After the order: fees, exchange rates, photos and the parcel
Choosing a bag is half the job. The other half happens after you pay: two payments, a set of warehouse photos and a parcel. This page covers each, with the parts that matter for a bag.
What a purchasing agent charges for, line by line
Whichever agent you use, the money goes out in two stages. The first payment covers the item at the price the shop asks, plus the shop's delivery to the agent's warehouse inside China. The second payment comes later, once the item has arrived and been weighed, and covers the international parcel: postage on the line you choose, and any fixed charges the agent adds per parcel.
Agents describe their own cut in different ways. Some charge a service fee on each item, some advertise no service fee at all and earn from parcels, exchange rates or optional extras. Mulebuy's August 2026 help pages are a good example of the second kind: no agent service fee, but fixed charges per parcel. When you compare agents, add up everything on both payments for the same item rather than comparing headline fees.
For a bag the second payment deserves a closer look than usual. A bag is light but takes room, and postage is priced on weight and size together by most lines, so an empty backpack can cost more to send than its weight suggests.
Exchange rates on an agent's price
Listings in the catalogue are priced in Chinese yuan. Any euro, pound or dollar figure an agent puts in front of you has been converted from the yuan figure at an exchange rate it chose, and that rate is part of what you pay. Agents' displayed rates are commonly a little less favourable than the reference rates published by central banks, and the gap differs from agent to agent.
Two practical points follow. First, the amount you pay is fixed at the moment you pay, so a price you saw a week earlier in your own currency may differ. Second, your card or payment service may convert again if you pay in a currency other than your account's. When an agent lets you pay in yuan, the only conversion is your bank's; when it charges in your currency, check which rate it shows at checkout.
We do not publish exchange rates for any agent on this site. They change daily, and the rate that matters is the one on the payment screen on the day you pay.
Quality check photos, and what they cover
When an item reaches an agent's warehouse, staff open the parcel, check that what arrived matches what you ordered, and photograph it. These quality check photos, usually called QC photos, are your only look at the actual item before it leaves China. Most agents include a small set free and charge for extra pictures or close-ups.
The checks are about the obvious: the right item, colour, size and quantity, and visible damage such as stains, tears or scratches. They are not a test of materials, durability or performance, and no agent's photos certify a product. Mulebuy's own August 2026 help pages said much the same about its photos while it was running.
What you get from QC photos depends heavily on what you ask for. A request written in the order notes, or bought as an extra photo, can turn a generic set of pictures into the evidence you actually need, which for a bag is usually a measurement.
Reading the QC photos of a bag
For a bag, the standard front-and-back photos answer the wrong question. You already know what it looks like from the listing; what you do not know is whether this sample matches the size line. Here is how to read the QC photos of a bag, and what to ask for when you order.
- Ask for one photo with a tape measure laid across the inside of the main compartment, mouth open, and one with the tape along the outside depth at the widest point. Two measurements settle most doubts.
- If the bag has an expansion zip, ask for the depth with the zip open as well. Listings often give only the closed size.
- Look at the inside photo for pockets, sleeves or a padded panel that take room you were counting on.
- Compare the measured figures with the listing, allowing the one to three centimetres hand-measuring tolerance many shops print. A gap larger than that is a reason to ask the agent about a return before the bag ships.
- For a cabin bag, check the measured outside against your airline frame on the Cabin limits page.
Agents differ in whether extra photos can be steered to a measurement and what they cost; the Choosing page compares four working agents on exactly that, with dates.
Shipping a bag home, and the customs part
Agents offer several shipping lines for each destination: faster lines priced higher, slower lines priced lower, and lines that do or do not include import taxes in the price. Each line has its own rules for weight, size and restricted items, and the agent shows the options once your parcel has been weighed.
Bags raise two shipping questions. One is size: a bag shipped empty keeps its shape but takes room, while a bag packed with your other items inside costs nothing extra in space. Many people send a bag with the rest of a parcel stuffed inside it for that reason. The other is protection: a structured bag may arrive creased if it is folded flat to save space, so say in the parcel notes whether shape or size matters more to you.
Import taxes and customs rules depend on where you live and on the line you choose. Declare every parcel truthfully at its real value; this site does not give advice on reducing what you declare, and nor should anyone.
Images: catalogue photographs are category examples, not this site’s purchases or verified Mulebuy orders. Drawn material, dimension and lettering examples explain a concept; they do not certify the depicted product.