China toy platform refund rule requires parents to slap, scold child for unapproved purchase

A major Chinese second-hand trading platform has sparked public outrage after a seller allegedly demanded that a mother submit a five-minute video of herself slapping her child as a condition for getting a refund. The mother contacted the seller just two hours after the order was placed.(Pexels/Representational Image) According to IFENG.com, the case came to light when Li Yun, mother of an 11-year-old girl, tried to cancel a purchase after discovering her daughter had secretly spent over 500 yuan (around £55) on trading cards through the Qiandao app. Qiandao is one of China’s biggest platforms for second-hand toys and collectibles, with a total transaction volume exceeding 10 billion yuan in 2025. Seller issues shocking refund demand: According to a report the South China Morning Post, when Yun contacted the seller just two hours after the order, she was accused of pretending to be a minor to cancel it maliciously. The seller then sent her a “Minor Refund Notice”, which demanded a continuous five-minute video of her slapping her daughter, with clear sound, and another three-minute video showing her angrily scolding the child. The notice also asked for a 1,000-character handwritten apology letter from the girl, signed, fingerprinted, and read aloud both parent and child. Yun reported the incident to Qiandao’s customer service team, but the staff said the platform could not intervene and advised her to negotiate directly with the seller. On 20 October, the company issued a statement saying the incident stemmed from a personal second-hand sale and that the “Minor Refund Notice” was not an official policy. Internet divided over refund response: The incident sparked a wave of online debate, with some users shockingly defending the seller’s actions. One person argued that the punishment was justified, saying the child had broken the rules secretly spending her parents’ money, and the seller should not be blamed. Others strongly disagreed, calling the demand abusive.