the passive situation they faced before?
**0**1
## **Unable to Cope with Malicious Buyers**
When merchants first join Pinduoduo, the platform gives new stores one month of free traffic, after which merchants must start buying traffic. Additionally, if merchants set 24-hour shipping, purchase shipping insurance, and list new products, the platform also provides some traffic support.
In the early stage, Wang Meng kept spending money to buy traffic for store promotion. "For a product sold at around 200 yuan per order, I had to spend about 20 yuan on promotion fees. At the beginning, the store's daily promotion fee was several hundred yuan, and the profits from the first few months were basically all spent on promotion fees."
Shortly after opening the store, Wang Meng found that Pinduoduo was not friendly to merchants and favored consumers, and he even felt that merchants' interests could not be protected. "The platform has many buyers and orders, so they don't worry about merchants leaving."
When some people discovered that Pinduoduo's after-sales service was so "caring" to consumers, some consumers who intended to "fleece" began to flood in, leaving merchants helpless.
For example, in after-sales service, if a customer applies for after-sales, there will always be a red "Refund" button in the merchant's backend, which means refund only. The platform does not clearly indicate this. If the merchant accidentally clicks "Refund," the goods are gone. Many novices have experienced this, and merchants have no chance to appeal.
"Pinduoduo can be said to rely on one thing: buyers can get many things almost without paying. When returning items on Taobao, there are many rules, but on Pinduoduo, regardless of the product's condition, you can almost return it with your eyes closed."
Many merchants have encountered malicious refunds from customers. If the merchant refuses, the customer's request for platform intervention will basically result in an instant refund. After that, the platform will no longer handle the return-related matters, basically relying on consumer self-discipline.
In fact, initially, some consumers had bad shopping experiences on Pinduoduo. For example, when they bought products with quality issues or when goods were lost during transportation, they found no after-sales service. Most of these items cost only a few yuan, and consumers didn't want to waste time over a few yuan, so they had to accept the loss.
A merchant said that in the early days of Pinduoduo, it attracted small sellers to join, and the products were cheap, with considerable sales. However, the return entrance was very hidden and almost impossible to find, so some quality issues were left unresolved.
At the beginning of its development, Pinduoduo was in a pioneering stage. To attract merchants and consumers, the platform focused on front-end sales, neglecting after-sales service. Later, as Pinduoduo's business improved, more merchants joined, and the variety of products increased, almost approaching Taobao's categories. As the platform expanded, the number of orders continued to grow, and after-sales issues became prominent.
After realizing the problem, Pinduoduo began to adjust its after-sales service, simplifying the cumbersome return process. The platform went from open after-sales to no-reason returns, then to arbitrary returns, and even to consumers getting goods for free. This setup attracted a large number of buyers. Subsequently, the platform began to charge service fees to sellers and set corresponding penalty measures.
Over the years, Xu Yan has been fined a lot by Pinduoduo. Last month, the platform deducted more than 7,000 yuan in fines. Her store's monthly turnover is tens of thousands of yuan, but after deducting costs and fines, she hardly makes any money. She thinks it is normal for the platform to charge service fees and fines, but compared to other e-commerce platforms, Pinduoduo's enforcement rules are more arbitrary.
Xu Yan has encountered customers repeatedly placing orders and then returning them several times. Not only did she not make money, but she also lost several service fees.
In addition, to provide a better shopping experience, Pinduoduo added a "zero-yuan use now, pay later" service. As long as merchants meet the standards, the platform forces them to activate it, and merchants cannot cancel this service. "After the zero-yuan use now, pay later service is activated, the platform raises the technical service fee from 0.6% to 1% per order. If the goods have been shipped, the platform also deducts shipping insurance. Once a refund occurs, we merchants only lose more."
Xu Yan thinks such rules are absurd. She has also complained about buyers' malicious behavior, but almost all attempts failed. "Pinduoduo claims to have a sound mechanism to protect sellers' rights, and if there are malicious buyers, you can complain. But in reality, merchant appeals are almost always rejected, and re-appeals are not allowed. In addition, sellers have a limit on the number of appeals per day."
