The nine-point way to pick an agent
Score any agent on the same six numbers: service fee (commonly 4-10% of item price), free storage (30 days), transit to Europe and North America (9-16 days), QC photos per item (4-6), the freight divisor, and whether consolidation is free. Ranges, not promises, confirm the live table at checkout.
← Back to overviewDeciding quickly
For a hoodies order the three numbers that move the total are the 4-10% service band, the 30-day storage window and a 9-16 days lane to Europe and North America. Everything else is a rounding error next to freight.
- Inspectionphotographs before it ships
- CoverageIf support replies in your language
- Storagelong enough to consolidate
- PaymentWhether storage is free and for how long
An agent that hedges here will hedge on totals too. Use the six questions as a gate before you paste any link. Curiosity here saves returns later.
Six numbers to compare any agent
Comparisons only work on the same basis. These six lines are the fixed basis used here.
| What to check | Typical range | How it moves the total |
|---|---|---|
| Service fee | 4-10% of item price | Scales with what you buy; the single biggest fixed cost. |
| Free storage | 30 days | How long rows can wait in the warehouse before you must ship. |
| Transit | 9-16 days | Warehouse days plus the international leg; holidays add 3-7 days. |
| QC photos | 4-6 per item | Your last chance to catch a wrong size before shipping. |
| Freight basis | Actual vs volumetric (÷5000 or ÷6000), greater wins | A light bulky box can bill as several times its weight. |
| Consolidation | Free; 3+ items cut freight 30-60% | The largest lever you control on the total bill. |
Six questions for a haul
Mechanics, not reputation.
Confirm storage is free and for how long.
Verify the agent answers order questions in your language.
Compare the handling-time promise against the shop's real window.
Check the declared-value rule for your country's customs.
Confirm the quote includes domestic shipping, not just international.
Ask how a wrong item is refunded or reshipped.
Nine checks, any agent
Give each of the nine points a grade, then check the numbers behind it: fee band 4-10%, storage 30 days, transit 9-16 days, 4-6 QC photos per item. An agent that cannot state a number will not hold to it later.
The honesty of the fee breakdown
The clarity of the declared-value rule
Long enough to consolidate
The steadiness of dispatch timing
How deep the QC photography goes
Storage length and its true cost
How the service fee is actually charged
How plainly the totals are explained
The steadiness of dispatch timing
It scores, it does not sort — you do the sorting. Score each point against your own priorities and your Europe and North America route. Keep the tool impersonal and the choice stays yours.
A ruler, not a leaderboard — that is what keeps comparison honest. Use it to compare, then verify the totals on the agent's own site. What matters is your route, not our opinion.