PonyBuy Spreadsheet: a closer look at your finds
Explore product categories, then learn what QC photos can show and how to request the details your order needs.
Independent, and not the agent. This site earns a commission when an order follows one of its links, and it is written against PonyBuy own help centre rather than against community lore. Who writes this
Find your next product
Choose a category to start browsing. The guides below explain which details need a photo check before you ship.
16 categories
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SneakersSealed boxes, clasps and stickers
Jackets & CoatsStitching, lining, zip pulls
HoodiesPrint placement and weight
T-ShirtsPrint edges, collar shape
JeansWash, hem, hardware
SweatpantsDrawcords and taping
WomenswearCut and fabric drape
JerseysBadge, sponsor, name set
BagsHardware, lining, serial
HatsEmbroidery and brim shape
BeltsBuckle finish and length
EyewearLens tint and hinge
PerfumeSealed, so photographs stop early
JewelleryStone setting and plating
WatchesFace, strap, movement claim
ElectronicsAppearance only, never powered onWhat the inspection is written to cover, and what it excludes
PonyBuy publishes its inspection scope twice, once in the help centre answer on quality checks and once in a dedicated page called Inspection Scopes. Both are unusually blunt about the limits. The two columns below are its list, not ours.
Written into the inspection
- Appearance, which it itemises as colour, large area of damage, stains, size, model, version number.
- Size judged against the size on the label and tag of the product, not against a measurement of your own.
- For clothing, colour and size checked against your remark, or against whatever change was eventually agreed.
- For electronics, whether the outside is intact and whether the visible fittings are complete.
- A re-take, at no charge, when a standard photograph comes out blurred.
Written out of it
- Colour difference and actual size error. PonyBuy names both as outside the scope in the same sentence that defines the scope.
- Use effect. Whether the thing performs the way you hoped is not inspected.
- Small details such as thread ends. PonyBuy says it cannot provide a full guarantee on those and asks you to understand.
- Anything that needs the item switched on. Inspectors do not boot electronics.
- Accessories sealed inside a box, which are not opened and therefore not counted.
- Anything unverifiable. If there is no obvious damage or contamination, PonyBuy assumes you and the merchant already reached an agreement.
The scope is written down, and so are the gaps
Read the two pages side by side and the shape of the promise becomes clear. The left one answers a customer question, so it is warm and hedged. The right one is the operating rule, so it is flat and specific. They agree on the substance.
What matters for a reps order is the third tip on the right. When something cannot be verified from the outside, PonyBuy does not fail the item and does not flag it; it assumes the point was settled between you and the merchant before the order existed. That single sentence moves a lot of responsibility back up the chain, to the moment you chose the seller.
So a photograph is evidence about a parcel, not evidence about a listing. It tells you what turned up at the warehouse. It cannot tell you what the seller promised, because nobody at the warehouse read the listing.
Where the photographs sit in the order of events
Almost every argument about a rep order comes from getting this sequence wrong, because two of the deadlines start before anyone tells you they have started.
You place the order
PonyBuy buys from the Chinese seller on your behalf. The item cost you pay is the product price plus the domestic shipping from that seller to the PonyBuy warehouse, which is how PonyBuy defines it.
The seller ships to the warehouse
Nothing has been photographed yet. Anything you typed into the remark field travels with the order as instructions, and it is read at inspection time, not at purchase time.
Inspection, then the standard photographs
Professional inspectors check the goods PonyBuy purchased. For clothing the quality inspection process usually provides three standard photographs of different angles: front, back, and side or logo. Those angles come from the warehouse standard for the category and cannot be changed.
The status changes to stocked in
This is the one to watch. The return and exchange window opens at the next full hour after the status changes, and PonyBuy counts the five days as 120 hours from that point.
You decide what to do with it
Keep it, order detailed photographs of a part you are unsure about, or open a return. Which of the three you pick changes what remains possible, and one of them closes a door, as the next section explains.
You submit the parcel and it ships
You choose a shipping line. International shipping is calculated from weight, shipping method and destination, and the customs declaration is charged on top of it rather than inside it.
PonyBuy publishes the problems it expects, with a photograph of each
The table is worth reading before anything goes wrong rather than after. It is laid out in three parts: the issue, a real warehouse photograph with the problem area ringed, and the remedy PonyBuy offers for that issue.
Two things stand out. First, the problems it anticipates are physical: the wrong item, a missing part, visible damage. Second, the remedy is described as something PonyBuy pursues with the seller, not something it grants. The wording in the returns rules is the same: after receiving your request PonyBuy negotiates, and the final result is subject to the seller decision.
For a reps order that distinction is the whole game. A seller who takes returns and holds a platform guarantee is a seller you can still argue with a week later. A cheaper one may leave you holding a very good photograph of a problem and no remedy at all.
What the return and exchange guarantee does not cover
This list is the fastest way to find out that an order was never covered. It is PonyBuy own list of goods that fall outside the five day guarantee, and several entries catch reps buyers by surprise.
| What falls outside it | How PonyBuy words it |
|---|---|
| Made to order items | Products of tailored designs |
| Anything the seller has marked as not returnable | Promotional defective items |
| Anything altered at your own request | Clothes whose tags have been removed |
| Print with a dated shelf life | Newspaper, periodicals |
| Used goods | Second-hand products |
| Anything sourced outside the Chinese mainland | Products from overseas, Hong Kong and Macao regions |
| Close fitting basics | Underwear, socks, leggings |
| Adult products | Adult products |
| Food | Biscuits, candies, etc. |
| Books in bulk | No less than 15 books |
| Anything opened that carries a sealing rule | Opened products required to meet Special Standards |
| Anything else the seller has excluded | Others stipulated by the seller |
The right hand column is PonyBuy own wording, from its return and exchange rules. The left is this site summarising it. Where the two read differently, the right hand column is the one that binds.
Questions people ask before a first order
Four that come up constantly, answered from the published rules rather than from community habit.
- Does a QC photo mean the item is genuine?
No, and PonyBuy does not claim it does. The inspection covers appearance: colour, large damage, stains, size, model and version number, judged against the label on the product. It is a check that the right thing arrived undamaged, not an authentication.
- Can I ask for a different angle on the standard photos?
Not on the standard ones. Their angles are set by the warehouse standard for each category and cannot be changed. You can order detailed photos instead, which are taken to your written request.
- How long do I have to send something back?
Five days from the moment the order status changes to stocked in. PonyBuy counts those five days as 120 hours and starts the clock at the next full hour.
- Who makes the final decision on a return?
The seller. PonyBuy words it as negotiating with the seller on your behalf, with the final result subject to the seller decision.