Before you start: what you need
Three things make the first order go smoothly. An email address for the account. A delivery address written the way your local post office expects it, with a phone number, because carriers in most countries text or call before delivery. And a way to pay: Oopbuy's checkout lists the payment methods available for your country, and the payment methods page covers which ones buyers usually use.
You also need something to order. Most people start from a link in an Oopbuy spreadsheet, which opens the item straight inside Oopbuy. You can also paste a Taobao, Weidian or 1688 link into Oopbuy's search box, and the link converter turns a link built for another agent into an Oopbuy link.
Get the address and phone number right before the first order; fixing them after a parcel ships is slow.
Step 1: create the account and add your address
Sign up on oopbuy.com or in the official app linked from it. Avoid look-alike apps in the app stores: at least one app named "Oopbuy" is published by an individual developer, not by the agent. After signing up, open the address book and save your delivery address. Write it in the Latin alphabet, put the postcode in its own field, and add your phone number with the country code. The address is used later when you submit a parcel, not when you buy the item, but having it saved avoids a stall at step 5.
Step 2: open a product and pay for the item
On the product page you choose the variant the seller offers: size, colour, sometimes a style number. Sizing on Taobao and Weidian often runs small and is usually given in centimetres, so check the seller's size chart, not just the label. If you need something unusual, use the remark field to leave a short note in plain English for the agent to pass to the seller.
At checkout you pay two amounts: the item price, converted to your currency, and the seller's domestic shipping to Oopbuy's warehouse. There is no purchasing fee on Taobao, Tmall, 1688 and JD orders. The currency conversion is where the agent's margin sits, so if price matters, compare the final total with another agent before you pay.
You are paying for the item and its trip to the warehouse; international shipping comes later.
Step 3: wait for warehouse arrival
Oopbuy buys the item from the seller, and the seller ships it within China. Most items reach the warehouse within a few days, longer for made-to-order goods or during Chinese holidays, when many sellers pause shipping. If a seller turns out to be out of stock, the order is cancelled and the item payment is normally refunded to your account. You get a notification once the item is stored, and from that moment two clocks start: the 90 days of free storage and the 5-day window for returns and exchanges.
Step 4: review the QC photos
Each stored item gets a set of warehouse photos. This is the only point where you see your actual item, not the seller's catalogue pictures, so look at it properly: the right size and colour, visible defects, stains, loose stitching, and anything in the description that matters to you. If the standard photos do not show a detail, order extra photos at ¥1 each, or a measurement.
If something is wrong, request a return or exchange inside the 5-day window. Returns refund the item price; exchanges send it back for a different size or a replacement, which adds time. Our Oopbuy QC guide has a checklist for reading photos.
Check QC photos the day they arrive; the 5-day window is short and it runs whether you look or not.
Step 5: submit the parcel and choose a shipping line
When everything you want is in storage, select the items and submit them as one parcel. Combining items into one parcel is usually cheaper than shipping them one by one, because most lines charge a first-weight price plus a lower price for each extra step of weight.
Before paying, consider a rehearsal: the warehouse packs the parcel, weighs it and photographs the packed box. You see the real weight and size, and you can ask for changes, such as removing shoe boxes or vacuum-packing clothes to cut volumetric weight. Rehearsals take extra time; complaints about rehearsals taking a week or more appear in public reviews, so plan around that.
Then choose a line. The choice sets price, speed and how import tax is handled:
| Line type | Speed | Cost | Import tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Express (e.g. DHL, FedEx) | Fastest | Highest per kg | Usually collected by the carrier on delivery |
| Tax-inclusive / economy | Medium | Lower per kg | Often included in the shipping price (IOSS in the EU) |
| Sea | Slowest | Lowest for heavy parcels | Depends on the line |
You pay international shipping and a customs declaration fee of about ¥8 per parcel. Use the shipping calculator to compare lines for your weight and country, and the shipping time page for realistic transit times.
Rehearse heavy or bulky parcels, and pick a tax-inclusive line if you are in the EU and want no charge at the door.
Step 6: track the parcel and receive it
Oopbuy gives you a tracking number once the parcel leaves the warehouse. On most lines it switches to your local carrier after the parcel lands, sometimes with a new number. If your line does not include import tax, the local carrier collects it before delivery, often with its own handling fee. Keep the rehearsal and QC photos until the parcel arrives; they are your evidence if anything is missing or damaged and you need to make a claim.
Save your photos until delivery; they are what a claim rests on.
What a first order typically costs, line by line
Putting the steps together, the full bill for an order has this shape: item price and domestic shipping at step 2; nothing for storage as long as you ship within 90 days; ¥1 per extra QC photo if you ask for any; international shipping plus about ¥8 at step 5; and import VAT or duty at step 6 if your line does not include it. The is Oopbuy legit page explains where the hidden margin sits and how to keep a first order low-risk.
FAQ
What is Oopbuy?
Oopbuy is a shopping agent. It buys products for you from Chinese marketplaces such as Taobao, Weidian and 1688, which usually do not ship abroad or accept foreign cards, then inspects and ships them to your country.
How does Oopbuy work in short?
You pay for an item, Oopbuy buys it and receives it in its warehouse, you approve the photos, then you pay for shipping and Oopbuy sends everything you chose in one parcel.
Do I pay shipping twice?
You pay two different legs. The first is the seller's domestic shipping inside China, paid with the item. The second is international shipping from the warehouse to you, paid when you submit the parcel.
What is a rehearsal?
A rehearsal is a trial packing: the warehouse packs your parcel, weighs it and photographs it before you pay for shipping, so you can see the real weight and ask for changes.
Can I cancel an order?
Before the seller ships, you can usually cancel and get the item payment back. After the item arrives in the warehouse, use the return or exchange request within 5 days of storage.