Getting help
Where to ask, and who can actually answer
Three different organisations touch your order, and asking the wrong one wastes days. The seller owns the item and its description. OOTDBUY owns the purchase, the warehouse and the dispatch. The courier owns the parcel once it has left China.
This site owns none of those. We are an independent guide. We cannot see your order, change it, or refund anything, and we would not want the ability to. What we can do is point you at the right official page quickly.
OOTDBUY support runs 09:00 to 21:30 UTC+8 by email at [email protected], with an official Discord community alongside it.
What you can still undo depends on the status, not on the argument
The official procedure is organised by order status, and that is the useful part: how much can still be reversed is decided by where the goods are, not by how convincing your message is. The earlier the status, the more the page lets you do.
Official procedure
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Where these links came from
OOTDBUY keeps its help centre in the site footer, in six groups. Every official link on this page was taken from there, not guessed from a URL pattern. The notice IDs are long numeric identifiers, so a guessed address simply does not exist.
The official help centre, by topic
These are the real pages on ootdbuy.com, taken from the site's own help index rather than guessed. They open on the official site.
Novice guide
The full ten step flow, from choosing an item to waiting for receipt.
Open the official pageootdbuy.comTutorial
Longer walkthrough that also compares Tmall, Taobao and JD as sources.
Open the official pageootdbuy.comService and fees
The fee formula: goods, international freight, customs declaration.
Open the official pageootdbuy.comStorage
The 90 day and 30 day windows, and what expiry means.
Open the official pageootdbuy.comInspection information
What the warehouse checks, and what falls outside that.
Open the official pageootdbuy.comCustoms and taxation
Declaration guidance, risk warnings and the VAT note.
Open the official pageootdbuy.comPackaging
The consolidation example and the commercial parcel warning.
Open the official pageootdbuy.comInsurance and compensation
Claim windows, method and the exclusion list.
Open the official pageWhich channel for which problem
Matching the question to the right place is most of the work.
| Your problem | Where it belongs | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The item is not what the listing said | OOTDBUY aftersale on the order | They can raise it with the seller while the goods are still in China |
| You want to cancel before it is bought | The order page itself | Cancellation is self-service until the status changes to purchased |
| The parcel is late in your own country | The courier, then OOTDBUY | Once it has left China, tracking belongs to the carrier |
| The box arrived damaged | The courier at the door, then OOTDBUY | Noting it on the waybill before signing is what makes a claim possible |
| A payment will not go through | OOTDBUY support or Discord | Fastest thing to resolve in chat during support hours |
| Something on this guide looks wrong | [email protected] | Corrections are welcome and we publish them |
Frequently asked questions
Answered from the official notices, with the wording checked on 3 August 2026. Where OOTDBUY publishes a number, it is theirs and it can change.
Does OOTDBUY charge a purchasing commission?
No separate commission appears in its fee statement. OOTDBUY says that apart from product fees, international shipping fees and customs clearance fees, no other fees are charged, and that value added services are bought as needed. Its own formula is product cost plus international shipping plus customs declaration fee.
Why did my first payment not include international shipping?
Because nobody knows the freight yet. The first payment covers the goods and the seller's shipping to the warehouse inside China. The confirm screen says so next to the total. Freight is quoted once your items are physically in the warehouse and weighed. The full bill, line by line.
How long can I leave things in the warehouse?
Ninety days for a normal parcel, counted from the moment the order shows as received, with an email warning before expiry. Abnormal parcels the warehouse cannot match to an account get 30 days and no reminder. After that OOTDBUY treats the goods as abandoned and disposes of them.
What is the difference between a rehearsal and a waybill?
A rehearsal costs 20 CNY. The warehouse packs the box, then shows the real weight and real freight before you choose a line. Creating a waybill directly means prepaying an estimate, with the difference refunded or charged afterwards. Both routes, compared.
Does the warehouse check that my item is good?
It checks that what arrived matches what you ordered: quantity, colour, size and other stated specifications, plus a prohibited items check on every box. It photographs the goods. OOTDBUY states that colour difference, size error and usage effect are outside the inspection scope, so a judgement about quality is not part of it.
Can OOTDBUY buy branded items for me?
