Topic · 9 entries
Returns & disputes
Which actions stay open after each stage closes, and what evidence a claim is actually judged on.
Every entry, answer first
Open an entry to see the basis it rests on, the moves it implies, and the way people usually misread it. Every entry names the stage it bites at.
Can I still cancel the order after the agent has paid the seller?It depends on the order status: cancellation is open while the order is paid or processing, and becomes a seller negotiation once shipped.
Public rule The published after-sales rules split cancellation by order status: while the order shows paid you contact support, while it shows Processing the platform cancels it for you and the money returns to your Kakobuy balance, and once it shows Mailed the seller has already shipped, so the route depends on the seller agreeing (per Kakobuy help centre ?id=51, captured 2026-10). Where the seller agrees and no shipping charge applies, the refund goes back to the balance; where you pay the return shipping, the platform tells you first, advances it and deducts it from the refund. Statuses and rules are revised, so check the current rule before you write anything.
What to do
- Read the current order status before you ask for anything.
- Match your request to that status instead of asking for a cancellation in general.
- Keep the reply that names the status and the amount.
The misread is believing a cancellation stays available because the button was there yesterday.
Bites at: stage 3 — Pay for the item
What is the difference between cancelling, returning and claiming?Cancelling belongs to the paid and processing statuses, returning to the warehouse stage, and claiming to the journey after delivery.
Public rule The published rules move the instrument with the order status: cancellation at paid and Processing, a return once the item is stocked in at the warehouse, and after delivery a question about the journey, which the after-sales page handles with inspection and reporting windows of 2 days and 72 hours (per Kakobuy help centre ?id=51 and ?id=54, captured 2026-10). Each instrument is judged on different evidence and by a different party, so a message that mixes all three gets an answer to the easiest one. Check the current rule when the status changes rather than after you have sent the message.
What to do
- Name the status you are at in the first line of your message.
- Use the word that matches that status and drop the others.
- Ask what evidence that specific instrument is judged on before you send it.
The misread is treating the three words as synonyms for I want my money back.
Bites at: stage 4 — Item reaches the warehouse
What does sending an item back actually cost me?The published total is three parts: shipping to the seller, shipping back from the seller, and the return service fee.
Public rule The stated total for an unconditional return is the freight of sending the item to the seller, plus the freight of the seller sending it back, plus the return service fee (per Kakobuy help centre ?id=51, captured 2026-10). The service fee is not charged on the first return and the first exchange in each calendar month, and beyond that it rises in bands: for returns RMB 5 for the 2nd to the 5th, RMB 10 for the 6th to the 9th and RMB 20 above that, with exchanges at RMB 10, RMB 20 and RMB 40 on the same bands. Two freight legs plus a rising fee is what the decision is actually about, so check the current rule before you send anything.
What to do
- Ask for the return freight in both directions before you agree to a return.
- Count the returns you have already made this calendar month before assuming the fee is zero.
- Compare the three-part total with the item price before you decide.
The misread is counting only the service fee and forgetting the two freight legs.
Bites at: stage 4 — Item reaches the warehouse
Are there items that can never be sent back?Yes: the published list excludes customised goods, items unpacked or de-tagged at your request, and several whole categories.
Public rule The published exclusion list covers customised items, items whose packaging, tags or accessories were removed at your request, newspapers and periodicals, second-hand goods, goods from outside mainland China including Hong Kong and Macau, underwear, adult products, food, and fifteen or more books of the same kind (per Kakobuy help centre ?id=51, captured 2026-10). It is a published rule rather than a negotiation, and it is revised from time to time, so read it before you order anything in those categories and check the current rule on the agent’s own page.
What to do
- Read the exclusion list before ordering anything in those categories.
- Ask before requesting any packaging or tag removal, since that can end the return option.
- Decide how much risk you are willing to carry on an excluded item.
The misread is discovering the exclusion list after asking for the packaging to be opened.
Bites at: stage 2 — Hand the link over
Is anything still open to me after I have approved the QC photos?Approval covers what the set showed, while the return window is a different clock that starts when the item is stocked in.
