Help desk: who to ask, the words on agent screens, and reader questions
Where to take a problem with an order, a short glossary for agent pages, and answers to the questions people ask before their first phone haul.
Where to ask, and what to send
If you need help with an order, ask the agent, not the seller and not a forum. Every featured agent has a ticket or chat system inside your account; on a phone it usually sits under the account or support tab. Tickets leave a record, which matters if something has to be refunded later.
Send everything in the first message: the order or parcel number, what you expected, what happened, and a photo or screenshot with the problem marked. Write in short plain sentences; replies are often handled by staff working in a second language, and sometimes translated by software. Remember the time difference: support follows its published hours and queue; there is no guaranteed response just because China’s morning has started.
This site explains the shopping sequence but cannot see your agent account or act on an order. Use the service provider’s own support channel for payment, warehouse or parcel questions, with the relevant order identifier.
Words you will meet on agent screens
A short glossary of the terms on agent pages and in community threads, written for someone reading them on a phone for the first time. The terms are listed below in the order you tend to meet them, from browsing a catalogue to paying for the parcel.
Agent pages mix English labels with translated Chinese ones, so the same idea can appear under two names: one agent says warehouse photos, another QC images, a third inspection pictures. Where that happens we use the plainest name and mention the others. Two terms come from community threads rather than agent pages, and we flag them where they appear.
- Shopping agent
- A company in China that buys from domestic marketplaces for you, receives the item, photographs it and ships it abroad.
- Spreadsheet
- A catalogue of finds: product cards you browse by category, each pointing to a marketplace listing. Not a document.
- Haul
- Everything you buy and ship together in one parcel.
- QC photos
- Pictures the warehouse takes of each item when it arrives (QC commonly means quality control).
- Domestic delivery
- The seller's postage from its shop to the agent's warehouse, inside China. Paid with the item.
- Storage period
- How long the warehouse keeps items free of charge, counted from a date the agent defines.
- GL / RL
- Forum shorthand: GL (go ahead, the photos look right) or RL (stop, ask for an exchange or a refund). Used for approving an item from its photos, or rejecting it and asking for an exchange or refund.
- Shipping line
- One way of sending a parcel abroad, with its own price, delivery range and list of refused items.
- Volumetric weight
- A weight calculated from a parcel's size. Some routes compare size-based and actual weight; others use different rules. Check the chosen route’s formula, rounding and minimum billable weight.
- In-app browser
- The browser a social app opens inside itself. It usually hides the address bar.
- Phone site
- A separate version of an agent's website for phones, often at a different address from the desktop site.
- Bank approval
- A second check on a card payment, done in your banking app or with a code. Also called 3-D Secure.
- Top-up
- Money added to your agent balance, from which items and shipping are paid.
Questions people ask before a first phone haul
These questions cover common decisions when planning a first haul on a phone, with short answers and a link to the page that covers each in full. Tap a question to open its answer.
Most of them come down to the same thing: a step that is easy on a computer behaves differently on a phone. The route card or the help desk advice above identifies the relevant stage. Questions about a payment or order belong with the service provider that holds the account.
Do I need the agent's app, or is the phone site enough?
For most jobs the phone site is enough. In our check, five of six agents let us paste a link and reach an item page without the app. The app helps with notifications, which is why two agents pitch their apps on order and parcel alerts.
Why does a link copied from a social app fail in the agent?
It is usually a short redirect link or carries tracking text instead of the item number. Open it in your phone browser first, then copy whatever the address bar shows. The route card shows the steps for each kind of app.
Is paying an agent on my phone safe?
A bank approval verifies part of a payment, not the seller’s reliability or the outcome of a dispute. Check the genuine domain, total amount, provider and applicable protection before approving. The risk is paying outside your account, for example by transfer to someone who messaged you. Never do that.
Why is the same item a different price on two agents?
The yuan price is the seller's and should match. The converted price differs because each agent uses its own exchange rate with its own margin. See Money.
Can I check prices without an account?
Item pages, yes, on every featured agent except one that asked us to sign in before showing the item. Shipping estimates are harder: only one agent's phone estimate gave us a result while signed out.
Why did a help link send me to the home page?
Several agents run a separate phone site. Some desktop links do not have a phone equivalent, so the phone site sends you to its home page. Try the same link on a computer, or search the agent's phone help centre.
Will the warehouse photos show every fault?
Not always. Standard photos show the item from a few angles. Zoom in on seams, zips and print, and ask for a close-up if you cannot tell. See Warehouse photos.
Will this site tell me which agent is best?
No. We compare agents on named measures with dates and match them to habits, but we do not rank them. A label on our phone check describes one page on one day.