Which Chinese Shopping Agent is Best in 2026?
Last verified 2026-09-18. Fees and policies change frequently — always confirm on the agent's own site. Pandabuy was shut down in April 2024 and is excluded.
A shopping agent (also called a proxy buyer) is a service that purchases items on your behalf from Chinese platforms like Taobao, 1688, and Weidian, then ships them internationally. They handle payment, quality control photos, consolidation, and customs — making it possible to buy from sellers who don't ship abroad.
With dozens of agents competing for your business, the differences between them are often obscured by marketing. This comparison cuts through the noise with a direct look at the nine most widely used agents in the Chinese-shopping community in 2026 — and explains why ZentBuy is our pick for most buyers.
Affiliate link — we earn a commission if you register through ZentBuy, at no extra cost to you. ZentBuy Spreadsheet is independent and is not operated by any agent on this page.
Service fees, QC policy and storage compared
This is the canonical table for this site — every other page links here instead of repeating the numbers. Values we could not confirm from an agent's own published pages are shown as “Not published” rather than estimated.
| Agent | Service fee | QC photos | Shipping lines | Free storage | Min order | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZentBuy | 0% markup on item price (agent's claim) | Free | Live estimator | 90 days free (up to 120) | None | 0% item markup, free QC, 90 free storage days, 40% shipping coupon for new accounts |
| BoonBuy | Shown per item at checkout | Free, with item weight | Live estimator | Free | None | Same platform family, fee shown per item before you pay |
| USFans | 5% | Free, unlimited | 5 core lines | Free storage | None | Visible flat fee, strongest for US buyers |
| ACBUY | 0% | Free, unlimited | 10+ lines | 180 days | None | Zero fee, good for bulk 1688 orders |
| CNFans | 0% | Free, unlimited | 10+ lines | 180 days | None | Large community, plenty of public batch info |
| Superbuy | 0% | Free (3 photos) | 12+ lines | 90 days | None | Beginners who want a polished interface |
| Wegobuy | 5% | Free (3 photos) | 10+ lines | 90 days | None | Long track record, wide seller coverage |
| LitBuy | 5–10% | Free, unlimited | 15+ lines | 90 days | None | Most shipping lines, higher fee band |
| CSSBuy | 4% | About $1 per item | Not published | Not published | None | Lowest headline fee, weakest support |
Highlighted row = our pick for ZentBuy Spreadsheet readers, and the agent this site earns affiliate commission from. Price the same parcel on two agents before you commit.
ZentBuy shipping: quoted live, not from a rate card
ZentBuy does not publish a per-kilo rate table, and neither do most of the agents on this page. Shipping lines and per-kg prices are quoted live in the ZentBuy Freight Estimator for your country and parcel weight. Run your destination and expected parcel weight through it before you buy anything, then again once the parcel is in the warehouse and you know what it actually weighs.
- QC photos are free and taken after purchase at the Warehouse & Inspection step, before you commit to shipping.
- Up to 120 days of storage, the first 90 days free; parcels can be combined. Buy from several sellers, ship once.
- New accounts get a 40% shipping discount coupon for new accounts — apply it to the first parcel, not a test order.
Fee details as published on the ZentBuy homepage, September 2026.
Import duty and VAT are separate and depend on your country's de minimis threshold — estimate them with the import duty calculator.
What the Fees Actually Mean
The headline fee is almost never the whole story.
The 0% Agent Model
ACBUY, Superbuy, CNFans — and ZentBuy — advertise zero service fees or markup. These agents are still profitable businesses — they make their margin on shipping markups. Your negotiated shipping cost with the carrier might be $8, but you see $12 on the platform. The difference is their revenue.
For small, lightweight packages this is rarely significant. For heavy hauls — think multiple pairs of shoes, multiple jackets — the markup compounds quickly.
The ZentBuy Model
ZentBuy advertises 0% markup on the item price. That is the agent's own claim, and it covers one line of the bill: the Taobao, 1688 or Weidian price should reach you without an agent commission on top. International shipping, payment processing and customs are charged separately. QC photos are free, and the warehouse holds your items for up to 120 days with the first 90 free while you build a parcel.
That is why the table says “agent's claim” rather than “free”. Price a test item, compare the item line against the original listing, then compare the estimator's shipping quote against another 0% agent for the same weight.
Key takeaway
Always calculate total cost (item price + service fee + shipping) before choosing an agent. For occasional small orders, any agent will do. For regular or large hauls, free QC and 90 free storage days are worth more than a percentage point of fee — but only a real quote for your parcel settles which agent is cheaper.
Agent Profiles at a Glance
Quick overview of each agent's strengths and trade-offs.
Best for: 0% item markup, free QC, 90 free storage days, 40% shipping coupon for new accounts
Agent's own claim on the item line; shipping, payment processing and customs are extra
Best for: Same platform family, fee shown per item before you pay
No published flat percentage — the fee appears per item before you pay
Best for: Visible flat fee, strongest for US buyers
Visible fee, shipping priced close to carrier rates
Best for: Zero fee, good for bulk 1688 orders
Revenue from shipping markup
Best for: Large community, plenty of public batch info
Revenue from shipping markup
Best for: Beginners who want a polished interface
Revenue from shipping markup
Best for: Long track record, wide seller coverage
Service fee plus shipping markup
Best for: Most shipping lines, higher fee band
Higher service fee, lower shipping markup
Best for: Lowest headline fee, weakest support
Low fee, QC billed per item
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the most common questions from the rep community.
Which shopping agent has the lowest fees?
ZentBuy, ACBUY, Superbuy and CNFans all advertise a 0% service fee or markup on the item price, and CSSBuy has the lowest visible percentage at 4%. But "lowest fee" is not the same as "lowest total cost" — see the next question. For ZentBuy specifically: ZentBuy advertises 0% markup on the item price (as of September 2026); international shipping, payment processing and customs are charged separately. What it also publishes is free QC photos and 90 free days of warehouse storage, which several of the cheaper agents bill separately or cap.
Do 0% fee agents actually cost more?
Often, yes. Shopping agents are businesses that need revenue. An agent advertising a 0% service fee makes its money on shipping markup — the gap between the rate it negotiates with the carrier and the rate it quotes you — or on payment processing. That cost is less visible and it scales with weight. On a 1 kg parcel a 0% agent is genuinely cheaper; on a 6 kg haul the markup compounds while a flat percentage fee does not. ZentBuy's 0% markup claim is no exception: check the estimator quote for your real parcel weight rather than assuming zero.
Which agent has the best QC photos?
ZentBuy, BoonBuy, USFans, ACBUY, CNFans and LitBuy all provide free QC photos. ZentBuy takes them at its Warehouse & Inspection step after purchase, so you see the real item before you pay for shipping. Superbuy and Wegobuy cap free QC at three photos per parcel, and CSSBuy bills roughly $1 per item. On a multi-item haul, where inspecting every piece is the whole point of using an agent, free QC is worth more than a percentage point of fee.
What shipping lines should I use?
It depends on your destination, parcel weight and how much you value speed. ZentBuy does not publish a fixed per-kg table; Shipping lines and per-kg prices are quoted live in the ZentBuy Freight Estimator for your country and parcel weight. As a rule across agents, an economy or tax-free line is the sensible default for most hauls, express couriers cost the most per kilo, and sea freight wins on anything heavy and non-urgent. New ZentBuy accounts get a 40% shipping discount coupon for new accounts, which changes the maths on a first parcel.
Which agent is cheapest on a heavy parcel?
It depends on where the agent hides its margin. A 0% service fee agent earns on shipping markup, which scales with weight, while a percentage on the item price does not. On a light 1 kg parcel the 0% agents usually win; on a consolidated multi-kilo haul the gap narrows or reverses. The only reliable method is to price the identical parcel on both platforms up to the final shipping quote before paying anything — for ZentBuy that means the Freight Estimator quote plus whatever payment processing fee appears at checkout, on top of the 0% item markup it advertises.
What happened to Pandabuy?
Pandabuy was shut down in April 2024 and is no longer an option. Any comparison, spreadsheet or find list that still recommends it is out of date, and its product links are dead. It is excluded from this comparison for that reason.
Browse the ZentBuy Spreadsheet
A curated index of Taobao, 1688 and Weidian listings, each with a direct ZentBuy link. Free to browse, no signup needed.
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This comparison is maintained by ZentBuy Spreadsheet and reflects publicly available information as of September 2026, last verified 2026-09-18. Agent fees, policies and features change frequently — always verify details directly with each agent before placing an order. No agent has paid for placement on this page; we do earn affiliate commission on ZentBuy links. Wondering about ZentBuy specifically? Read the honest verdict.