Before checkout at ACBuy: choosing items for a parcel that has to fly
The decisions that make a parcel easy or hard to send are taken before it exists. Here is what ACBuy checks, what it does not, and what to look for yourself.
QC photos: what ACBuy's standard check includes
When an item reaches the warehouse, ACBuy's standard inspection includes three basic photos in standard resolution: front, back, and side or logo. The front page advertises “3-5 free QC photos”; the customised photos guide is the one that defines the standard set, so plan on three.
The inspection itself covers appearance: colour, large-area damage, stains, the size on the label and hang tag, model and version. ACBuy's inspection-scope article excludes colour differences, errors in actual size and usage effects, and says electronic products are checked for appearance only, without powering them on. Detail photos, listed at 2 CNY each in the captured value-added services page, can answer a specific visual question if the service supports it; they do not expand inspection into function or authenticity testing. The customised photos guide says to state the request clearly in the order remarks.
QC photos read a second time, for the warehouse's eyes
Most advice on how to check QC photos is about the item matching the listing. Do that first: colour, logo placement, the size tag against what you ordered. Then look at the photos the way the warehouse will when it decides on a label. A charging port, a battery door, a coin cell on a watch back, a magnetic clasp, a bottle with a volume printed on it: each of those is an attribute ACBuy's product-type list has an entry for.
ACBuy's inspection-scope article adds a step that is easy to miss. If goods are found not to meet the requirements of transportation conditions, the warehouse puts a special mark on the order to remind you to negotiate a return. That mark arrives while the 120-hour return window from Stored may still be open, which makes it the least costly moment to act on a problem item.
Reading a marketplace seller from its listing page
Read the seller’s storefront as well as the individual listing. Here is how to judge a seller before you order through ACBuy. Look at how long the shop has been open and whether its other listings look like one business or a pile of unrelated photos. Compare the photos in the listing with buyer photos where the marketplace shows them. Read the parameter table rather than the title, because titles are written for search engines.
Good sellers state materials, sizes in centimetres and what is in the box. If a listing for clothing mentions a battery, a heating pad or a light, that detail will matter at the warehouse; if a listing for a gadget is vague about the battery, treat the vagueness as a reason to pick another listing. A seller who states the specifics is worth more than a seller with the lowest price.
Items that travel easily, and items worth a closer look
Here is how to pick a listing that will survive the trip as well as the photos. Prefer items whose description you can verify from the QC set: a printed size tag, a visible material label, a model number. Prefer variants without built-in electronics when the electronics are not the point of the item. For liquids, note the volume before you buy; ACBuy's estimator sorts cosmetics and daily goods into bands below 100 ml, 101 to 150 ml and 151 to 200 ml.
Think in parcels, not items. Twelve ordinary garments and one gadget with a battery will be judged as a parcel that contains a battery, and ACBuy says a restricted item stops everything going as one package. If one item is very different from the rest, it may be better as its own order and its own parcel.
ACBuy rules that shape your options after checkout
Five points from ACBuy's own pages are worth knowing before you spend money. The no-reason return window is 5 days, or 120 hours, from the hour after an item turns Stored, and only if the seller agrees; the cost is the seller's original shipping, the warehouse's return shipping and a 5 CNY service fee. Custom-made items, items with tags or packaging removed, second-hand goods and several other categories are excluded.
AC Care can be cancelled for a refund only before the parcel leaves the warehouse. A coupon is one per package and has a minimum shipping fee. The captured policy gives 90 free storage days from Stored, with conditional extension and a maximum of 180 days. Read the actual item deadline; a 28-day grace mechanism is not unlimited free storage. And the parcel's quote has separate lines that ACBuy's return articles do not mention. None of this is a reason not to order; all of it is a reason to keep screenshots.
Questions before checkout
Can I ask for more than three photos?
Yes. Detail photos cost 2 CNY each and a detail video 25 CNY, per the value-added services page; state the request in the order remarks.
Does ACBuy test electronics?
No. Its inspection-scope article says electronic products are checked for appearance only and not powered on.
What if the item is labelled before I submit?
Read the reason on the route screen and talk to customer service. If the 120-hour window is still open and the seller agrees, a no-reason return may be possible.
