China return deadline: posting or arrival?
Where UK statutory cancellation rules apply and you must return the goods, send them off without undue delay, within 14 days after notifying the trader. Arrival by then is not required. Check voluntary marketplace deadlines separately and keep dated posting evidence. For factory sourcing, contact Cambridge China Bridge.
Establish which return route applies
This guide concerns cancelling an unwanted personal online purchase. Under the UK consumer cancellation rules, a consumer is an individual buying wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, craft or profession. Do not apply this consumer deadline to a factory stock order bought for your business.
For a direct overseas purchase, identify the contracting seller and ask a UK consumer adviser to check whether UK cancellation rights apply to your particular contract. Gather the invoice, seller details and purchase terms. Keep a voluntary marketplace return request separate from that assessment; a UK delivery address alone should not be your basis for choosing the rule.
Separate cancellation from sending the parcel
Where statutory cancellation applies and returning the goods is your responsibility, the deadline concerns sending them off or handing them to the trader or its authorised recipient. Do this without undue delay and no later than 14 days after the day you notify the trader of cancellation. The parcel need not reach China within that period.
Keep the cancellation message and its sending date alongside the return record. Do not start the return clock from a later approval message. Our cancellation-period guide explains the separate deadline for notifying cancellation. If the seller offers collection, confirm the collection arrangements rather than treating your own posting deadline as the relevant route.
Read voluntary marketplace deadlines literally
For a voluntary return or marketplace claim, save the policy and the order-specific return screen. Check whether the wording asks you to dispatch, upload tracking or ensure receipt. Ask support to confirm the deadline event, date, time zone and acceptable evidence in writing. Do not assume a tracking upload satisfies a receipt condition.
A voluntary policy cannot take away applicable statutory consumer rights. Nevertheless, preserve your marketplace claim by following its stated process while raising any statutory-rights dispute separately. If arrival is requested and transit looks uncertain, seek a written extension before dispatch and save the reply.
Preserve evidence of actual handover
Obtain a dated posting or collection receipt when the carrier takes the parcel. Check that its parcel reference matches your label and tracking record. Keep evidence of the authorised destination alongside it. A purchased label or collection booking records preparation; it does not, by itself, show that you handed over the goods.
Photograph the receipt clearly and save the original, carrier acceptance record and tracking history somewhere you can access after the return case closes. Send the evidence through the original order channel and retain the submission acknowledgement. Use our personal-purchase return guide for address, packing and customs preparation. For species-related return paperwork, see our guide to returning CITES-controlled purchases to China.
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Use posting evidence when chasing the refund
For an applicable statutory cancellation where the trader has not offered collection, reimbursement must be without undue delay and within 14 days after it receives the goods or, if earlier, you supply evidence of having sent them back. Supplying evidence matters; keeping the receipt privately does not establish when you supplied it.
If the seller refuses because the parcel arrived late, request its written reason and clarify whether it is applying a statutory return rule or a voluntary policy. Submit the cancellation message, dated handover evidence and return instructions together. Keep the seller refund separate from any personal-parcel duty and VAT repayment.
Frequently asked questions
Must my China return arrive within 14 days?
Where UK statutory cancellation applies and you must return the goods, send them off without undue delay, no later than 14 days after notifying cancellation. Arrival within that period is not required.
Does buying a postage label count as returning it?
A label purchase alone does not show handover. Obtain a dated posting or collection receipt linked to the parcel reference, and save the carrier acceptance record.
What if the marketplace says received by the deadline?
Save the exact wording and ask support for written clarification or an extension. Follow the claim process while checking applicable statutory rights separately.
Should I send proof of posting to the seller?
Yes. Send dated handover evidence linked to the return parcel through the order channel and save the acknowledgement. Under applicable statutory rules, supplying it can trigger the refund deadline before arrival.