22 Students Wore Online-Bought Costumes for a Performance—Then Returned Them Stained

Image from the report on the costume-return dispute.

Twenty-two students at a vocational college in Guangzhou ordered performance costumes online for a singing competition. After wearing the costumes for the event, they applied for refunds under China’s seven-day unconditional return policy.

When the clothes were sent back, the seller said the collars were covered with sweat and makeup stains. The costumes could no longer be sold to other customers, so the entire batch had to be discarded.

After the story attracted attention, the school became involved. The students apologized and paid compensation to the seller.

Why did the return become a dispute?

The seven-day return rule is designed to let online shoppers understand a product more safely when they cannot see it in person. But the returned item is still expected to remain in good condition.

The report said clothing with obvious stains, damage, missing labels or strong odors may no longer qualify as a normal unconditional return.

For sellers of costumes and traditional clothing, return rates can be high. One seller told the media that some businesses see return rates of around 30%, while more than 20% of returned items may show clear signs of use and cannot be resold.

For low-margin businesses, the loss can be significant. If a returned product cannot be sold again, the seller may lose almost the full production cost.

The bigger “refund without returning” problem

The dispute is part of a wider debate about 仅退款, a platform policy that can allow buyers to receive a refund without sending the product back.

The policy can be useful for low-value goods, damaged deliveries or products whose return shipping costs more than the item. But sellers interviewed by the report said it is increasingly being applied to a wider range of products.

Some sellers said platforms may approve refunds automatically, while the merchant must later submit evidence and appeal the decision. In those cases, a business can lose both the product and the payment.

Why are platforms under pressure?

The report noted that sellers often need a complete chain of evidence, including opening videos, before-and-after comparisons and return-shipping records, to challenge a refund.

Consumer-rights experts said the purpose of the seven-day rule was to help people shop with confidence—not to turn clothing into free short-term rentals. They also said a product that has been clearly used, stained or damaged may not meet the legal standard for an unconditional return.

The case involving the 22 students ended with apologies and compensation. But it has raised a larger question for China’s online shopping economy:

When a platform makes refunds easy for buyers, who should bear the cost when the product can no longer be sold?

Source: The Paper / CCTV News

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