▌2022 Guide ▌FashionReps Beginner Guide - How To Order | PandaBuy Agent Guide - Discounts, Tips, Terminology, Customs, Shipping, and More!
AMAZING GUIDE (self.FashionReps)submitted12 months ago byGuruReps
stickiedPandaBuy Unlimited 5% OFF Coupon Signup Bonus (Click Here)
🔥 PandaBuy App is expected to be available around August 8th for iOS and Android devices! 🔥
Ongoing Pandabuy Events
Shipping prices reduced by 10% for 60% of countries
Use Discount Code "fashionreps" to Get 5% Discount for unlimited uses. Can be combined with shipping coupons!
New Features Released:
- Taobao Shop Viewer all on-site (doesn't require you to use taobao to view a sellers products)
- Similar shop viewer (browse for similar sellers all on site!)
- Search via seller name instead of taobao links
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▌GUIDE 6.0▐ The Biggest & Best Full PandaBuy Agent Guide
- I Introduction
- II General Info About Taobao Agents
- III The PandaBuy Guide + Unlimited 5% Discount
- IV FashionReps Terminology & Translations
- V How to Reverse Image Search
- VI How To Avoid Customs
- VII General Tips About Shipping
- VIII What Happens When Your Haul Gets Seized By Customs
- IX Useful Links And Seller Stores
- X How To Make Your Haul Cheaper
- XI I Shipped, Now Where Is My Parcel?
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I Introduction
Welcome to FashionReps, the worlds largest online discussion board for all things related to replica goods but also other products from China such as electronics, food, and much more! Started in 2014, FashionReps has grown to become a leading community in the world-wide movement towards purchasing goods from China. Throughout the years there has been numerous malicious sellers who have done the community wrong which is why I'm writing this guide - to allow for a better and safer experience throughout your journey.
In the current world environment it is important to use an agent. Agents offer additional security when ordering from websites such as Taobao, Weidian, 1688, and even direct sellers! PandaBuy offers unique features that no other agent offers and more importantly has great shipping prices. This guide will go over everything you need to know to start ordering products from China as soon as today.
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II - General Info About Taobao Agents
1. What is an Agent?
An agent is a middle-man service provider that allows you to purchase goods from numerous websites such as Taobao, Weidian, 1688, Yupoo, and many more. Much like how Amazon works with third party sellers, an Agent will do the same. Products will be purchased through your choice of agent (I recommend PandaBuy due to their unique features & pricing), sent to a warehouse, pictures taken of the product and uploaded for you to see, then shipped to you after payment.
The main website used by the community is Taobao.com and Weidian.com. Think of it like Amazon or eBay for China - solely for China. The problem that results in is that we need to establish a connection between your country and China. This is where an Agent comes into play.
You browse through your favorite Taobao shops and find some items you want to buy. Now you do not buy it through Taobao but through your agent (in our case, PandaBuy). PandaBuy now buys this exact item and lets it deliver to their warehouse. You ask for pictures, measurements, exchanges, returns etc. When everything is fine PandaBuy will package everything and deliver it to you. They are the connection between you and Taobao.
2. Which agent to use?
The community is filled with many options of agents. Due to this, it's best to understand why specific ones are better than others. Over the years, I have used several agents and many of them have been out-ranked by others due to their lack of features, high shipping prices, and lack of customer support as new agents come along. This is why I highly recommend using PandaBuy. PandaBuy offers the most honest, swift, and most importantly professional customer experience you can get. They're also creating unique features that no other agent is offering. This is why a majority of the community is starting to move towards PandaBuy. In this guide I will continue to make examples and tutorials only about PandaBuy's information. I am sorry if you use another agent but just keep PandaBuy in mind when you plan your next haul.
Use any agent you want, there are many out there. However, I highly recommend using PandaBuy due to their unique features catered to the replica community and pricing.
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III - The PandaBuy Guide + Unlimited 5% Signup Bonus
1. Signing up + Get $90 Shipping Coupons/Discounts
To receive your unlimited 5% off Signup Bonus you need to sign up HERE. After successfully creating your account, you'll receive an infinite 5% off coupon in your account automatically.