OOTDBUY says it verifies material and category but cannot identify genuine, fake or imitation brand goods, that it cannot purchase foreign brand or imitation brand items, and that it is not responsible for customs clearance of them. If a parcel is confiscated on those grounds, it states the responsibility is yours.
How long do I have to claim for loss or damage?
Seven days from signing, or 45 days from dispatch, whichever applies. Damage evidence should reach support within two working days of delivery, with the original packaging kept. Fragile goods take part in loss claims only and are excluded from damage claims.
What happens if delivery fails in my country?
It depends on the line. OOTDBUY warns that some routes have no overseas redelivery or return service, and that a parcel returned to the courier's overseas warehouse will not be sent out again. Redelivery fees for failures such as an unknown address fall on you.
Can I forward something I bought myself?
Yes, that is what the warehouse address is for, but it is also where abnormal parcels come from. If the warehouse signs for something it cannot match to your account, the storage window drops to 30 days with no reminder.
Is this site OOTDBUY?
No. OOTDBuy Spreadsheet is an independent guide. OOTDBUY is operated by GLOBAL BUYPAL UK TECHNOLOGY LIMITED, registered number 16688410. We explain the service and link to it. Links to ootdbuy.com may be partner links. More about who writes this.
Reading a tracking page without guessing
Once a parcel is moving, tracking lives in your account under the parcel section, and the tracking details view shows the route. The status that confuses people most is out for delivery, which OOTDBUY documents separately, and the one that matters most is the point of signing, because that is when several clocks stop.
Normal receipt, in OOTDBUY's wording, marks the end of the transport process. Anything you want to raise about transit should be raised before you get there.
Community and account pages
Two more official destinations worth having, plus the pages that tell you who you are dealing with.
ootdbuy.comOfficial Discord
The community channel OOTDBUY links from its own site.
Open the official pageootdbuy.comAbout OOTDBUY
Company name, registered number and registered address.
Open the official pageootdbuy.comService terms
The terms you accept at checkout, worth a read before a large order.
Open the official pageootdbuy.comPrivacy statement
What the platform says it does with your data.
Open the official pageThe warehouse
Shipping starts long after you pay
Your goods reach an OOTDBUY warehouse in China, and then they wait. They wait for you to decide what goes in the box, which line it takes, and when. That waiting period is free for 90 days on a normal parcel, and it is the single most useful feature an agent gives you, because it is what makes consolidation possible.
Two clocks run. Normal parcels get 90 days from the moment the order shows as received, with an email warning before expiry. Abnormal parcels, meaning ones the warehouse signed for but cannot match to an account because the logistics information was incomplete, get 30 days and no reminder, because there is nobody to remind.
Miss either window and OOTDBUY treats the goods as abandoned and disposes of them. It says so plainly.
From the official Storage notice. Checked 2026-08-03.
Rehearsal or waybill: which one fits this parcel
When you submit a parcel, OOTDBUY offers two routes out of the warehouse. They end in the same place. They differ in when you find out what freight costs. Answer three questions and this will tell you which one suits, and why.
Rehearsal or waybill, in the agent own words
This is the fork that decides whether you see the real freight number before you commit. Rehearsal costs a 20 CNY preview fee: the warehouse packs first, then shows you the final shipping cost. Create Waybill charges prepaid freight up front and refunds or bills the difference once the box is actually weighed.
The Tips underneath are the part people skip. Not every route will carry every product, and the delivery methods you are offered have already been filtered for what is in your box.
Official step 6
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The maths
Why consolidation is the only reliable way to cut freight
OOTDBUY works a full example through in its packaging notice. Three items of 700 g, 1100 g and 1600 g, sent separately on a GD-EMS rate to the United States, cost 1071 CNY. The same three items in one 3400 g box cost 645 CNY. The saving comes from paying one first-weight charge and one handling fee instead of three of each.
Those are OOTDBUY's own illustrative numbers on one route at one moment, not a quote. The mechanism behind them is what transfers: first weight and handling are charged per parcel, so parcels are the thing to reduce.
OOTDBUY publishes the consolidation arithmetic itself
This is the agent doing the sum in public, which is worth more than any estimate we could offer. The example is GD-EMS to the United States at 205 yuan for the first 500 g, 72 yuan per additional 500 g, plus an 8 yuan handling fee per package.
