An iTaoBuy order's costs, one charge at a time
The item price is only the first figure. Domestic shipping, per-item services, the platform exchange rate and parcel shipping follow, each set by a different rule.
Checked 16 October 2026
Fee structure, from listing price to parcel
An order is paid in two stages. First the items: the unit price and the domestic shipping from seller to warehouse, both in yuan, plus any per-item services you add and any additional payment the buyer later sets. Then, once items are in storage, the parcel: international shipping is charged when you submit it, as the Fill&Buy form says in its total line.
Import duties and taxes sit outside both stages. Clause 8.6 in the Terms of Use calls you the importer, responsible for “all import duties or other taxes (if any)”. Section 8.3 of the same terms mentions a 10% technical service fee in scenarios such as top-ups, order payments and international freight payments, so read the fee breakdown at checkout before paying.
For the source order check, only the first stage matters: those are the figures the order page shows and the match sheet compares.
Platform yuan rate beside the market mid-rate
iTaoBuy lets you display prices in 21 currencies, but every price starts in yuan and is converted at the platform's own rate. On 16 October 2026 that rate was 5.6836 CNY per US dollar, 6.3692 per euro and 7.505 per pound. Market mid-rates the same day were 6.703, 7.5175 and 8.8893.
Put the other way round, a price shown in dollars, euros or pounds was about 18% higher than the yuan price converted at the mid-rate: 17.9% for dollars, 18.0% for euros and 18.4% for pounds, by our comparison that day. That margin is part of what you pay, whatever the listing says.
For checking a source order it is a reason to compare in yuan. The order page and the seller's listing both carry yuan figures; a converted figure can look like a price change when only the display currency moved.
Money labels an order shows
The order page uses its own set of money labels, and they are worth knowing before something changes. The web example screen shows Order Total and Actual Payment; the app example shows Item Total, Domestic Shipping and Actual. The interface text adds Goods Amount, Goods Extra, Shipping Fee, Additional Payment and Additional Shipping Fee.
Read Additional Payment and Additional Shipping Fee as the supplementary payment rule in action: the seller's price or shipping was higher than your submission. Goods Extra appears beside Goods Amount and, going by the name, records the same kind of extra on the item side; iTaoBuy does not define it in the help centre.
Actual or Actual Payment is what left your balance. That is the figure to keep with your copy of the listing.
Small charges tied to a single item
Some services are priced per item rather than per order, which is one more reason to keep one option per GI. A Custom Photo is one: the interface text shows a service fee and a free allowance per account, but the amounts only load after login, so we do not print them. Returns and exchanges for your own reasons cost 5 yuan per return or exchange order, plus postage to the seller.
Faster purchasing has been offered in two forms. The order page tips in iTaoBuy's own 2025 example screen describe an Express Response service. A 2026 notice describes a different, per-item service, covered on the notices page.
None of these change what the seller order should contain. They change how much the order costs and how fast it moves.
Shipping once the items are in storage
Shipping is chosen per parcel, after your items reach the warehouse and you are happy with the photos. Storage is free for 90 days from the order status “Stored”; after that the order turns “Expired”, and 30 days later unclaimed goods are treated as abandoned and destroyed. The published normal-storage rule describes a reminder before expiry. Paid extensions are offered in multiples of 30 days, with the charge shown in the account; confirm one before relying on extra time. Unmatched forwarded parcels follow a separate 30 days from Signed rule without reminders. These are storage deadlines, not extra time for an eligible return.
iTaoBuy's freight estimator works without an account and quotes each shipping line with a delivery time window; the prices start in yuan and are shown in your display currency. Many lines bill the larger of actual and volumetric weight. For customs, the Terms of Use make you the importer. Postal lines to the 27 EU countries were suspended in a notice of 23 June 2026, so a European quote that lists them needs checking against the notice list.
A mismatch costs least to fix before shipping, so settle every question first. Use the freight estimator to compare lines.
Estimated shipping and the weighed parcel
The amount you pay when you click Submit Shipping is an estimate. Section 8.1 of the Terms of Use says the actual fee “will be determined according to the actual packing and weighing of the package”. If you paid too little, iTaoBuy may take the difference from your account balance without further notice, and the balance can go negative; if you paid too much, the difference is refunded to your balance.
This has nothing to do with the seller order, but it is the other place a figure on your order can change after you pay, and it is worth not confusing the two. A supplementary payment is about the item; a shipping adjustment is about the parcel.
Keep a small balance if you ship often, since the terms ask you to keep it topped up.