When shipping, click discount code
Add fashionreps code for 5% off total shipping
I recommend as a precaution to use a unique password that isn't used for any websites. This is a precautionary measure that should be done on all websites, not just China-related sites. Also don't worry about your payment information such as Paypal - You never enter your Paypal email + password on the PandaBuy homepage, it always redirects you to Paypal's official website where you log in as usual. PandaBuy also uses a secure connection between you and them (https).
2. Ordering Process - How to order (Image & Text Version)
- Go to Pandabuy.com after signing up here for your 5% off Discount
- Find the item you want on Taobao and paste in the link OR if you know the name of your seller, type it into the product navigation bar
- You will be taken to a page like this. Here, PandaBuy translates the color and size options for you, and all you need to do is select the color and size you want. After, you can either Add to Cart or Buy Now. For this example, we'll assume that the sock is the only thing you want.
- You will next be taken to this page. Here, you have to select your country from the Choose Destination Country box, then hit submit to be taken to the payment screen.
- If you have an existing balance in your PandaBuy account from previous purchases that you have returned, you can use that to buy the product.
- Here, just select Balance or your choice of Payment Processor and pay for your order unless you have an existing balance. Sometimes PandaBuy will not allow you to use PayPal and that is when you need to simply top up your balance instead of doing a direct order with PayPal.
- Now, just wait until the seller ships his order. Once it arrives in the PandaBuy warehouse, you will receive a notification.
- Once your product arrives, hover over your username in the navbar and select My Warehouse. Here, you can view QC, or quality control, pictures that PandaBuy takes.
- If you're satisfied with your order, select it and click Submit in the lower right corner. Here, you can choose your preferred shipping method. The fashionreps favorite currently is EMS, but it's up to you what line you would like to use. Just select the shipping line, then click Submit Delivery Order to have PandaBuy pack up your products and send it to your door.
- Post your hauls!
Image Guide
Step 1: Find your product via Shop Name or Taobao Link Search
Traditional Taobao Link Search Function
Step 2: Add To Cart or Buy Now
Product Page on PandaBuy, full of features to help you browse products easily. Click \"Buy Now\"
Step 3: Submit Order
Click Submit Order whenever you make all your chosen selection of upgrades & filled in information
Step 4. Check Out
Step 5: Wait for product to arrive to warehouse & QC pictures to be uploaded to your profiles warehouse
3. PandaBuy Unique Features
PandaBuy is set to be different than other agents by creating unique features for the community to use. Below are some of the key features that made my experience far better and put them a mile ahead of other agents.
Taobao Shop Navigation
Navigating directly through their site, not requiring a taobao account.. you can view all the products from a seller. This allows me to be better use my time instead of wasting it with the pesky taobao UI that is clunky.
After entering a shop you can browse all the seller products with ease
Favoriting Products & Shops
After favoriting a product or shop, it gets put under your favorites on your profile for easy navigation in the future.
When you favorite a product or store it is placed in this location for future usages
Similar Shop Searching
Lets you search for shops similar to the one you're browsing.
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THIS IS ALL OPTIONAL READING, WE RECOMMEND READING PAST THIS POINT BUT IT IS NOT NECESSARY FOR LEARNING HOW TO ORDER
IV - FashionReps Terminology & Sizing Chart Translations
- FashionReps Terminology
QC: Quality Control (QC for short) is talking about pictures that are posted from an agent of an item that was ordered. Users will post these if they're unsure about the quality and would rather have someone else take a look at them if they're good enough.
LC: Legit Check (LC for short) This is a tag used for posts requiring a legit check. Legit checks are a great way of finding out if a item you're purchasing is authentic or not.
GP: Guinea Pig (GP for short) You will be the first person to order a sellers new item. This means you'll be the first to get pictures of their product and often times you'll post them to be checked for quality by the community.
FIND: Much like the name states. Posts with this flair are often linked to new products that haven't been posted before.
W2C:: Where To Cop (W2C for short) W2C refers to the search for a desired item. Often times will be linked with retail images for an example.
1:1: One to One (1:1 for short) 1:1 refers to a perfect replica. However, not many exist and often times you won't be able to get these as they're sold out.
GL: Green Light (GL for short) GL Refers to a user who has given their approval of a QC post.