Three items of 700 g, 1100 g and 1600 g shipped separately come to 1071 yuan. The same three consolidated into one 3400 g box come to 645 yuan. The 426 yuan gap is two first weight charges and two handling fees you stop paying twice. The same page then warns that parcels over 10 kg are likely to be read as commercial, which is the ceiling on this tactic.
Official worked example
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What the rehearsal actually buys you
A rehearsal costs 20 CNY. The warehouse packs your box for real, then shows you the actual weight and the actual freight before you commit to a shipping line. You are paying a small fixed fee to remove an unknown.
Creating the waybill directly skips that. You prepay an estimated freight, the box goes out, and the difference against the real weight is settled afterwards, either as a refund or as a top-up. On a small light parcel the two paths land in much the same place. On a heavy or bulky haul the rehearsal is cheap insurance against a number you did not plan for.
Bulky items are where estimates go wrong most often, because freight is charged on volumetric weight when a box is large and light.
Both routes are described in the official Novice Guide, step 6. Checked 2026-08-03.
Deciding what goes in this box and what waits for the next one
The trade-off is always the same: an extra item costs a little freight now, or a whole extra first-weight charge later.
| Situation | Usually cheaper to | Because |
|---|---|---|
| Two items, both light | Ship them together now | One first weight and one handling fee instead of two |
| One item, and you are still shopping | Wait, if the clock allows | Storage is free for 90 days and consolidation is the main saving |
| A heavy item and a light one | Ship together | The additional weight steps cost less than a second first weight |
| Something large and light, such as a plush toy | Rehearse first | Volumetric weight can be far above the scale weight |
| Anything near its 90th day | Ship it now | An expired parcel is treated as abandoned |
Storage window and per-parcel charges from the official Storage and Packaging notices. Checked 2026-08-03.
Before you submit the parcel
Four checks that take a minute each and prevent the most common dispatch problems.
Check nothing in the box is restricted
Blades, lighters, magnets, liquids, powders and cosmetics all have rules, and the rules vary by line as well as by country.
Watch the total weight
OOTDBUY notes that parcels above roughly 10 kg, or with many identical items, are more likely to be treated as commercial by customs.
Look at the warehouse photos first
This is the last moment a wrong item is cheap to fix. Once it has flown, it is a return shipment.
Read what the line does not do
Some routes have no overseas redelivery or return service, so a missed delivery is not rescheduled.
Where the freight number really comes from
Useful to know which levers you control and which you do not.
You control
- How many parcels you send, which is the big one
- Total weight, by choosing what goes in this box
- Volume, by avoiding shipping air inside bulky goods
- Which line you pick when the quote appears
You do not control
- The per-kilo rate on a given line, which OOTDBUY and the courier set
- Fuel and seasonal surcharges
- Whether customs inspects your parcel, which is a spot check
- Import tax in your own country
Overpaid freight comes back as account balance
The caption is the agent own wording: the shipping difference is refunded to your OOTDBUY account. The example on screen settles at USD 1.67 back.
Two things follow. The prepaid freight you are quoted is an estimate, not the bill, so the waybill route can end up cheaper than it first looks. And the money returns as balance rather than to your card, which is fine if you order again and worth knowing if you do not.
Official video
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Costs
What OOTDBUY charges, and what it does not
OOTDBUY states that beyond the goods, international shipping and customs clearance, no other fees are charged, with value added services purchased separately as needed. Its own formula reads: total cost equals product cost plus international shipping cost plus the customs declaration fee.
Product cost includes the seller's shipping inside China, from wherever the seller is to the OOTDBUY warehouse. International freight depends on weight, the line you choose and where you live. The customs declaration fee is stated as generally around 8 CNY, varying by shipping method.
No purchasing commission appears in that list. That is genuinely different from agents who take a percentage of the item price, and it is the clearest thing to compare OOTDBUY against on price.
Wording condensed from the official Service and Fees notice. Checked 2026-08-03.
