Help desk notes: who to ask, freight terms, short answers
Practical help for agent orders: where each kind of problem goes, the words buyers use, and quick replies to what readers ask again and again.
Who to ask when something stalls
Start with the agent. It holds your money, your goods and the carrier relationship, and every claim runs through it. Open a ticket from the order or parcel page rather than a general chat, so the order number is attached, and keep screenshots of tracking, photos and messages. LoongBuy asks for problems found after delivery to be reported promptly, preferably within 72 hours of delivery, with photos or video of the parcel and its contents.
For a parcel that has gone quiet, check the lane before you write: on rail or sea, weeks without scans are normal, and the agent's lost-parcel window for that mode tells you when a claim is due. For a customs question, the carrier or your national customs authority is the right desk; the agent can pass on documents but cannot speed up an inspection.
For anything on this site that looks wrong or out of date, write to [email protected]. We answer questions about the guide, not about individual orders, which only your agent can see.
Freight terms decoded
Buyer forums and agent pages use a small vocabulary that is rarely explained. These are the terms this guide relies on, in the sense it uses them.
- Agent
- A company that places orders with Chinese sellers for you, holds them in its warehouse and ships them overseas.
- Haul
- A group of items sent together in one parcel.
- QC
- Quality check: the warehouse look at an item on arrival, with photos for you to review.
- GL and RL
- Two-letter forum shorthand: GL means you approve an item after its photos, RL means you send it back for a return or exchange.
- Consolidation
- Packing items from several sellers into one parcel.
- Rehearsal or pre-pack
- An optional service that packs and weighs a parcel before you commit to a line.
- Line
- A named shipping product an agent sells; each line belongs to one of the five lanes.
- Lane or mode
- How the parcel physically moves: air express, air postal, air plus road, rail or sea.
- Volume weight
- The three box dimensions multiplied together and divided by a number the line chooses; many lines bill whichever is larger, this or the scale reading.
- Lost-parcel window
- The number of days without a carrier scan after which an agent may treat a parcel as lost; often longer for rail and sea.
- Compensation base
- The rate an agent pays for a lost parcel, often per kilogram, sometimes different for each mode.
- Custom route
- A shipping arrangement an agent quotes on request, usually by rail or sea, for parcels the standard lines do not suit.
- Mid-market rate
- The rate halfway between what banks pay for a currency and what they charge for it; agent rates are measured against it.
- De minimis
- A value below which a country lets imports in without duty; the United States suspended its exemption for low-value shipments.
Short answers on modes and agents
Short replies to what readers have frequently asked; the longer explanation sits on the page named in each reply.
Which freight mode is right for my first order?
For a first, small order, air express is usually the simplest: fewest handovers, the shortest published range, and the 45-day window if something goes wrong. Save rail and sea for a large haul you can wait for.
Is rail always cheaper than air?
No. Rail and sea tend to pay off on large, heavy or bulky parcels. On a light parcel the saving is small or absent, and you give up weeks. Check your agent's estimator with your real packed weight.
My rail parcel has not moved in three weeks. Is it lost?
Probably not. Rail parcels are sealed in containers and often show no scans for weeks. LoongBuy, for example, waits 75 days without a carrier scan before a rail parcel may count as lost.
Does a slower mode mean lower compensation?
At some agents, yes. LoongBuy pays RMB 80 per kilogram for a lost air parcel and RMB 40 for sea, rail and road, without paid cover. Read your agent's table before choosing.
Can I send batteries by sea or rail?
Sometimes, but not automatically. Each line lists what it accepts, and batteries are restricted on every mode. Look for a line whose notes say it takes them.
Why does my agent show so few lines for my parcel?
Usually because one item carries a restriction, such as a battery or a liquid, and the agent only shows lines that accept every item. Removing that item often brings the other lines back.
Can the postal option still be used for EU addresses?
A LoongBuy notice dated 27 June 2026 paused China Post shipping to every EU member state, and we found no restart notice on 17 October 2026. Check your agent's current options before planning around postal.
Is anything sold on this site?
Nothing. Its links go to catalogue listings and to agents, and it earns from sign-up links to the featured agents, as the About page explains.
More detail sits on the Freight modes, Risk signals and Costs pages.