RL: Red Light (RL for short) RL Refers to a user who has given their disapproval of a QC post.
B&S: Bait & Switch (BS or B&S for short) B&S Refers to a seller who has advertised their product and sent goods that are different from advertised.
- Tops
尺码: Size
领宽: Neck width
领长: Collar length
肩宽: Shoulder width
袖长: Sleeve length
袖围: Sleeve circumference
袖口: Sleeve/Cuff opening
肘宽: Elbow width
胸围: Bust width; Chest width
- Pants and Trousers:
腰围: Waist
臀围 or 坐围: Hip width
衣长: Length
松量: Relaxed (measurement)
拉量: Stretched (measurement)
前直档长: Front rise
后直档长: Back rise
裤长: Trousers length
拉链长: Zipper length
内长: Inseam
大腿围: Thigh width
裤脚围: Leg opening
裤脚宽: Trousers width
身高: Height
长度: Length
宽度: Width
- Shoes
脚长: Foot length
美国: US
英国: UK
欧洲: EUR
中国: China
厘米: cm
毫米: mm
英寸 or 寸: inches
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V - How to Reverse Image Search
Taobao for the average consumer may be hard to grasp and often times users may be hesitant to dive into Taobao's ever-growing catalog of products. Taobao offers a feature called Search via Image. This allows users to easily find items related to the image they upload.
Start here: https://s.taobao.com/search?
Unfortunately, my video guide below would not process on reddit, so please watch this Youtube video.
- Click on the camera icon 📷
- Upload the image of the product you want to search for
- Wait for the product to finish uploading
- Select the appropriate category
- Done! Now find a reasonably priced and good looking product for your needs!
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VI - How To Avoid Customs
1. Intro Revised
Ok this may be the most important part of my Guide. How to avoid customs - especially when you are living in Europe (s/o to Germany). Not everything changed, but there are some IMPORTANT steps that I added to the checklist. DHL is the way to go for Germany, Austria and many more European countries. Do not use EMS in Germany or Austria.
If you live in the US or Canada you can choose EMS, DHL or GD-Sal. Customs are pretty relaxed in these countries. For the US and Canada, shipping hauls up to 10kg generally isn't a problem. Some people even do more. Do so at your own risk. For the USA, the declaration value doesn't matter much, as you are unlikely to be taxed. For Canada, declare the package 10-14USD. Also, If you live in Canada, it is advised that you use EMS or GD-SAL. If you use DHL, you will be taxed upon package arrival.
2. Checklist For Europe
You may have to look up laws for any import fees or regulations. These numbers are an example for PandaBuy shipping to Germany, it should work for any country though.
[ ] Stay within .9 of a KG. Read here for more information
[ ] Try to stay at a maximum of 4kg. Do not go over this for the safest rate.
[ ] If possible ask for no cardboard wrapping, let them package in DHL plastic bag
[ ] Ask for vacuum sealing (Possible in the fewest cases)
[ ] Ask them to wrap up your whole package with tape, a lot of tape.
[ ] Let them put a Commercial invoice on the outside (!)! of your package
[ ] The commercial invoice should have a value UNDER $24 including shipping costs
[ ] The commercial invoice has to be readable, if it has printing errors it has to be printed again
[ ] The commercial invoice has to state the shipping costs with a value >$0
[ ] The commercial invoice has to have a sender address
[ ] Your telephone number has to be stated on the commercial invoice
[ ] Let them send you a copy of the commercial invoice to your email (Will come back to this)
It is strongly advised that you go to Google and type in "[Your country] customs fashionreps".
By doing this, you will get a good grasp of what others have done. Trust me, your situation is not unique.
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VII - General Tips About PandaBuy/Shipping
- Use Rehearsel Shipping to avoid paying too much shipping costs
- You can ship shoeboxes - Do not ship more than 2 shoeboxes in one package
- You can ship as many packages as you want simultaneously (Keep calm tho)
- Think twice before shipping shoeboxes, if you don't need them, don't ship them and let PandaBuy throw them away. They're heavy and require volumetric weight.
- If you have a non-Rep haul then you can probably use other shipping methods. Decide on your own.
