What a brick-set row hides
People type "lego spreadsheet hoobuy" or "spreadsheet lego hoobuy" into search boxes looking for a list of sets. On this page we say brick sets and building-block sets, because HooBuy lists whatever Taobao, Weidian and 1688 sellers post, and the seller's own artwork decides what you are buying. A row gives you a title, a yuan price and often a piece count. It does not give you the box size, the box weight or what is inside.
Those three missing numbers drive the bill more than the price does. A set with a ¥120 price tag and 1,000 listed pieces is ¥0.12 per piece (about US$0.02 at HooBuy's rate of ¥6.04 per dollar), which looks like a bargain until you add shipping for a box that is mostly air. The sections below cover what to ask for, what HooBuy offers, and what it does not check.
HooBuy carries our Hold label: the site and estimator loaded on 26 October 2026, though reviewers described payments left idle at "Purchased" over the summer. Sets are bulky, so a stuck order here ties up more money than a T-shirt would. Keep that in mind through the rest of the page.
Before you pay for a brick-set row, find its box size, box weight and piece count.
Box removal: what HooBuy offers and what it costs you
HooBuy's help centre says pre-pack bag or box removal, tag removal and reinforcement are options you can select when you submit a parcel. It does not publish prices for them. So the safest assumption is that removal happens at parcel stage, costs something, and has to be requested for each parcel.
There is a catch in the return rules. HooBuy lists goods whose tags or packaging were taken off on the user's request among the goods that cannot be returned or exchanged. Its guarantee also runs only 5 days (120 hours) from the status "Stored". Sealed packaging must stay sealed for personal-care, game software and similar goods to qualify, and the same logic is the sensible way to treat a sealed set.
- Open the seller's photos before you order and note the printed piece count and set number on the box.
- Wait for the status "Stored" and read the QC photos inside the 5-day window.
- Only after that window, ask for box removal when you submit the parcel.
- Keep the box-front photo; it is your evidence if the bags turn out short.
Removing the box also takes away protection. Loose bags and a booklet can arrive creased, and a crushed corner is a smaller problem than a ripped bag. If the set is a gift, ship the box.
Remove the box only after the 5-day return window, and photograph it first.
Box weight: the same set, boxed and unboxed
Here is the arithmetic on a set we invented for the purpose. The listing says 1,100 g and the box measures 38×28×8 cm. Without the box, the bags and booklet weigh 850 g (our assumption that the box is 250 g) and fit a 30×20×6 cm packet. The line is DHL europe package-f1 to Germany, ¥98.20 per kilogram on the estimator on 26 October 2026.
Boxed: volume 38 × 28 × 8 = 8,512 cm³; ÷ 6,000 = 1.42 kg. Actual weight is 1.10 kg, so the volume is higher and 1.42 kg bills: 98.20 × 1.4187 = ¥139.31, or €20.16 at ¥6.91 per €1.
Unboxed: volume 30 × 20 × 6 = 3,600 cm³; ÷ 6,000 = 0.60 kg. Actual weight 0.85 kg is higher, so 0.85 kg bills: 98.20 × 0.85 = ¥83.47, or €12.08.
Difference: 139.31 − 83.47 = ¥55.84, or €8.08.
Notice what drives the gap. Boxed, the volume figure beats the scale; unboxed, the scale beats the volume. That crossover is the reason to measure the packed box. Prices were weight-only quotes and scaled linearly, so the real bill follows each line's rule. Try your own sizes in the HooBuy shipping calculator, and see HooBuy shipping cost for the line tables.
In our example, taking the box off saves ¥55.84 on a ¥139.31 shipping bill.