The bill, line by line
Six lines, arriving at three different moments. Only the first two are due when you check out.
| Line | Set by | Arrives | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Item price | The seller | At order | Whatever the listing says on the day |
| Shipping inside China | The seller | At order | Seller to OOTDBUY warehouse |
| Rehearsal fee | OOTDBUY | When you submit a parcel | Stated as 20 CNY. Optional, and only on the rehearsal route |
| International freight | Line and weight | At dispatch | Prepaid on the waybill route, quoted after packing on the rehearsal route |
| Customs declaration fee | OOTDBUY | With the freight | Generally around 8 CNY, varies by method |
| Import tax or VAT | Your country | On arrival | Charged by your own customs, not by OOTDBUY |
Amounts are OOTDBUY published figures, not live quotes. Checked 2026-08-03.
Topping up
What it costs to get money into the account
Payment methods carry their own costs, and those sit outside the goods and freight entirely. OOTDBUY states a PayPal top up fee of 4.5 per cent plus 0.3 USD, with PayPal conversions handled in US dollars regardless of your account currency, and rates adjusted against Bank of China rates.
Wise supports five currencies: USD, GBP, EUR, NZD and AUD. Each currency has different recipient details, and sending to the wrong ones creates a support ticket rather than a balance.
From the official Top up notice. Fees change without notice. Checked 2026-08-03.
Customs
The part neither you nor OOTDBUY controls
OOTDBUY asks you to declare reasonably against the tariff threshold of your own country, and notes that whether a parcel is taxed depends on inspection frequency and current policy. It also warns that goods entering the UK or EU above the relevant value threshold attract VAT, and that all customs consequences, including returns, fines and taxes, are borne by the buyer.
Two structural signals decide how a parcel reads to a customs officer: weight, and how many identical units are inside. OOTDBUY names roughly 10 kg as the point where a parcel starts to look commercial, and says the same about large quantities of one item.
The agent states plainly that this part is yours
There is no ambiguity in the official wording: duties, taxes and any consequence of a parcel being reclassified sit with the buyer. The agent moves the box, it does not underwrite your border.
This is the single most useful page to read before building a large haul, because it is the one cost nobody in the chain can quote you in advance.
Official risk notice
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Four ways to spend less that actually work
Ordered by how much difference they make. The first one is worth more than the other three combined.
Send fewer, fuller parcels
First weight and handling are charged per parcel. OOTDBUY's own worked example saves 426 CNY by merging three boxes into one.
Use the free storage window
Ninety days is long enough to gather a proper haul, and gathering is what makes consolidation possible.
Watch the top up fee
A 4.5 per cent plus 0.3 USD PayPal charge on a large balance is real money. Compare it against a Wise transfer.
Rehearse before a bulky shipment
Twenty CNY to see the real number beats discovering volumetric weight after you committed to a line.
Costs worth paying, and costs worth avoiding
Usually worth it
- The rehearsal fee on anything bulky or expensive to ship
- Waiting to consolidate, since storage is free and freight is not
- Extra warehouse photos when shape or finish matters
- Declaring honestly, because a fine costs more than the tax did
Usually not worth it
- Shipping single items one at a time, which pays first weight repeatedly
- Rushing a parcel out on day one when more items are on the way
- Topping up far more than you need on a percentage-fee method
- Buying something restricted and hoping the line accepts it
Working out what a haul will really cost
You cannot know the freight in advance, but you can bound it before you spend anything.
Add up the item prices and the domestic shipping
That is payment one and it is the only figure you can know exactly at the start.
Estimate the weight of the whole box, not the items
Packaging adds weight, and bulky goods are charged on volume. If the box is large and light, expect volumetric weight to decide the price.
Check the freight on the official calculator before you commit
OOTDBUY publishes a shipping calculator on its own site. Use it with your real destination rather than working from someone else's quote in a chat screenshot.
The calculator entry point on the official homepage. Add the declaration fee and your own import tax
Around 8 CNY for the declaration, plus whatever your country charges above its threshold. What tends to go wrong here.
Avoiding trouble
The mistakes that actually cost money
Ordinary mistakes on an agent order cost you a few days. A small number cost you the goods. This page is only about the second kind, and every one of them is documented in OOTDBUY's own notices rather than inferred from anecdote.
The pattern behind most of them is the same: a deadline you did not know was running, or a rule that applies at dispatch rather than at checkout.
The claim windows are shorter than most people assume
The deadlines are the part worth memorising, because they run whether or not you have opened the box. The page also draws a line most buyers only find out about after the fact: fragile goods are covered for loss but not for damage.
