Chapter 532: Group Buy Flips the Table

The Dianping seminar was like a loaded gun. Once the bullet fired, it might rewrite the group buying market.

And who’s in front of the gun? Group buying, of course.

The disastrous collapse of Tuanbao Net is evident to all. The major capitals intensifying the situation is like a landslide, making a comeback under such public scrutiny nearly impossible.

They didn’t need to see group buying collapse immediately; just establishing its unreliable reputation among the confused masses would suffice.

Plus, this kind of reputation battle costs little. They could strike again and again. As long as group buying resisted financing, this was just the beginning.

Until they were hit by bullet after bullet, finally collapsing.

After all, group buying is a heavy-asset business model. With dwindling cash flow and no users, the decline continues, becoming ever more fragile.

Moreover, Dianping’s repeated public relations have informed customers and merchants that there are alternatives to group buying.

Yet, strangely, Jiang Qin’s behavior never seemed to alarm Yang Xueyu.

Especially the last two sentences Jiang Qin left were particularly baffling to Dianping’s executives, even incomprehensible.

The real hints began to show around nine in the evening, after the cocktail party…

Since the seminar was scheduled for the following afternoon, with a signing event immediately after, there were many details to be solidified that evening. Zhang Li grabbed a quick dinner, then returned to the company.

However, while working, he noticed an unexpected pop-up about group buying on his phone.

Such pop-up ads are common in all apps but had become rare for group buying since the public outcry, seeing that bright yellow was rather nostalgic.

Zhang Li guessed it was probably a daily special offer reminder, so he couldn’t help but smile slightly.

Offering discounts at times like these seems like courting disaster.

Because such promotions could easily remind people of Tuanbao Net’s desperate pre-collapse sales, raising consumer suspicion.

Everyone’s saying your cash flow has stopped, and here you are desperately selling vouchers – it’s obvious there’s an issue.

Zhang Li unlocked his phone intending to delete the pop-up but paused, taken aback by what he saw.

It wasn’t any flash sale but a message of successful refund.

The prior public relations crisis dealt unexpected damage to group buying, so Dianping staff rode the wave, buying vouchers only to request immediate refunds.

This not only added pressure to group buying’s customer service but could also be the last straw—why not?

Yet to Zhang Li’s surprise, group buying’s response wasn’t to secure merchants with money but to reassure consumers.

This move was perplexing since there’s an old saying about having the backing of a hill (resources) and not worrying about burning wood (assets); for a group-buying site, merchant resources are that hill.

Particularly this publicity crisis for group buying wasn’t just about consumer mistrust but merchant defection, which was far scarier.

“Hmm?”

“Why is it a hundred twenty-three and fifty cents?”

“Wait, that amount seems incorrect?”

Zhang Li inspected it closely, furrowing his brow for some time before impulsively clicking into the details, then he froze.

His refund application for a group buying order was still pending, but a half-year-old expired voucher in his coupon package showed a successful refund.

Simultaneously, the group buying app’s homepage updated with a banner claiming responsibility for expired vouchers, but clicking it showed consistently rising numbers marked as refunded amounts.

Zhang Li’s expression changed immediately as he pulled out his phone to call Chen Jiaxin.

“Mr. Chen, group buying has made a move.”

“They’ve updated the homepage to cover all users’ expired vouchers. I’ve received a refund notification.”

“…”

In the era of online banking, consumers wishing to buy discount vouchers from a group-buying site have to log on to a webpage via PC, link a security USB as a payment tool, and receive a security code for payment, an altogether cumbersome process.

To ensure sales and user convenience, group-buying sites usually release a large number of discount vouchers at once.

Therefore, it’s common for someone to stockpile a dozen or two discount vouchers all at once.

But, this has resulted in many discount vouchers expiring unused or forgotten, ultimately wasted.

Don’t underestimate this; the total market value of wasted vouchers is colossal.

Moreover, since its inception, group buying had an unwritten rule: expired vouchers are strictly non-refundable—a guideline that had been in place for two years.

So, if you missed using them, it was your loss to bear.

But when mobile payments became widespread, and it was easier to buy vouchers via phone, websites adjusted the usage periods of discount vouchers, so expired ones became less frequent.

