After-sales
Returns, refunds, storage expiry and parcel claims at OSSBuy
The after-sales rules that decide whether a mistake costs you CNY 5 or the whole item: cancelling, the five-day return door, refunds, the storage clock and the compensation tables.
Cancelling while the status still reads processing
An order still marked as processing can be cancelled; OSSBuy says the buyer handles the cancellation within 24 hours and refunds the goods payment. Once the status shows the item as already ordered, the buyer has to ask the seller first and answers within 48 hours with whatever the seller allows.
Deposit slips on Taobao are the exception to remember. Under the seller's rules a deposit cannot be cancelled, and if the balance is not paid in time the deposit is lost. Treat any pre-sale listing as a commitment.
Inside the five-day door: costs and excluded goods
Once an item is stored, you have five days, counted from the next full hour after it shows as received, to file a reason-free return or exchange from your account page. Requests after that may be refused. The charge for a return you choose to make is the courier fee back to the seller, the seller's courier fee for any replacement and a CNY 5 service fee; returns caused by the seller do not carry the service fee.
The door is closed for some goods however quickly you act: anything made to your order; items you had de-tagged or unboxed at the warehouse; used or resold goods; food; underwear, socks and leggings; adult products; papers and magazines; goods the seller itself sourced abroad or in Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan; a set of 15 books or more; sealed goods once opened; and whatever the seller's own rules exclude.
Refunds, and why small ones stay in your balance
Refunds for cancelled or returned orders reach you four to ten days after the seller refunds OSSBuy. A refund smaller than your payment provider's own refund charge goes to your OSSBuy balance instead of back to the card, as Terms clause 8.2 explains; the same clause gives [email protected] for refund questions.
Freight is settled the same way: if the packed parcel weighs less than you paid for, the difference is added to your balance; if it weighs more, it is taken from the balance.
Storage expiry: the clock nobody watches
Items bought through OSSBuy are kept free for 90 days from the status Stored. A reminder email is sent before expiry. If nothing is shipped or extended by day 90, the order becomes Expired; a further 30 days on, OSSBuy counts them as given up and disposes of them, with no second warning and no money back. Extensions are sold in 30-day blocks and can be bought up to the point of disposal.
Parcels the warehouse cannot match to an order, usually because the tracking number was missing, get only 30 days from Signed and no reminder at all. That is the main risk with forwarding orders typed in a hurry.
Delay, loss and damage on the international leg
OSSBuy's compensation policy covers three cases: delay beyond the line's standard transit time, loss confirmed in writing by the carrier, and shortage or damage. Delays caused by force majeure, customs, failed delivery or a parcel left uncollected are not compensated. A parcel marked delivered that you say never arrived gets an investigation, not a payout.
Shortage and damage claims are refused from the eighth day after delivery. You need one unedited unboxing video showing the label on the unopened parcel, the whole opening and the PI number under each item's barcode, plus a clip of the damage. Electronics that look intact but do not work, and goods sealed before dispatch, go back to the seller rather than to a parcel claim.
| Route group | Lost parcel | Delay |
|---|---|---|
| Dedicated lines (US, UK, Canada, Australia, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, USA Air) | Shipping refunded up to CNY 1,000; goods at CNY 80 per chargeable kg, capped at CNY 1,500 or their actual value | Over 45 days: a CNY 50 coupon with no minimum spend |
| Postal EMS economy | Shipping up to CNY 1,500; goods at CNY 80 per kg, capped at CNY 2,500 or actual value | Over 35 days: a CNY 50 coupon |
| Sea and land routes (US coast shipping, UPS economy) | Shipping up to CNY 1,500; goods at CNY 80 per kg, capped at CNY 2,500 or actual value | Over 100 days: a CNY 50 coupon |
| Postal small-parcel routes (EUB, ETY, SAL) | No investigation and no compensation | Over 50 days: a CNY 50 coupon |
Insured parcels follow higher caps (for dedicated lines, shipping up to CNY 2,000 and goods at actual value up to CNY 3,000) and a delay pays 20% of the shipping cost. The table is an image in the policy; one cell for dedicated lines gives both CNY 2,500 and CNY 1,500 as the goods cap for missing items, so expect the lower figure.
Filing the claim
- Find the PI numbers first. On the website: Orders and Account, Packages, View Details on the parcel, then the Product Info list. Each item number starts with PI.
- Insured parcel: the same page has a Worry-Free Shipping section with a File a Claim button; upload the video and photos there.
- Uninsured parcel: send the same evidence to online customer service, who coordinate with the carrier under its rules.
- Keep the packaging until the claim is decided; some carriers ask to see it.
