Seller feels helpless after Shopee 'automatically' issued refund to buyer at his expense

He thought it was unfair.

A Shopee seller is disappointed and disheartened by the way the e-commerce handled a dispute with a buyer.

Stomper Ang said he felt helpless after Shopee issued a partial refund without requiring the buyer to return the items.

He had no say in the process

"It seems that Shopee has acted without any consideration for the seller's position, automatically refunding orders to buyers at the seller's expense without requiring the return of the item," said the Stomper.

"For example, when a buyer disputes an order with claims such as 'some leakage', Shopee has been quick to issue a refund without any obligation for the buyer to return the item to the seller. This is an incredibly unfair practice and the seller is left without any recourse.

"There is no option for us as sellers to request a return of the item or dispute these decisions. This results in sellers losing both the product and the payment while buyers get to keep the items for free."

Stomp understands that sellers do have the option to dispute such decisions but only after the decisions have been made.

The Stomper continued: "I have attached a specific example where the buyer claimed leakage from four bottles of Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser.

"Upon review of the provided photos, the leakage was minimal, and the items could have easily been repackaged and returned. Yet Shopee decided to issue a refund without requesting the items' return.

"If Shopee believed the damage to be too significant for a return through the standard return channels, I strongly believe that sellers should still be given the option to arrange their own return.

"It's crucial that sellers have a say in the process and are not left helpless when these unfair situations arise."

In response to a Stomp query, a Shopee spokesperson said: "We have carefully reviewed the buyer's claim, including supporting evidence, and determined that a partial refund of the full order was appropriate due to product leakage.

"Our assessment found that the packaging did not fully prevent movement and spillage, which likely contributed to the issue. To help prevent similar occurrences, we have provided the seller with guidance on Shopee's recommended packaging best practices.

"Shopee remains committed to ensuring a smooth shopping experience for both buyers and sellers and will continue to work with our sellers to improve packaging standards and minimise delivery-related issues."