Who pays
The table that decides whether you get a bill
OOTDBUY publishes a table on its returns page that files every situation under a responsible party: the customer, the seller, or a third category for damage that happened before the goods reached the warehouse. Everything about cost follows from which row you are in.
The table is real and it is specific, listing situations by name including ones you might not expect to see written down, such as a freight quote coming in higher than the buyer wanted to pay. Which party is holding the goods when you ask is set out on the handoffs page, the actions that end a return before it starts are on the page about getting stuck, and if none of that settles your case, the help page has the official contact routes.
The table itself
Everything above is a reading of this. Where our wording and the official wording differ, the official page is the one that decides.
Check your own case
Three questions. The answer is assembled from the official wording, and every result links back to the page it came from so you can read the original before you act on it. Nothing is sent anywhere; this runs in your browser.
If you have JavaScript switched off, the tables further down this page carry the same rules.
While the goods are in the warehouse, inside five days
This is the window where most things are still fixable. The fee column assumes you have not used the monthly free allowance yet.
| What went wrong | Responsible party | What it means | What you pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| I changed my mind about the item | You | You can raise it, and you carry the cost. | Shipping both ways, and no service fee on this one |
| I ordered the wrong thing, or ordered too many | You | You can raise it, and you carry the cost. | Shipping both ways, and no service fee on this one |
| The international freight quote is higher than I want to pay | You | You can raise it, and you carry the cost. | Shipping both ways, and no service fee on this one |
| It looks wrong to me, but the seller says there is no fault | You | You can raise it, and you carry the cost. | Shipping both ways, and no service fee on this one |
| The seller shipped the wrong colour, size or item | The seller | This one is not on you. | Nothing, unless you insist on paying the shipping |
| The item has holes, stains or another quality fault | The seller | This one is not on you. | Nothing, unless you insist on paying the shipping |
| It reached the warehouse already damaged on the domestic leg | Neither of you | This one is not on you. | Nothing, unless you insist on paying the shipping |
| The parcel was lost or damaged after it left the warehouse | The shipping line | This is a compensation claim, not a return. | Nothing towards the claim, but you must produce proof |
Rules from OOTDBUY, Returns and Refunds, read on 2026-08-06. The service fee line is 10 RMB once the monthly allowance has been used.
What a return actually costs
Two separate things get charged and it is worth keeping them apart. The service fee is 10 RMB and the first return or exchange in each calendar month is exempt from it. Shipping is charged regardless: the leg to the seller, the leg back, and for an exchange two legs back.
The detail that catches people is the last line of the official fee note. Even where the seller shipped free at purchase, the first leg of shipping has to be paid back when a return is raised. Free shipping is a sale condition, not a permanent state.
You can see how many free requests are left this month from the order page, under aftersales.
After five days in the warehouse
The five day guarantee has closed. What is left is a negotiation rather than a right, and the outcome depends on the seller and the platform rules rather than on the agent.
| What went wrong | Responsible party | What it means | What you pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| I changed my mind about the item | You | The five day guarantee no longer covers this. | Whatever the seller agrees to, if anything |
| I ordered the wrong thing, or ordered too many | You | The five day guarantee no longer covers this. | Whatever the seller agrees to, if anything |
| The international freight quote is higher than I want to pay | You | The five day guarantee no longer covers this. | Whatever the seller agrees to, if anything |
| It looks wrong to me, but the seller says there is no fault | You | The five day guarantee no longer covers this. | Whatever the seller agrees to, if anything |
| The seller shipped the wrong colour, size or item | The seller | The five day guarantee no longer covers this. | Whatever the seller agrees to, if anything |
| The item has holes, stains or another quality fault | The seller | The five day guarantee no longer covers this. | Whatever the seller agrees to, if anything |
| It reached the warehouse already damaged on the domestic leg | Neither of you | The five day guarantee no longer covers this. | Whatever the seller agrees to, if anything |
| The parcel was lost or damaged after it left the warehouse | The shipping line | This is a compensation claim, not a return. | Whatever the seller agrees to, if anything |
The official wording is that a request might not be accepted after the time expires. Read on 2026-08-06.
Two windows that get confused with each other
The same official page carries a second window: 14 days from the day of delivery for a change of mind, cited against the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, with proof of purchase required. That is a different thing from the five day seller guarantee and it is not an extension of it.
The conditions differ too. Under that clause the original delivery cost is not refunded and the buyer carries costs related to the return delivery. Where taxes and import duties were included in the purchase price they are refunded with the goods; where they were not, reclaiming them is something you take up with your own customs office. Promotional purchases are refunded at the reduced price, and a complimentary gift issued with the purchase has to go back with it.
Both windows, on the official page
They sit two paragraphs apart under the same heading, which is most of why they get confused.
Once it has been delivered
At this point the question splits. Anything about the parcel itself is a compensation claim against the line. Anything about the item is a case with the seller, filed after the fact.
| What went wrong | Responsible party | What it means | What you pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| I changed my mind about the item | You | Read the two windows separately. | Return shipping, and the original delivery cost is not refunded |
| I ordered the wrong thing, or ordered too many | You | Read the two windows separately. | Return shipping, and the original delivery cost is not refunded |
| The international freight quote is higher than I want to pay | You | Read the two windows separately. | Return shipping, and the original delivery cost is not refunded |
| It looks wrong to me, but the seller says there is no fault | You | Read the two windows separately. | Return shipping, and the original delivery cost is not refunded |
| The seller shipped the wrong colour, size or item | The seller | Raise it as an after-sales case with photographs. | Nothing, if support and the seller accept the fault |
| The item has holes, stains or another quality fault | The seller | Raise it as an after-sales case with photographs. | Nothing, if support and the seller accept the fault |
| It reached the warehouse already damaged on the domestic leg | Neither of you | Raise it as an after-sales case with photographs. | Nothing, if support and the seller accept the fault |
| The parcel was lost or damaged after it left the warehouse | The shipping line | This is a compensation claim, not a return. | Nothing towards the claim, but you must produce proof |
Compensation rules from OOTDBUY, Insurance and Compensation; after-sales handling from the product issue page. Read on 2026-08-06.
What actually helps a case
None of this is about arguing better. Cases are settled on what can be shown, and most of what can be shown has to be captured before you know you need it.
Look at the inspection photos on the day
They arrive while the five day window is open. Looking at them a week later is looking at them after the window closed.
Open a case before you unpack further
Seals and tags are what keep an item inside the standards. Unpacking to photograph the fault can be what takes it outside them.
Waiting to see if it settles down
Every deadline here is measured from an event that already happened, not from the day you decided to act.