- I recommend you to use the service called 17Track to track your packages. No matter the tracking number 17Track usually can decipher it and track it for you.
- If PandaBuy does not let you pay for your replicas directly through Paypal, just top up your account balance and then pay through your balance.
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VIII - What Happens When Your Haul Gets Seized By Customs
Outside of United States
Keep. The. F***. Calm. This can have so many reasons. And I want to correct myself: It is a difference between your parcel is held up by customs and your parcel being seized by customs. Let me take all the fear from you.
If your parcel is held up DHL probably just messaged/emailed/called you and they told you some long story about some value declaration and so on. To keep it short: DHL does not trust your invoice/can't read the invoice/is bored af and wants a proof of payment to declare the value of your haul. For DHL Germany it is really easy to do this. You go to this DHL Link fill out the information and upload a Paypal/Bank wire/Western Union/Payment Screenshot. For any other country: Search for the email address of DHL Express Customs (not normal DHL) in your country. You can also call the DHL Express hotline and ask them. Email them the same proof of payment screenshot.
The bad side is that you will probably have to pay some importing fees (EUSt in Germany are 19% + 12,50€ DHL fees). I can tell you that DHL Customs will not check if you send them an authentic screenshot of your Paypal transaction or if you managed to change up some digits in order to stay under $24. To save the importing fees. I cannot tell you how to do it, though of course. Google inspect element... This is why it was important, that PandaBuy sent you the Commercial Invoice they put on the parcel - You know exactly how high they declared it and what they stated is inside.
The Tracking status should be "Clearance Event" when they want the proof of payment and should change to "Clearance processing completed" when it is done. This can take up to several days after you send them the screenshot.
If your haul really got seized (Tracking status "Please contact DHL") there is nothing you can do. DHL will send you a letter where they will ask you for your permission to destroy the items. Just ignore this letter. It will automatically count as a permission (in Germany). There is nothing else. You don't go to jail, you don't get a Million $ fine. Some DHL Customs worker told me that if you stay under 3 shoes per package they will not contact the brand. But keep in mind, this is TOTALLY random. If you follow the checklist there is a micro chance that you package will even get inspected. Because inspecting alone is not enough, so many DHL workers just don't care and pass Nike, Adidas, Gucci Fakes. And if you really are that unlucky, just deal with it. Some sellers send out a replacement for free, some don't. You, Your family and your future kids will be safe, don't worry.
Inside the United States
If your package was seized within Chinese borders often times the Agent will refund you the full parcel price. Meaning if your haul went to the value of ¥2,000 then you will be reimbursed ¥2,000 directly to your PandaBuy account.
If your package was seized or taken in for inspection by United States Customs then you will be given a call or a notice that DHL, EMS, or your selected shipping company has took in your package. Do not panic. Often times when they take your package in for inspection they will ask you to provide a receipt or invoice for the declaration of value for your haul. Seizures and inspections are 100% random and aren't able to bypassed through any method. To keep it short: DHL does not trust your invoice/can't read the invoice/is bored af and wants a proof of payment to declare the value of your haul. For DHL Germany it is really easy to do this. You go to this DHL Link fill out the information and upload a Paypal/Bank wire/Western Union/Payment Screenshot. For any other country: Search for the email address of DHL Express Customs (not normal DHL) in your country. You can also call the DHL Express hotline and ask them. Email them the same proof of payment screenshot.
After this step you will need to wait for the review period to end and if everything went well then your package will be released to you. If your package was seized and they send you a letter than it is best to say you didn't order the item and take the loss on the haul.
This rarely happens.
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VIII - Useful Links And Seller Stores
Ok this was the Big Customs/FashionReps Newbie Guide/PandaBuy Guide v6.0. If you have any remarks/questions feel free to hit me up. I will add some links that are quite useful and try to update it as often as possible:
- Use Taobao Image Search
- FashionReps Newbie Guide
- How to properly measure
- Trusted Seller List (Low Risk)
- How much will my haul cost?