**02**
## **Consumers Over Merchants**
Pinduoduo's fine mechanism has deterred many merchants. "In the beginning, Pinduoduo cheated many merchants. With a turnover of 100,000 yuan, merchants could only withdraw about 30,000 yuan, and the reason given for the deduction was that the products were unqualified. If this continued, merchants would lose a lot."
Later, the rules were changed, and the platform canceled the previous fine mechanism.
However, to ensure fulfillment, Pinduoduo added many clauses to restrict merchants. For example, whether merchants ship on time, whether logistics updates are timely, whether there is unfriendly service attitude, and why consumers cancel orders all have very strict assessment standards. If merchants are not careful, they will be punished.
Yang Ning has deep feelings about this. "Every day, logistics fines alone amount to dozens of yuan. Not long ago, due to the epidemic, goods in many places could not be shipped and were stuck in express warehouses. During that special period, I was fined several hundred yuan in logistics fines every day. The platform does not consider delays caused by express companies or external factors; they only look at the results."
For example, if a customer chats and says the express is too slow, Pinduoduo detects that there is a logistics complaint and immediately gives you a system work order. Merchants must solve the problem within the specified time, otherwise, the platform will punish them.
Just recently, Yang Ning encountered an unreasonable buyer who used the product for several months and then applied for a refund only. Initially, the platform promised not to refund, but later the buyer applied for a refund only on the grounds of quality issues. The platform would ask the merchant to provide corresponding evidence to prove product quality and give both parties two days to handle it.
While Yang Ning was still dealing with the other party, the platform suddenly agreed to the refund. "When I appealed, the platform started to mediate, because the customer kept making a fuss on the platform, hoping that we merchants would be more generous." The consumer made the platform compromise, but the real concession always comes from the merchant.
The platform also has a chat auto-detection mechanism. If a customer consults and the backend detects unfriendly language from the merchant, the maximum fine is 200 yuan, which is subsidized to the consumer.
In addition, if a customer places an order incorrectly and fills in "out of stock" as the reason for cancellation, the platform will also impose a fine on the merchant. Such rules are very headache-inducing for merchants.
Now, orders on Taobao are indeed getting fewer and fewer, especially for stores selling low-priced goods, and the gap with Pinduoduo is widening. In the eyes of merchants, although Pinduoduo treats them unfairly in many ways, no one is willing to give up this fertile ground that is both frustrating and profitable.
Regarding merchants' dissatisfaction, Pinduoduo has not yet made a clear response. First, merchants on the platform have not massively lost money and closed stores; second, the platform's traffic still has room for growth. Therefore, Pinduoduo is not afraid of merchants leaving, because the current traffic is large enough to make up for losses. As long as the service fees and fines do not exceed the profit level and merchants can make money, they will not leave.
Yang Ning believes that the number of malicious buyers on Pinduoduo has not yet exceeded the tolerance of sellers. Only when it reaches a certain threshold will the platform possibly adjust its rules.
As a merchant, Zhao Xing has been on Pinduoduo for three years. In the early stage, he enjoyed certain dividends, but at the same time, he encountered too much unfair treatment, and his appeals to the platform were all rejected. "For unreasonable merchants, consumers have the platform to support them; so, for those unreasonable consumers who are bent on getting things for free, who will support the merchants?"
Under the epidemic, it has become increasingly difficult to open a store on Pinduoduo. Coupled with the platform's tendency to protect consumers rather than merchants, many merchants have chosen to exit since 2021. Some have switched to offline businesses, and some have returned to Pinduoduo this year.
**03**
## **Merchants' Return and Wait-and-See Attitude**
"Pinduoduo developed too fast, without paying the cost of educating customers and sellers as Taobao did in its early days. It opened up the situation with a crude low-price strategy."
Zhao Xing said that the consumers attracted by Pinduoduo's marketing tactics mostly have a mentality of taking advantage. Secondly, Pinduoduo has a low entry barrier, so the quality of merchants varies, and the platform's inaction further intensifies the conflict between buyers and sellers.
