Assisted Purchase explained
With Assisted Purchase, Tiptrans buys items for you from a store you choose and has them delivered to your Tiptrans warehouse. How it works, what it costs on each plan, the rules, and how cancellations and refunds work.
With Assisted Purchase, Tiptrans buys items for you from a store you choose and has them delivered to your Tiptrans warehouse. From there you ship them like any other package. It helps when a store doesn't accept your card, takes only local payment methods, or isn't in English.
How it works
- You send us a shopping list from your account. The request fee is deducted from your balance.
- We check with the seller whether the items are available, what they cost and what the seller charges to ship them to our warehouse. We usually reply within one working day.
- We send you the final bill. We buy nothing until you click CONFIRM fees. The total is then deducted from your balance. If you click REJECT fees, we don't buy.
- We place the order and have the items delivered to your Tiptrans warehouse. We let you know when we order and when the package arrives.
- The items arrive in your account as a normal package. You can ship them right away or together with other packages.
For the steps in your account, see How to order an Assisted Purchase.
What you can order
All options are on the Assisted Purchase page of your account. You pay the request fee (the dollar amount) when you place the request. The rest is added to the final bill.
| Option | What we do | Standard | Premium | Business Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online store order | Buy products from an online store you name, up to 10 products per order | $5 + 5% | $5 + 5% | $1 + 3% |
| In-store shopping | A local shopper buys the item for you in a physical store | $10 + $20/hour + transport | $10 + $20/hour + transport | $10 + $20/hour + transport |
Most customers use Online store order, usually for Chinese stores such as Taobao, but also for stores in Hong Kong, Germany, the UK and elsewhere, for example on eBay or Amazon. For Carousell, see How to buy on Carousell Hong Kong.
The same page also offers Local payment, where we pay a supplier's bank account in China, Hong Kong or Europe for goods that come to our warehouse. See How to use Local Payment.
What it costs
- Request fee. Deducted from your balance when you place the request. For an online store order, it covers one shopping list of up to 10 products. For more products, place another order. For in-store shopping, it covers only ordering the service: the shopper's time ($20 per hour) and the transport cost are added to the final bill.
- Processing fee (the percentage). For an online store order, it is added to the final bill and calculated on its total: the items plus the seller's shipping to our warehouse. It covers currency exchange and payment charges, because most stores don't accept US dollars.
- The items and the seller's shipping to our warehouse, as shown on the final bill.
- Everything after arrival costs the same as for any other package: dispatch, international shipping, and storage after the free period. See How are shipping costs and service fees calculated?
Example (Standard plan): items and shipping to our warehouse of $100 cost $5 (request fee) + $100 + $5 (5% processing fee) = $110. International shipping is paid later, when you send the package.
Everything is paid from your Tiptrans balance, so top up before you order and again before you confirm the bill if needed. See How to top up balance and Payment methods explained. Current prices are on the price list.
Rules and limits
- Shippable items only. Check Prohibited and restricted items before you order.
- Delivery to the right warehouse. We usually have the seller deliver to the Tiptrans warehouse in the seller's country. For example, a Chinese store delivers to the China warehouse. See Which Tiptrans warehouse should I use?
- You are the buyer. We pay and order on your behalf. We aren't responsible for the quality of the goods, warranties, delivery problems, back orders or replacements. These depend on the seller.
- Report a missing order within 30 days. If an item hasn't arrived, tell us within 30 days, so we can open a claim with the seller in time. We can't guarantee a refund after 30 days.
Cancellations and refunds
- Before we start. While the status is Submitted by customer, you can cancel the order yourself with Cancel request. The request fee goes back to your balance in full. Once you send us a message or we start working on the order, the status changes, and you can no longer cancel it yourself.
- Items not available. If we can't buy your items, you get a full refund to your balance.
- You change your mind later. Send us a message in the order as soon as possible. If we haven't started working on the order yet, the request fee goes back to your balance in full.
- Returns. To return something we bought for you, use the return service. We help under the seller's return terms, and any money the seller refunds goes to your Tiptrans balance. See How to return a package to the seller.
After the items arrive
- We check visually that the items match your order.
- They appear in Packages & Shipments with a photo, like every package, and we email you. Free storage starts when the package arrives, not when you placed the order. See Free storage and storage fees explained.
- To see the items yourself before you ship them, see Can I see what's inside my package?
- Ship them on their own or together with other packages. See Consolidation explained and How to dispatch a package.
Only need to contact a seller?
If you only want us to contact a seller for you, for example to ask a question in Chinese, order Contact supplier instead. We don't search for suppliers or manufacturers for you. See Can Tiptrans find products or contact suppliers for me?