Official deadlines
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Buying something that cannot be shipped
Tobacco, alcohol and contraband are refused outright. A long restricted list covers blades of almost every description, including kitchen knives, letter openers, garden shears and seam rippers, along with lighters, magnetic components, seeds and various foods. Medicine, liquids, creams, powders and cosmetics are limited by Chinese export rules, and OOTDBUY asks you to contact support before buying them.
Nothing stops you paying for these. The problem appears later, when the parcel cannot be dispatched and you are left with an aftersale request instead of a delivery.
Letting the storage clock run out
Ninety days is generous, and that is exactly why people lose things to it. The clock starts when the order shows as received, not when you last thought about it. OOTDBUY sends an email as expiry approaches, and treats a parcel with no waybill and no response after 90 days as abandoned.
Abnormal parcels are worse. If the warehouse signed for something it cannot match to an account, the window is 30 days and no reminder is possible, because nobody knows whose it is. That is the scenario to avoid when you forward something yourself.
Two clocks, and only one of them warns you
The official page separates them clearly. Normal packages get 90 days counted from the moment the order status turns to received, and the system emails you before it expires. Abnormal packages, meaning parcels the warehouse signed for without matching logistics information, get 30 days and the page says plainly that reminders cannot be given.
Note the sentence about disposal. After the window closes the goods are treated as abandoned, and the page adds that destroyed goods are not notified either.
Official rule
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Deadlines
Every clock running against you at once
Five deadlines, all published, all easy to miss because none of them announce themselves at checkout.
| Clock | How long | Starts from |
|---|---|---|
| Free storage, normal parcel | 90 days | Order status showing received |
| Storage, abnormal parcel | 30 days | The warehouse signing for it |
| Return request after storage | 5 days | Status changing to stored |
| Compensation claim after delivery | 7 days | Signing for the parcel |
| Compensation claim after dispatch | 45 days | The parcel leaving the warehouse |
| Damage evidence to support | 2 working days | Delivery |
From the official Storage, aftersales, Insurance and Compensation and Receipt Information notices. Checked 2026-08-03.
At the door, in the two minutes that matter
OOTDBUY is specific about receipt, and this is the one part of the process that happens too fast to look up.
Check the outer box before signing
Look at the seal and the weight. If it is obviously damaged, inspect it in front of the courier and note it on the waybill, or refuse it outright.
Keep everything if it is wrong
Original box, sealing tape, invoice and photos. Evidence goes to support within two working days of delivery.
Do not wait to report it
Claims close 7 days after delivery or 45 days after dispatch, whichever bites first.
Understand what normal receipt means
OOTDBUY states that normal receipt marks the end of the transport process, and that it is not responsible for what happens afterwards.
What is covered, and what is on you
Worth reading once before you buy anything breakable or branded.
Compensation is possible for
- Loss or damage in transit, against each line's own compensation standard
- Claims made inside the 7 day and 45 day windows, with proof
- Parcels held up by domestic security failures, which OOTDBUY says it will resend free
- Wrong items caught by the warehouse before dispatch
Excluded, explicitly
- Damage to fragile goods. They take part in loss claims only
- Anything prohibited or restricted, or confiscated by an authority
- Force majeure, including war, natural disaster and radiation
- Items judged to be imitation brand or intellectual property infringing, where OOTDBUY says confiscation is your responsibility
What the warehouse check is not looking for
Read the exclusions before the inclusions. The agent checks quantity, colour and size against the order, opens everything to screen for prohibited items, and photographs what arrives. Colour deviation, measurement tolerance and how the thing performs in use are outside that scope by the agent own definition.
That boundary decides where your judgement has to happen: before you order, not after the photographs arrive.
Official scope
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Four habits that prevent most of this
Read the restricted list before you shop, not after
It takes two minutes and it is the only one of these that costs you nothing to do early.
Put your storage deadline in a calendar
The date of the first stored item, minus a week. That single entry prevents the most expensive mistake on this page.
Look at the warehouse photos properly
They exist so that a wrong item is caught while it is still in China, which is the only point where fixing it is cheap.
Treat the doorstep as part of the process
Two minutes with the courier is worth more than a week of emails afterwards. Where to raise what.