Online buys in Shanghai come with a 7 day no reason return; in a physical shop you only have a right to a refund for a genuine fault.
To get a refund in Shanghai, start with the seller and put the ask in writing. Online buys carry a 7 day no-reason return (七天无理由); a physical shop can refuse a change-of-mind return, but no seller may refuse a genuine fault, covered by the 三包 warranty rules. If the store stonewalls, the 12315 complaint line is your lever. Here is how each rung works.
Good to know
- Good for: anything faulty, mis-described, or that you simply want to send back within the window.
- What you'll pay: nothing to complain. A proven fraud claim can win a refund plus three times the price, with a 500 yuan floor.
- Play it smart: screenshot everything, try the seller first, then climb the ladder in order.
What are your actual rights?
The spine of the whole topic is one distinction. The famous 7 day no-reason return (七天无理由退货) is an online right only, written for goods bought over the internet, TV, phone or mail order, so knowing Taobao's after-sales flow in English pays off before you need it. Buy something in a brick-and-mortar shop and there is no legal right to return it just because you changed your mind, the store sets its own policy. What the law does guarantee everywhere is redress for a real defect: under the 三包 rules, a performance fault within 7 days of sale lets you choose a refund, exchange or repair, and within 15 days an exchange or repair.
Four things are always excluded from the online no-reason return: custom-made goods, fresh or perishable items, unsealed digital products like downloaded software, and delivered newspapers. And since the 2024 Consumer Rights Implementation Regulations, simply opening the box to inspect an item does not void your return, as long as the goods stay complete. A shop cannot quietly widen that exclusion list.
When does a refund get doubled or tripled?
Two rules put real teeth behind a complaint. If a seller commits fraud (欺诈), for example selling a fake as genuine or lying about what it is, you are owed the price back plus three times the price as a penalty, and if that penalty works out under 500 yuan the floor is 500 (退一赔三). For unsafe food, the multiplier jumps: you can claim ten times the price, or three times your loss, with a 1,000 yuan minimum (退一赔十). Courts do curb people who buy in bulk purely to farm these penalties, so this is protection for real consumers, not a business model. Keep proof that what you bought was not what was promised, because fraud is the word that unlocks the multiplier.
The escalation ladder, step by step
Nearly every dispute is won on the lowest rung. Climb only as far as you need to.
Start with the seller and keep it in writing. If that fails on an online order, the platform is usually faster and more effective than any regulator, so use it before you dial anyone.
How to file with 12315
12315 is China's unified consumer-complaint system, run by the market regulator, and it is both a hotline and a platform. You can dial 12315 (or 021-12315 in Shanghai), use the 全国12315平台 website at 12315.cn, or open the 12315 mini-program inside WeChat or the entry in Alipay. Register with your real name and passport. One thing matters: file a 投诉 (complaint) if you want your money back through mediation, not a 举报 (report), which only flags a business to enforcers and gets you nothing personally. Be realistic: the hotline and forms run in Chinese in practice, so use a translation app or a Chinese-speaking friend, and remember 12315 mediates rather than orders, though an official case often moves a merchant who ignored you. In Shanghai the Consumer Council (上海市消保委) at 315.sh.cn is a parallel mediator on the same 12315 line.
Getting a refund on Taobao, JD and Meituan
For an online order, the platform button is your go-to friend. On Taobao and Tmall, if the seller rejects or ignores your after-sales request, a "申请客服介入" (ask platform to step in) option appears, and the platform rules on the evidence in 3 to 5 business days, with the refund landing in Alipay soon after the return is confirmed. If your order had 运费险 (return-shipping insurance), it usually covers the return postage. For food on Meituan or Ele.me, use 申请退款 with a photo of the problem; the merchant has 24 hours, and if it agrees or stays silent the refund goes through, with 退款申诉 pulling in customer service if it refuses. As of 2026, the big platforms have scrapped forced "refund-only" (仅退款), so you now generally have to return the goods to get your money, not just claim a refund and keep the item. The same platform tools cover a bad Xianyu secondhand buy.
Common questions
How do I get a refund in China?
Try the seller first and keep it in writing. For an online order, use the platform's refund button and escalate to 客服介入 if the seller refuses. For a genuine fault bought anywhere, cite the 三包 warranty rules. If the merchant still stonewalls, file a 12315 投诉, which mediates within 60 days.
What is the 7-day no-reason return rule?
七天无理由退货 lets you return nearly all online purchases within 7 days of delivery for any reason, with no fault needed. It covers goods bought online, by phone, TV or mail order, not in-store buys. Custom-made, fresh, unsealed digital and periodical goods are excluded, and the item must stay complete.
How do I call 12315 in English?
Dial 12315, or 021-12315 in Shanghai. The line runs in Chinese, so line up a Chinese-speaking friend or a translation app first, or file through the 12315.cn website or the 12315 WeChat mini-program, where you can type at your own pace. Register with your passport and file a 投诉, not a 举报.
Can you return something bought in a Shanghai shop?
Only for a genuine fault. A physical shop is not bound by the 7 day no-reason return, so it can lawfully refuse a change-of-mind return and set its own goodwill policy. If the item is defective, the 三包 warranty rules give you a refund, exchange or repair within set windows.
Does opening the package cancel my online return?
No. Since the 2024 Consumer Rights Implementation Regulations, inspecting or reasonably testing an item does not void your no-reason return, as long as it stays complete with its accessories, labels and original function. Sellers cannot treat "unsealed" as automatically non-returnable on Taobao or anywhere else.
How do I get Taobao to step in if the seller refuses?
After the seller rejects or ignores your after-sales request, tap 申请客服介入 within 7 days of the rejection and 15 days of confirming receipt. Upload your evidence, the listing, the chat and the photos, and the platform rules on the case in 3 to 5 business days.
