Which ACBuy parcel charges a return can touch
Item charges, parcel charges and the add-ons in between, laid out so you can see which ones ACBuy's return articles name and which they do not.
Charges that belong to the items
Everything you pay before a parcel exists is attached to individual items. ACBuy's fee article puts it as Total Cost = Product Cost + International Shipping, and Product Cost covers what the item costs and the seller's postage inside China up to ACBuy's door. For regular platforms ACBuy charges no purchasing service fee; for special platforms such as Xianyu, Paipai, Zhuanzhuan, Douyin, Xiaohongshu and Youzan it charges 10 CNY per AI, ACBuy's word for an item line.
Item services sit here too: detail photos at 2 CNY each and a detail video at 25 CNY, per ACBuy's value-added services page. They are delivered while the goods are stored, long before a route is chosen. That is why the ledger treats them separately. When a parcel is returned at export, these services have already been carried out, and no ACBuy article says anything about them in that situation.
Charges that belong to the parcel
Once you submit, the charges attach to the parcel. ACBuy's fee article lists international shipping as basic shipping by actual or volumetric weight, 10 to 30 CNY for customs clearance, a warehouse handling fee of 8 CNY and optional value-added services. The estimator's breakdown names the same pieces differently: a freight line, a “Customs and Declaration Fee” and a “Warehouse Packing Fee”.
Not every route carries all three. On 16 October 2026 the EUB-HN line to the United States showed freight and packing only, with no declaration fee line. AC Care, if you choose it, is paid at the same moment, and a coupon reduces the same bill. Those are the lines a return can touch, and the table shows three real quotes so you can see how they split.
The quote's own breakdown, and why to keep it
A refund article that says “the shipping cost” is only as useful as your record of what that cost was. Before you pay, the submission screen shows the route, the price and the coupon you applied; after the warehouse packs the parcel, ACBuy's submission guide says the fee may be adjusted, with any overpayment refunded and any underpayment charged. Keep both numbers.
If the parcel is later returned at export, those two records answer the first question you will have: how much of the refund was freight, and whether the declaration and packing lines went with it. The diagram maps each parcel charge to the ACBuy article that mentions it in a return, or shows that none does.
Exchange rate on wallet amounts
Every amount on this site is in CNY because that is how ACBuy prices and refunds. If you top up or view prices in another currency, the site converts at its own platform rate. ACBuy publishes two rates, a platform rate and a reference rate it labels actual time, and a comparison of the two on 16 October 2026 showed a US dollar amount about 17% higher at the platform rate.
For a refund that matters in one way: the money comes back as CNY in the wallet. If withdrawal is eligible, the resulting amount depends on the channel and any conversion or charge. The captured payment FAQ excludes Coinpal and SEPA top-ups from refunds. Confirm the original-payment record instead of assuming every wallet credit can be returned to a card. The gap moves from week to week, so treat the 17% as a dated reading rather than a constant.
AC Care and coupons on a parcel
AC Care is ACBuy's paid parcel cover. Its article sets the fee at 20 CNY per parcel for an insured amount up to 667 CNY and 3% of the parcel value above that, where parcel value means products plus shipping. It is chosen on the route screen and paid with the shipping fee. Cancel the shipment before it leaves the warehouse and the fee is refunded; once the parcel ships the cover takes effect and cannot be cancelled separately.
Coupons come from ACBuy's events and social channels and are applied at submission, one per package, and the submission guide adds that each coupon has a minimum shipping fee. ACBuy's two return articles mention neither. If you rely on either for a parcel that might be returned, ask customer service how it is handled before you pay.
Questions about parcel charges
Is the Customs and Declaration Fee a tax?
No ACBuy article calls it a tax. It is a per-parcel line on the quote; the fee article lists it under international shipping, between 10 and 30 CNY depending on the route.
Why do some quotes have no declaration fee line?
ACBuy does not explain it. On 16 October 2026 the EUB-HN quotes showed freight and the packing fee only.
Can I find my own breakdown later?
The parcel details page holds the parcel record. Take a screenshot at submission anyway; it is the clearest evidence of which lines you paid.
