Handbook, stop four
Inside the AnovaBuy warehouse: purchase, arrival, photos
What happens between paying for the goods and building a parcel, and the two clocks that start when your goods arrive.
The buyer, the seller and the domestic courier
Once you have paid, an AnovaBuy staff buyer gets in touch with the seller and buys the goods. For questions at this point the guide points to Order Inquiry, a message thread with that buyer, useful for details or a late change.
Domestic delivery inside China normally takes three to five days according to the inspection article. If nothing has arrived after that, AnovaBuy suggests asking the seller or the domestic courier. Two things can interrupt this stage. The seller may turn out to be out of stock even though the page showed inventory, and the seller may ask for more money, usually for shipping, which AnovaBuy passes on as a top-up request.
The inspector's list, and what sits outside it
When goods arrive, staff open every package to screen for prohibited items, weigh it, and compare the contents with your order. AnovaBuy's lists differ slightly between articles; this card merges them.
After the check, the original courier box goes in the bin and goods are re-bagged in AnovaBuy self-sealing bags. Fragile things, oversized things and products whose courier box is their real packaging keep their boxes. The guide also notes that goods bought from 1688 follow different inspection standards, without saying how.
Photos: two, or two to three
Here AnovaBuy contradicts itself a little. One article, Preparation Before Purchasing, says two free photos, each from its own angle. Another, Precise Photo Service, describes the usual set as two or three shots: front, back, and a side or logo view. Expect two and treat a third as a bonus.
When the standard photos cannot answer your question, order detailed photos at CNY 1 each. The help center gives examples of good requests: one photo of the chest logo and one of the garment length, or a measuring shot of a particular part. Write the request precisely and make the number of photos match it, because staff shoot exactly what you list.
A no-reason return closes on day five
AnovaBuy runs a no-reason return and exchange service for purchased goods. The rules article states the window as five days from the moment goods are recorded as warehoused, and also as seven days from receipt; for a parcel sitting in China the five days are the ones that count.
Some products never qualify: made-to-order pieces, clothes whose tags you asked to remove, used goods, underwear and socks, adult products, food, sets of fifteen or more books, opened sealed goods, and anything the seller excludes. The full list is in the rules article and is worth reading before ordering anything personalised.
Free storage to day ninety, paid months after
Shelf time costs nothing for ninety days from Warehoused, and an email warns you near the end. After that, if no parcel has been submitted and you have not answered, AnovaBuy regards the goods as given up and gets rid of them, silently.
The last line matters if you use Forwarding Order to send your own purchases to AnovaBuy. An unlabelled box that staff cannot tie to any account gets a third of the normal time, and there is nobody to warn. Put your account details on it exactly as AnovaBuy instructs.
Backing out at Pending Payment, Processing or Shipped
Whether you can still back out depends on the status. AnovaBuy's Order Cancellation article covers three of them.
Refunds land in your AnovaBuy balance, not back on your card, so they are easiest to use on the next order.
On the user center's Warehouse list you will see each arrived item with its photos. That is where the next stop starts.
AnovaBuy's guide shows no picture of this list, so the one above is our own drawing of it, labelled as such.
Warehouse checks
Warehouse
Before you press Confirm the photos
Source check, October 25, 2026: AnovaBuy’s Storage Policy still states 90 days from Warehoused for normal packages and 30 days from Signed for unmatched abnormal packages. Read the live policy before a storage deadline.