However, this time group buying had refunded all unused vouchers from as far back as 2009, no application needed…

Typically, eight or nine in the evening is when the internet is most active; group buying traffic almost crashed the servers.

Chen Jiaxin and Yang Xueyu had just returned to their apartment but rushed back to the office after hearing the news, meeting with Zhang Li.

“Did they refund everything?”

“I’m not sure, but the refunded amount has already exceeded ten million.”

Zhang Li pointed to the continuously scrolling numbers on the computer screen, still out of breath from running.

Chen Jiaxin hadn’t even started to speak when he received a call.

It was from the manager of the online sentiment department, reporting that Tonight’s Headlines had already partnered with several media outlets to cover group buying’s refund activity, and the first article with a unified stance had just been released.

Right after hanging up, Yang Xueyu received a call from the Dianping customer service center.

The center manager reported consumer inquiries about whether Dianping’s expired vouchers could also be refunded and when.

“What’s he trying to do?”

After ending the call, Chen Jiaxin’s face was full of bewilderment: “Could this possibly resolve the suspicions about group buying’s cash flow?”

“No, it doesn’t solve that, but it diverts attention.”

Yang Xueyu suddenly remembered what Jiang Qin had said the day before.

He mentioned that the best way to handle public opinion is to create more of it.

Previously, rumors had it that Jiang Qin spent a week filming a commercial, so Yang Xueyu initially thought that was his attempt at shifting the narrative, even finding the idea somewhat naive.

Why?

Because public opinion needs a target for resentment; what can a commercial do?

But he never anticipated that Jiang Qin’s other point of creating public opinion would be to pay for expired vouchers.

A company, a product, a piece of news—it’s not enough to sway national opinion. But Jiang Qin’s move was like dragging the entire group-buying market into the fray, stirring up heat for him.

Group buying refunded all the money for expired vouchers. What about you, Nuomi? What about you, Dianping? What about you, Lashou? What about you, Wowo Group?

If any website dares to say they won’t refund, they’d instantly become the target of resentment.

However, covering such old vouchers is a tremendous workload for the customer service, finance, and operations teams.

Meaning, they essentially couldn’t take any concrete action for at least a week.

It seems group buying’s actions this week involved much more than just an advertisement.

“Expired vouchers are traditionally non-refundable. Is he really at his wit’s end and flipping the table?”

“But how does this benefit him? What exactly is he trying to do?”

“…”

At dawn, the news of group buying refunding expired vouchers topped the trending searches and remained there.

Tonight’s Headlines, in collaboration with several media outlets, began to extensively praise the action, analyzing the profound implications of group buying’s move as progress in the industry.

Some said it was a step forward for the group-buying sector, while others saw it as the most significant sincerity shown since the market’s inception.

Naturally, many questions followed, with people asking if other websites would follow suit.

A large number of netizens began commenting, some praising group buying’s generosity, others questioning it, asking wasn’t group buying experiencing a financial breakdown? How could they still afford this? And of course, many were asking if other sites would offer refunds.

As the hype escalated, heads of various websites began to sweat.

And it wasn’t just individual sweating; they were sweating together.

They were all attending a Dianping-sponsored seminar and were having breakfast in the restaurant, one by one seeing the trending searches and news, falling silent.

Eventually, all eyes converged on Jiang Qin, sitting quietly by the west-facing floor-to-ceiling windows.

He sat there, expression neutral, one hand holding scissors, the other pinching a toothpick, quietly flaunting his steak, occasionally glancing outside.

From everyone else’s perspective, he just looked like a student.

Although not particularly handsome, he certainly could be considered delicate, and his posture was quite upright.

Just from appearances, it was impossible to feel the decisiveness with which he dragged everyone down, especially since he did it so steadily.

“Is he really flipping the table?”

“One last crazy move seems quite in line with the mindset of the youth.”

Luo Ping and Robin sat together, whispering to each other, then observed as Jiang Qin finished his steak, turned, and left the buffet, muttering something.

Kang Jingtao, sitting on the outermost part, seemed to catch Jiang Qin’s words, his expression involuntarily stunned.

“Old Kang?”

“Ah?”

“What did President Jiang just say?”

“He said…”

Kang Jingtao swallowed: “He said, ‘Nice, I’ve given you another day to live.’”