Where the money goes
The price is four separate decisions, taken at different times
A find has no single price. What you end up paying is the seller price, plus the domestic leg to the warehouse, plus the international leg, plus whatever services you add. They are decided at different moments by different people, which is why a number quoted on day one is rarely the number on day ten.
This guide publishes no amounts. Freight is quoted per line, per weight, per volume and per destination, and any figure written here would be wrong within weeks. What is stable is the mechanism, and the mechanism is worth understanding because most of it is decided before you order.
Volume is the part people forget
Parcels are billed on the greater of two numbers: what the scales say, and what the box measures. The help centre gives the volumetric calculation as length times width times height divided by 8000 for the ETL line, and notes that the logistics company charges on the volumetric figure whenever it is the larger one.
The same article suggests the obvious fixes: a vacuum bag for a down jacket, and removing or folding boxes for anything that ships in rigid packaging. This is also why the warehouse removing original packaging at storage is usually in your interest, even when it feels like losing something.
Practical version: if your find is light and large, price it before you buy it, not after.
The six goods classes, and why they matter
The estimate page will not quote anything until you tell it which class your goods belong to. Five of the six are sensitive, which sounds dramatic but simply means fewer lines will carry them.
| Class | What falls in it | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Brand goods | Anything carrying a recognised brand name | Some lines will not carry it, and the declaration matters more |
| Electric or magnetic | Motors, speakers, anything with a magnet | Restricted on several air lines, and function is not inspected |
| Liquid, powder or paste | Perfume, cosmetics, creams, powders | Frequently refused outright, and often uninsurable |
| Flammable or explosive | Aerosols, lighters, some cosmetics | Refused on most routes, and on the prohibited list in several forms |
| Pure batteries | Loose cells and power banks | The strictest class of the six, and a common reason a parcel splits |
| General cargo, daily use | Ordinary clothing, shoes, bags, homeware | The default class, and the cheapest to move |
Class names read off the estimate page, 4 August 2026. What each line accepts is decided by the carrier and changes. The estimate page
Use an estimate with complete inputs
Choose destination, goods type, weight and all three dimensions. A price for one route does not establish that another route uses the same divisor, minimum weight, surcharge or restrictions. After packing, check the measured values and final quote again.
Four limits worth knowing before they surprise you
All four are published. All four have caught people out.
Free cover exists, paid cover adds the freight
Without buying anything, the platform provides cover for the value of the goods if a parcel is lost or seized by customs. Paying adds the shipping cost to that. Neither one covers a forwarded parcel, and neither one is about the item disappointing you.
Ninety days, then it is gone
The clock starts when the order shows as stored, and unmatched parcels get sixty days instead. Expired goods are treated as abandoned and destroyed, and the help centre is explicit that no further notice is given.
You can hand it over or do it yourself
The declaration is what customs sees: what is in the parcel, how many, and what it is worth. The help centre says you can select system declaration when submitting a parcel and let them handle it. Whether that suits you depends on your country.
Withdrawal is not instant and not free
Balance withdrawals go back to the original payment method, carry a bank handling fee per transaction, are reviewed within about two business days and typically land within ten, sometimes longer depending on the card issuer.
Five ways to keep a parcel from getting expensive
None of these is a trick. They are all consequences of how the pricing works.
Decide about boxes before the item is stored
Original packaging is removed at storage unless the item is fragile or oversized. If you want the box, say so. If you do not, that decision is already made for you and it is saving you money.
Measure the biggest thing in the parcel
Volumetric weight is driven by the largest dimensions, not the total. One boxed pair of shoes can set the price for a parcel containing five soft items.
Keep sensitive classes separate in your planning
A perfume or a loose battery in the same parcel as clothing narrows the lines available for the whole parcel. Sometimes two parcels are cheaper than one.
Do not let the storage clock choose for you
Consolidating slowly is fine until day ninety. Work out your shipping date when the first item lands, not when the last one does.
Price it on the estimate page before you commit
Destination, weight, class and dimensions in, line options out, with first weight, continued weight, operation fee, fuel and delivery estimate broken out. It costs nothing to check. The estimate page
A refund has several stages
Save the order status when you raise the issue and ask whether the request is cancellation, return to the seller, balance credit or withdrawal. These have different dependencies. Seller acceptance and returned-goods inspection may happen before a balance credit; a payment provider can add a separate wait when money leaves the wallet.
Do not use a historical status table as a guaranteed date for receiving funds. Ask for the next required action and keep the support reply with your order evidence.
What will not ship at all
Twelve classes are named on the prohibited list, and a few of them are ordinary shopping until you read the wording: controlled knives of all kinds including kitchen knives, scissors and garden tools; guns and toy guns; electronic cigarettes and their liquids; tobacco and alcohol; adult products; anything explosive, flammable, corrosive, toxic or radioactive.
The last entry on the list is goods that do not possess intellectual property rights, and a separate anti-counterfeiting policy states that products sold through the site must be authentic, that the sale of non authentic products is strictly prohibited, and that failing to abide by it can mean loss of purchase privileges, funds being withheld and inventory being disposed of.
That policy is the agent decision to make and to enforce. We are an independent guide, so all we can usefully do is point at the wording and suggest you read it before you build a basket around something borderline.
The conversion is the one line the estimate never shows
Freight estimates and currency conversion answer different questions. Compare the amount charged in your payment currency with the CNY balance actually credited, including any top-up or payment fee. A platform conversion rate, payment provider and card issuer can each affect the total; the freight estimate alone does not show that complete cost.
For a useful comparison, take two payment quotes at the same time and for the same credited CNY amount. Record the total debit, the credited balance and any separate fee. Recheck at checkout rather than treating a historical exchange-rate example as today’s offer.
The conversion also runs in reverse, and the reverse is slower. Money parked in the account balance leaves through a withdrawal the help centre prices in time as much as in money: accepted within 2 working days, normally up to 10 working days to arrive, with a bank fee on each withdrawal. A find that only makes sense if nothing ever comes back out is a different purchase from one priced with the exit in mind.
Estimate fields from a live result, withdrawal windows from the help centre, both read 4 August 2026. The withdrawal article