Superbuy costs: fourteen years of arithmetic
Superbuy has been doing this since 2010, and the cost structure has not changed much in that time — which is itself useful, because it means the shape of a bill is predictable even when the rates are not. Marketplace price, domestic hop, freight, service fee, duty. What has changed is the number of lines available and how carefully parcels get packed. Both are covered below, along with a calculator you can drive yourself.
← Back to overviewThe shape of a bill
Five components, unchanged in outline since the platform started. Rates move; the structure does not, which is why we explain the structure and leave rates to Superbuy's estimator.
- Marketplace pricepaid at order time; refunded if the seller never dispatches
- Domestic hopa small flat fee for the domestic leg to the warehouse
- Freightchosen from over a hundred lines, priced on chargeable weight
- Dutyyour country's decision, and the least predictable line
Superbuy's fees, storage terms and policies are revised periodically. Its published pages govern.
Free inspection, and how to read it
Superbuy inspects without charging for it, which means there is no reason to skip the step. Read the resulting images for colour against the listing, visible faults, the size tag against your own measurements, seam work, and whether the variant shipped is the one you ordered.
- · Colour, compared with the listing photograph
- · Visible faults: marks, pulls, scuffs, hardware that fails
- · Size tag legible enough to compare with your own measurements
- · Seam and stitch alignment at usual failure points
- · That the variant and colourway are correct
- · Quantity checked when the row is more than a single unit
- · Hand feel, how it drapes, and its weight when worn
- · Odour, which no photograph conveys
- · Whether fastenings and elastic survive months of use
- · True colour in daylight rather than warehouse lighting
- · Fit — a tag records a convention, not your measurements
Left: what inspection settles. Right: what only unpacking settles.
- Inspection is free, so use it.There is no reason to dispatch unchecked.
- Ask for another angle when needed.Reasonable, and not charged for.
- Use the ninety free days.Consolidating is where experienced buyers save the most.
- Keep what you approved.Your evidence if the parcel disagrees later.
Over a hundred lines, chosen after inspection
Line selection happens once goods pass inspection. Superbuy's lines differ on price, transit time and accepted cargo, and cost follows weight and volume rather than item count — the single most common misconception among first-time buyers.
Carriers bill the greater of actual and volumetric. Compression is free money.
Waiting for the last order before shipping usually halves per-item freight.
How a parcel is packed matters more than buyers expect, especially for fragile goods.
Batteries, liquids, aerosols and branded goods are each answered separately.
Border processing sits outside quoted windows.
Cheap on one item, sensible on a consolidated parcel.
What a Superbuy total is made of
Five parts make up the total, plus extras at submission:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
No rates printed — item, line and country set them. Use Superbuy's estimator for live figures and Superbuy's pages for policy.
Fees, line by line
Drive the calculator yourself
Enter marketplace price, domestic hop, packed weight, international rate, Superbuy's service fee and the exchange rate. Every row recomputes as you type, and the arithmetic stays visible.
Planning guidance. Chargeable weight, destination, customs classification and carrier pricing all move the real figure, and Superbuy's estimator may show a different amount at checkout.
Returns, refunds and Superbuy's prohibited list
Superbuy publishes after-sales terms and a prohibited list. Check the clause covering your category before paying — restricted goods cannot leave the warehouse.
Superbuy's own pages
We summarise Superbuy's published material rather than replacing it. Originals: