Rowbuy Spreadsheet shelves, each annotated for the parcel stop

Clothing shelves

Clothes are the easiest thing to ship through Rowbuy and the easiest thing to get wrong in size. Every clothing listing worth buying has a size chart in centimetres; take a garment that fits you, lay it on a table and measure it the way the chart does. Chinese size labels often run one or two sizes smaller than North American ones, so the label alone tells you little.

On the ledger, clothing is light. Several T-shirts or a pair of jeans barely move the freight figure. Padded jackets are the exception: they are light on the scale and large in the carton, and the US lines bill by size when the box is bigger than it is heavy.

• Jackets and coatsPadded pieces weigh little and fill a carton, which is where volumetric billing bites.
• HoodiesMatch the chest width in centimetres to a hoodie you already wear.
• T-shirts and topsLight enough that three or four barely move the freight figure.
• JeansWaist and inseam in cm; denim adds real grams to a box.
• SweatpantsSizing runs small on many shops; read the length column first.
• WomenswearA broad search across dresses, knits and outerwear cut for women.
• JerseysRequest a print close-up at the photo stop; numbers crack before fabric does.

Shoe shelf

Shoes bring two decisions. The first is size: listings give a Chinese or EU size and sometimes a foot length in millimetres, which is the number to trust. The second is the box. A shoe box roughly doubles the space a pair takes in a parcel. Keep it if you care about it; otherwise ask at the parcel stop for it to be left out. Rowbuy's help text says removing unnecessary packaging lowers the cost, though it lists no paid repacking service.

• SneakersThe shoe box is often the bulkiest thing in a parcel; decide at the parcel stop whether it rides.

Accessory shelves

Accessories are small, but they hide the two classic ledger surprises. Rigid bags and boxed hats are mostly air, which a size-billed line charges for. Smartwatches, and any accessory with a battery, can be refused by a line: Rowbuy's restricted list names batteries and power banks among dangerous goods, and help article 7827 says a restricted item may be allowed on some lines and not others.

• BagsRigid bags hold their shape in a carton, so volume counts more than weight.
• HatsBrims crush; say so in the order note and check the shape in QC.
• BeltsSold by length; a belt you own, measured flat, settles the size.
• EyewearHard cases add bulk; frames themselves ship easily.
• JewelleryTiny and light; zoom into clasps and stones in the QC set.
• WatchesAnything with a built-in battery can be refused by a line.

Shelves the restricted list touches

These two shelves exist in the catalogue, and buyers do order from them, but Rowbuy's own prohibited list names perfume and batteries. Before the first payment, write to Rowbuy support with the listing and ask which line, if any, will carry it to your country. Paying for goods that then sit in the warehouse with no line to take them is the most expensive way to learn the rule.

• PerfumeRowbuy's list names perfume among goods it will not forward; check before paying.
• ElectronicsBatteries again: read the restricted list before the first payment.