Flow dependency Two separate things happen at stage 5: you approve a photo set, and the order reaches the status the published return window is measured from. That window is five days, or 120 hours, from the moment the item is stocked in, and approving the photos does not extend it (per Kakobuy help centre ?id=51, captured 2026-10). A defect visible in the set you approved is hard to raise afterwards, because the record predates your decision; a defect that was never in any frame sits on the other side of that line, and by stage 6 the box is sealed and the route becomes a claim.
What to do
- Read the whole set before you approve packing, not after.
- Check the return clock separately from the photo set.
- Photograph anything you find later and check whether a QC shot covers that exact spot.
The misread is treating approval of the photos as the same decision as the end of the return window.
Bites at: stage 5 — Read the QC photos
What fixes the deadline for reporting a problem after delivery?Published windows: 2 days to the local post office for damage, and 72 hours to support for an abnormal parcel.
Public rule The after-sales rules set the order of operations by time rather than by convenience: check the outer packaging, the seal and any weight difference before signing; if the parcel is damaged and nobody signed in person, keep the outer box, report to the local post office within 2 days and report the abnormal parcel to support within 72 hours of signing, since a normal signing is treated as the end of the transit process (per Kakobuy help centre ?id=54, captured 2026-10). Those windows are short and they are revised, so check the current rule on the day the parcel arrives rather than from a note written months ago.
What to do
- Note the signing time in your own record as soon as the parcel lands.
- Report to the local post office within 2 days if the box is damaged.
- Send the support report within 72 hours, with photographs attached.
The misread is counting the deadline from the day you noticed the problem rather than from the day of signing.
Bites at: stage 9 — Receive and check
What evidence does a damage claim actually turn on?The parcel as it arrived: outer packaging, seal and weight difference checked before signing, with the box kept.
Flow dependency A claim compares the state of the parcel at the end of the journey with the way it was handed over at stage 7, and the warehouse packed and weighed it, so the starting state is documented. Your side of the comparison has to exist before the signing, because the published rule asks for the outer packaging, the seal and any weight difference to be checked at that moment and for the box to be kept when nobody signed in person. Film all six faces of the box before the first cut, then the inside, then the damaged part in the same frame as the box.
What to do
- Film the sealed box from all six sides before opening anything.
- Keep the packaging and the filler until the case is closed.
- Write the sequence down as dates and times rather than describing it from memory.
The misread is photographing the damaged item alone, without the box it travelled in.
Bites at: stage 9 — Receive and check
What happens if the seller refuses to take the item back?Inside the published window the request runs through the platform; after that window the rules put the seller first.
Public rule The published rules give a five-day window, 120 hours from the moment the item is stocked in, in which an exchange or a return can be requested, and beyond that window the stated route is to talk to the seller first (per Kakobuy help centre ?id=51, captured 2026-10). If the seller declines, nothing moves and the item keeps sitting on the shelf while the storage clock runs its own published window. The item can still be packed with the rest of the order at stage 6, so the practical question becomes whether you would rather ship it or write it off; check the current rule before the window closes.
What to do
- Send the request inside the 120-hour window rather than after it.
- Decide what you will do if the answer is no, before you send it.
- Record the refusal in writing and keep it beside the item record.
The misread is assuming a refused return means the item is stuck and unusable.
Bites at: stage 4 — Item reaches the warehouse
Is a partial credit for a small defect worth chasing?Compare the credit with the price you paid as a percentage, then with the number of messages it will take.
Worked example Take the credit offered and divide by the item price. A credit of 12 units on a 40-unit item is 30 percent of the price and is worth a message chain; the same 12 units on a 400-unit item is 3 percent, while a second return in the same calendar month carries a published service fee of RMB 5 before any freight (per Kakobuy help centre ?id=51, captured 2026-10). Set your own floor before you write: below it, keep the item, note the defect, and spend the effort on the next order instead.
What to do
- Divide the credit by the price you paid and write the percentage down.
- Set a floor as a percentage before you start the conversation.
- Accept the item and stop replying once the offer is below your floor.
The misread is judging a credit by how large it feels rather than by what share of the price it is.
Bites at: stage 5 — Read the QC photos