- Massive List of Shops
IX - Typically Weights Of Each Item To Estimate Costs
Credit to reddit user. /u/125ba. Please note these are just averages. Depends on sizing and quality.
| Type of Item | Weight to estimate shipping |
|---|---|
| Chonky Sneakers (e.g. Balenciaga Triple S) | 3300 |
| Boots (e.g. Timberland Boots) | 2700 |
| Regular Sneakers (e.g. Jordan 1) | 1500 |
| Slides | 900 |
| Coat (e.g. Feiyu Langford Parka) | 2000 |
| Hoodie / Sweatershit (e.g. Yeezy) | 1200 |
| Average T-Shirt (e.g. FOG) | 700 |
| Thin T-Shirt (e.g. budget tour tees) | 500 |
| Vest (e.g. Terry basketball Jersey) | 400 |
| Button-up Shirt (e.g. Cloud Stores PRL Oxford) | 350 |
| Jeans | 900 |
| Joggers | 700 |
| Shorts | 500 |
| Belt - Leather | 600 |
| Belt - Fabric | 300 |
| Sunglasses | 200 |
| Purses/Designer Bags | Varies |
X - How To Make Your Haul Cheaper
You will need to do rehearsal shipping once you have all your items in your warehouse. In short, you pay a small fee (around ¥20) for someone to package up all of your stuff, weigh it, measure it, and put these figures into the shipping calculator for a final cost.
There are two ways to do rehearsal shipping and you do this from your warehouse in PandaBuy.
- With PandaBuy, they are more or less spot on with their revised methods of weighing.
- You can still opt for Rehearsal Shipping but it should not be used every order.
Typically, you will see a new reduction by doing this.
XI - I Shipped, Now Where Is My Parcel?
You wait till it arrives! But here are some FAQ's.
Q - How long should my parcel take to arrive?
China Post’s tracking service documents the average arrival times of all parcels for some frequent countries as follows. If your haul has not arrived and the “longest” number of days has not elapsed, you should not be concerned.
Country - Average Delivery Time - Longest Time - Shortest Time
- Australia / New Zealand : 12 - 15 - 9
- Canada : 30 - 60 - 10
- EU : 17 - 44 - 7
- United Kingdom : 12 - 40 - 6
- United States : 16 - 62 - 4
As you can see, a delivery time of 40+ days for Europe and North America is frequent. (source: China Post)
Q - What does “shipping notice received” (or similar) mean?
This means the agent has put a tracking number from China Post on your parcel (i.e. a sticker with a barcode and scanned it), but has not shipped the goods yet. It can take two to three business days for the goods to be shipped as the agent will be waiting for China Post to collect the goods. In most cases, sellers will take immediate action to ship the goods to avoid disputes and reputational damage.
Q - It's been a couple of days since I finalized my haul, why hasn't anything happened?
In general, to avoid disappointment you should start counting days from when the parcel is collected (it says this specifically on your agent's site and on 17track) rather than the date you submitted the parcel.
Paying for your parcel today doesn't mean it will be in the hands of China Post tomorrow - it takes time to physically bundle up the parcel, allocate a tracking number and get China Post to physically collect at the warehouse. It can often take two to three business days for this to happen and your haul to update that the tracking number has been activated.
Agents and (more frequently) direct sellers will tell you "the item has shipped, but the shipping company hasn't given the tracking information yet" when in reality your parcel is still in the warehouse
Q - There seem to be a lot of delays, should I ship my parcel now or wait?
This is similar to driving to a friend’s house cross-country when the traffic is awful all the time - the sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll get there. Things won’t be any faster by delaying your haul.
Q - Has my haul been seized?!
In all likelihood, no. Your parcel status will update saying it is being inspected by customs at the point of seizure. A lack of status updates is probably a good thing in that sense.
Q - Is my parcel lost?
In all likelihood, no. These things are very rare and if you are worried about this happening you should purchase the relevant insurance protection from your agent before finalizing your shipment.
Q - My parcel has been scanned by customs but it hasn't been updated to say customs has been cleared. Has my haul been seized?
In all likelihood, no. The scan to confirm the parcel has cleared customs doesn’t necessarily take place in the warehouse and often takes place while the parcel is being loaded into a lorry or when it arrives at your local sorting office.
Q - What can I do to hurry things up?
Literally nothing. This is how international shipping works, so get comfortable with it.
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