From the consumer's perspective, most point the finger at merchants, but feel the platform is very friendly.
"When consumers and merchants cannot reach an agreement, if they apply for platform intervention, the platform basically favors the consumer. The platform directly approves refund-only applications without the merchant's consent. Furthermore, regarding return shipping costs, as long as the consumer contacts the platform, the platform will automatically deduct the shipping fee. Merchants are completely unaware unless they check their bills, and the money is deducted silently."
Most consumers, like Wang Hao, buy something for less than ten yuan on Pinduoduo, and if there is a quality issue, they plan to return it. The merchant agrees but does not bear the return shipping cost. In the end, the two parties fail to reach an agreement, and the buyer submits a refund without returning the goods, and the platform refunds immediately.
Not only was the refund successful, but customer service also sent a 10-yuan no-threshold coupon as compensation. "Although I occasionally encounter some bad merchants, I have to say that the Pinduoduo platform is still very effective, and in the end, I got both the money and the goods. It's hard for consumers not to like such after-sales service."
When Zhao Xing joined, he happened to catch the dividend period for Pinduoduo merchants. Around 2018, 90% of merchants who joined Pinduoduo could make money. In fact, there was also a certain element of luck. When Pinduoduo first started, there were many problems. Although merchants' profits from selling goods belonged to them at that time, no one dared to take the risk.
Previously, Zhao Xing and his friends were all opening stores on Taobao, and no one was willing to go to Pinduoduo. It wasn't until 2018 that one of them, a bracelet seller, wanted to try Pinduoduo. Unexpectedly, he made over 1 million yuan in a month, and others began to stir, and Taobao merchants gradually joined Pinduoduo.
At that time, Zhao Xing's store had more than 3,000 orders a day, and others who did well had daily orders of up to 20,000. In those two years, they made a lot of money, but the good times didn't last. Starting last year, Pinduoduo's business entered a downturn. The platform also began to monetize traffic, and stores could only get traffic through paid promotion. Coupled with the epidemic, order volume plummeted, and many merchants began to suffer losses.
"We used to pay rent for a year in advance, but now we pay every six months. Business is hard, and there is always the possibility of closing." In just three years, Zhao Xing felt like he was on a roller coaster.
During this period, he has not managed the store, leaving it entirely to others in the store, while he went home for two months, planning to close the store when the lease expires.
While considering other options, Zhao Xing learned that the platform had adjusted its rules for merchant paid promotion, which gave him a glimmer of hope amid his reluctance to give up.
Previously, Pinduoduo mainly used search and scene promotion, which only brought exposure and traffic but did not guarantee order rates.
Zhao Xing told Photon Planet that in the past, merchants could spend two or three thousand on promotion and still not receive orders, not only not making money but also losing money. "For example, as long as a consumer clicks and browses a product, the platform deducts a few cents from the merchant. Sometimes, hundreds or thousands of views do not result in a single order, and in such cases, the merchant's promotion fees are wasted."
Now the platform has adjusted its promotion method to promote products across the entire network. More importantly, when merchants invest a certain amount in promotion fees, they can get a corresponding proportion of orders. That is, instead of paying per click, they pay per transaction, which ensures merchants do not lose money.
Zhao Xing currently has three stores on Pinduoduo. The best-performing one previously had about 300 orders a day. After a day of operation, the store's transaction amount was less than 4,000 yuan, but the platform deducted 1,700 yuan in promotion fees.
After deducting product costs, fines, and other expenses, the three stores together only earned about 400 yuan a day. Adding the monthly rent of 20,000 yuan and labor costs, the stores were in a loss-making state.
Some stores lost hundreds of thousands of yuan, and in the end, merchants had no choice but to close. "I have always been unwilling to give up, and I still want to earn back the money I lost." This adjustment of the platform's promotion rules is Zhao Xing's last attempt to hold on.
Merchants trapped by the platform's rules have quite complex feelings toward Pinduoduo. They complain endlessly but cannot let go.
Source: Photon Planet (ID: TMTweb)
 **-END-**


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