Path through this phrasebook: Home / Screens / Parcels and freight

Parcel screens: building a package, quotes and the freight estimation page

Turning stored items into one international parcel took three screens: pick items, give an address and a declared value, then choose a route and a quote method. The freight estimator used the same labels. Cards for each, then how the weight is worked out.

Mock-up of the archived Generate package flow, drawn by this site: three steps, declared value box and the two quote methods.

Generate package, step by step

The parcel form had three numbered steps. Its lines in order:

Clickable button

Generate package

Seen on: Warehouse action, and the name of the last step of the parcel form.
Means: Starts building an international parcel from items you tick.
Your move: Tick everything you want in one box; adding items later means a new parcel.

Field label

Select order

Seen on: Step one.
Means: Choose which stored items go in.
Your move: Items already in another parcel show as invalid, see below.

Field label

Declared value ($)

Seen on: Box in step two, with the hint "range: 1-120".
Means: The customs value of the parcel, in US dollars. Only figures from 1 to 120 were allowed.
Your move: Customs rules in your country decide what is correct. The form limits are not advice on what to enter.

Field label

Estimated weight by the system

Seen on: Shown in the parcel information block.
Means: A guess from the item weights on file, before anything is packed.
Your move: Expect the packed weight to be higher; boxes and fill add grams.

Field label

Select logistics

Seen on: Route picker.
Means: The carrier line for this parcel. Route names and prices were served live and were not archived.
Your move: Check each route's goods types and weight limits before choosing.

Error line

Contain invalid goods

Seen on: Warning in the item picker.
Means: The archive explains it in full: "Contain invalid goods: This means you have already submitted a package for this product and cannot submit it again."
Your move: Find the earlier parcel; cancel it if you meant to rebuild.

Error line

Parcel information is abnormal

Seen on: Message on a parcel the system cannot price or route.
Means: Something in the parcel data does not fit, often a missing address field or an item flagged for a goods type the route refuses.
Your move: Open the parcel details and contact staff with the parcel number.

System quote versus manual quote

Under "Quote method" the form offered two options, and they decided when you paid.

Field label

System quote

Seen on: First quote option.
Means: Pay from the estimate now; after packing, the warehouse refunds any overpayment to your balance or asks for the shortfall. The parcel was expected to leave in one to two days.
Your move: Choose it for light, simple parcels where the estimate is likely close.

Field label

Manual quote

Seen on: Second option.
Means: Submit first, staff pack and measure, then you pay the exact figure. Parcels submitted between 9am and 4pm Beijing time were promised a quote within eight hours, and departure about 24 hours after payment.
Your move: Choose it for bulky or mixed parcels, where an estimate could be well off.

Status tag

Awaiting logistics quote

Seen on: Parcel status after a manual submission; "To be quoted" is a sister label.
Means: Staff have not weighed it yet.
Your move: Watch for the quote message; the payment clock starts when it arrives.

Notice text

72 hours

Seen on: Inside the parcel submission reminder.
Means: A submitted parcel had to be paid within 72 hours or it was cancelled automatically.
Your move: Submit only when you can pay within three days.

Notice text

manual operation fee of 20 yuan

Seen on: In the cancellation rules.
Means: Cancelling a parcel the warehouse had already packed cost CNY 20 for unpacking, and the used packing materials were not refunded.
Your move: Decide before you submit. Cancelling early, before packing, avoided the fee.

Status tag

Pending shipment

Seen on: Parcel tag after payment.
Means: Paid and waiting for the carrier pick-up.
Your move: If there is a balance due you will see that first; the parcel does not leave until it is cleared.

Status tag

Waiting to sign

Seen on: Last step of the forwarding progress steps, described there as packaged and shipped.
Means: On its way to you; "sign" means delivery confirmation.
Your move: Keep the international logistics number and use the carrier's own tracking.

The rehearsal package

Rehearsal packing meant paying the warehouse for a dry run: it boxed, weighed and measured the items you picked so you could see the real size before paying freight.

Clickable button

Submit a rehearsal package

Seen on: Button on the parcel page.
Means: Asks the warehouse to pack a trial box from items you pick.
Your move: Use it when you are unsure whether a route's size or weight limit will fit.

Notice text

{amount} yuan per time

Seen on: The fee line for a rehearsal.
Means: There was a fee per trial. The amount was filled in live and is missing from the archive.
Your move: Ask for the fee before you submit.

Field label

Rehearsal weight(g)

Seen on: Result field, with "Rehearsal volume(cm³)" beside it.
Means: The packed weight in grams and the box size in cubic centimetres.
Your move: Use these two numbers in the freight estimator to compare routes properly.

Notice text

cannot apply for a refund after the processing begins

Seen on: Tail of the refund rule for rehearsals.
Means: Refund was possible only before staff started packing.
Your move: Cancel early or not at all.

Labels on the freight estimation page

The freight estimation page priced a guessed parcel against each route. Its result table used these labels.

Field label

Base shipping fee

Seen on: Result line.
Means: The charge for the first weight step on that route.
Your move: Compare routes on the total, not this line alone.

Field label

Additional weight fee

Seen on: Result line; another label adds "per {weight}g".
Means: The charge for each further weight step.
Your move: Heavy parcels are decided by this line more than by the base fee.

Field label

Customs declaration fee

Seen on: Result line.
Means: A charge for the customs paperwork on that route. How it was applied was route data, not archived.
Your move: On small parcels this flat line can outweigh the per-gram cost.

Field label

Operating fee

Seen on: Result line.
Means: Handling charge on the route.
Your move: Check whether it appears on every route or only some.

Field label

Types of goods that can be shipped

Seen on: Route detail, with "Mailing restriction" next to it.
Means: What the line accepts. Goods types used in the estimator include built-in battery, electronic products, small cosmetic liquids and others.
Your move: Pick the goods type honestly; "The logistics categories do not match" appears when the route refuses your type.

Notice text

The information of length, width and height needs to be wrapped

Seen on: Hint stored with the size inputs of the estimator.
Means: The size to enter is the packed parcel, not the bare item.
Your move: Measure a box, or use rehearsal results, rather than the item size from the listing.

Error line

Sorry, no matching transportation route was found

Seen on: Empty estimator result.
Means: No route takes that combination of country, weight, size and goods type.
Your move: Change one variable at a time to see which one blocks it.

How the parcel weight is worked out

Routes charged on one of two rules, and the estimator said which. Some lines charged on the actual weight only. Others compared the actual weight with a volumetric weight and charged whichever was higher. For the volumetric figure in grams, take the product of the three sides in cm, divide it by the route coefficient, then scale by 1,000. The coefficient itself was filled in live and is missing from the archive.

An example with a coefficient we picked for illustration: two folded T-shirts packed in a 34 by 26 by 9 cm mailer is 7,956 cubic centimetres. At a coefficient of 6,000 that is 1,326 g volumetric, against perhaps 500 g actual, so the bill follows 1,326 g. The same shirts in a 30 by 22 by 5 cm soft bag come to 550 g volumetric, and the actual weight decides it. Soft goods in soft packing are where volumetric routes stop hurting.

Limits matter as much as rates. The estimator carried minimum and maximum weights and a cap on any single side length, each filled from the route data. Size bands for long items started at more than 60 cm and climbed through 90, 100, 120 and 150 cm. One stored list of goods not to ship begins with perfume; liquids and powders were split at 10 ml.

Volumetric weight for the two packing choices in the example. Coefficient 6,000 chosen by this site for illustration.