Reading UIDBuy warehouse photos, and when a paid close-up pays off

What UIDBuy's inspectors look at, per the help centre

Two help articles describe the inspection. Inspectors check the outside of what arrives: is the colour right, is there obvious damage or a stain, do the label size, model and version match the order. For clothing, size is checked against the label and tag, not with a tape. Colour difference, the exact measurements and how something feels in use are listed as outside the inspection. Electronics are a special case: the inspector looks at the casing and visible accessories, cannot open sealed boxes, and does not switch anything on.

One line in the beginner guide is easy to miss: items bought from 1688 follow a different set of inspection standards. The guide does not say how they differ. Every pick on this site comes from a Weidian store, so the point only matters for what you add yourself.

• Checked: colour, obvious damage, stains, the size on the label, the model or version.
• Not checked: small colour shifts, garment measurements, thread ends, how it fits or works.
• Electronics: outside and accessories only, no power-on.

Three free angles, and close-ups at CN¥1 each

The standard set uses fixed angles the warehouse sets per category: front and back views plus one of the side or the logo. You cannot change the angles, but you can ask for a retake when a photo is blurred. How many arrive is stated three different ways by UIDBuy itself: three in the help article, three to five on the home page, three to seven on the item page in the beginner guide. We have not placed an order to count them, so the picks assume three and treat anything more as a bonus.

Paid detailed photos cost CN¥1 each, up to 20 per item. You write the brief: a close-up, a seam, a tape laid across the chest. They can be requested with the order (the custom photo option on the confirmation screen) or after the item is stored, in which case you name the item number. If the photographer misses the brief you can ask again.

Which shots matter for each fit band

The fit bands on our sixteen shelves exist because the useful photo changes with the kind of item. A bag can be judged from the free set; a pair of jeans cannot.

No tape needed

Bags and pendants on a fixed chain. The free front view tells you colour and shape. Spend a yuan only on hardware you cannot see: a zip pull, a clasp, a strap joint, the side of a stone setting.

Letter sizes

Tees, hoodies, jackets. The side-or-logo shot is often a close-up of the neck label, which tells you which size was picked but not how big it is. One paid photo of the garment laid flat with a tape across the chest, armpit to armpit, settles most doubts. Ask for length from the high point of the shoulder as a second shot if the cut is cropped.

Measure first

Caps, chains sold by length, belts, shoes and trousers: anything chosen by a number of yours. For a cap, ask for the adjuster strap at its widest; for a chain, a shot with a ruler along it, since menus quote inches and centimetres and the two do not always agree. For shoes and trousers, two measured shots: insole length, or waist laid flat and inseam. Two shots cost CN¥2, the cheapest insurance on this site.

Each pick card repeats the relevant brief in a line that starts with the words photos to open.

Stocked in starts a 120-hour countdown

The return and exchange rules allow 120 hours, starting at the first full hour once an item reads stocked in. Inside that window, items the seller covers with a guaranteed return go through the standard procedure. After it, the help centre only promises to ask the seller. That is why every brief on this site is short: you want the close-ups back while the clock still has days left on it.

The first return or exchange each calendar month carries no service fee for regular members. Returns two to five cost CN¥5 each and exchanges CN¥10, rising to CN¥20 and CN¥40 beyond ten. UIDBuy introduced the tiers on 4 September 2024. If the item had free shipping from the seller, you pay the return postage; if not, you pay both legs. Socks, underwear, custom-made pieces and anything with its tags removed at your request are not eligible at all.

Spotting a defect: the seller has the last word

UIDBuy's article on defective products sorts cases into a short table. Untrimmed threads or a small stain in a hidden spot: the agent negotiates with the seller, and the seller decides. A colour that looks different under warehouse light: treated as photography, not a defect. Slight changes to tags or prints between production batches: described as normal.

• Write to the agent from the order page the same day the photos appear.
• Quote the photo, and say what you expected: the colour from listing photo three, the size L from the chart.
• Ask for an exchange rather than a refund if you still want the item; the seller is more likely to agree.
• If the seller sends a gift, it is yours and travels in the parcel unless customs would refuse it.

Next: the size checks themselves, on size charts decoded, or the full ordering sequence on ten steps on uidbuy.com.