The hidden costs nobody quotes you
The price you see on a product is never what you pay. The gap between sticker and doorstep is where agents quietly earn. Here is every hidden layer, in order.
The Real Landed Price
Add these up and you get your true cost. Skip any one of them and your estimate will come out optimistic.
- Item price in CNY, converted to your currency.
- Domestic China shipping to the agent warehouse.
- Service fee, sometimes 0, sometimes a percentage.
- International shipping, the big one.
- Exchange-rate markup baked into the conversion.
- Payment fees at checkout.
- Import tax, if your parcel is declared above your country threshold.
The gap between sticker and doorstep is where agents quietly earn.
Exchange-Rate Markup: The Quietest Fee
Every agent converts CNY at a rate a little worse than the mid-market rate published by banks.
On a large haul this can quietly cost you more than the service fee they proudly waived.
Our rates tool compares each agent conversion against the real ECB rate, so you can see exactly how much each one keeps on any amount.
About Those 0 Percent Service-Fee Claims
A waived service fee is real, but it is one line out of seven.
An agent with a 0 percent service fee and a fat exchange markup can end up pricier than one that charges a small, clear fee. Judge the total, not the headline.
Judge the total, not the headline.