Volumetric weight: three divisors, three answers
HooBuy states the divisor in two ways. The estimator FAQ says length × width × height in cm divided by 6,000 for most air cargo (so 1 m³ counts as 167 kg). The help centre gives a range of 5,000 to 8,000 by carrier and no table showing which line uses which. So the same box can price three ways.
| Box (cm) | Volume | ÷ 5,000 | ÷ 6,000 | ÷ 8,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 × 28 × 8 (small set) | 8,512 cm³ | 1.70 kg | 1.42 kg | 1.06 kg |
| 55 × 38 × 12 (large set) | 25,080 cm³ | 5.02 kg | 4.18 kg | 3.14 kg |
At 6,000, the large box bills 4.18 kg, which on Germany's cheapest line is 98.20 × 4.18 = ¥410.48 (€59.40), whatever the contents weigh. Every line on the estimator was tagged Volumetric on 26 October 2026, including the cheapest to each of the six countries we read, so you cannot avoid the rule by choosing a different line. Smaller boxes and unboxed bags are the only levers.
The same large box bills between 3.14 and 5.02 kg depending on the divisor.
Line restrictions that bite on big sets
Large sets run into limits that small items never see. HooBuy's help centre gives these, with no per-line detail:
- An item with one side of 90 cm or more is tagged "individually packaged" and ships alone, so you lose the saving from combining.
- A parcel over 30 kg, or with any side over 120 cm, needs customised logistics, mainly rail or sea, with a ¥20 operation fee first.
- The estimator refuses to submit over-weight parcels; you remove items and resubmit.
- Heavy parcels and bulk copies of one item get read as commercial by customs.
- Items with electrical parts or batteries sit in a customs risk group, and HooBuy may remove sensitive items such as batteries.
Per-line weight and size ceilings are not published; the estimator shows them when you enter a weight. The Brazil electronics line, Hoo-electronic-t, quoted ¥194.26 for 1,000 g against ¥123.79 on Br-standard-f, so a battery kit changes the line and the bill. Forwarding a stack of sets to one address as one parcel is the cheapest pattern, and it is also the one customs notices.
Check the 90 cm side, the 10 kg total and any battery before you add a second set.
Checking piece counts from photos
Inspectors at HooBuy look at colour, size, big damage, stains and model. Its help centre says sealed items are not opened and only the exterior is checked. That means a sealed set passes inspection without anyone counting pieces. The standard photos are usually three: front, back and side or logo. Detailed photos cost ¥1 each, up to 10 in the order form (the help centre says 20), and the QC video costs ¥15, but both show the outside of a sealed box.
So the evidence has to come from the seller. Ask for photos before you pay:
- The box front and side, to read the printed piece count.
- The instruction booklet cover, which usually shows the set number and total pieces.
- The numbered bags laid out, so you can count the bags against the booklet's bag numbers.
- The set on a scale, to compare against the grams on the item page.
Then check three things yourself. First, price per piece: a figure far below ¥0.12 for a 1,000-piece set means the printed count may be off. Second, the item-page weight against the seller's scale photo. Third, the review pictures on the seller's page. HooBuy's Rehearsal Packing (¥20 per parcel) packs your items, weighs them and tells you the real weight, which helps with shipping but still does not count pieces. See HooBuy QC photos for the full price list.
Counts come from seller photos and scale weights, because HooBuy will not open a sealed box.
Generic building-block sets and the trademark risk
HooBuy says it is not the seller, that it takes no liability for intellectual-property problems, and that it cannot authenticate brands. Its web app shows a Risk Reminder for branded products, and its help centre bans pirated and infringing goods while putting seizure risk on the recipient. A building-block set that copies a protected design or logo may count as a trademark-infringing good, and customs can detain it.
The practical choice is a set that carries its own name and artwork, with compatible bricks sold as such. Be careful with listings that use famous names in the title: the tag is the seller's, not a guarantee. In Brazil, where the recipient's CPF tax ID is required and Remessa Conforme rules apply, a held parcel is slow to resolve; see HooBuy tax ID and CPF and HooBuy to Brazil. For tax in Germany, Italy and France, HooBuy to Germany explains the VAT and the EU's temporary €3 duty.
If you would rather not hold a set's risk alone, HooBuy alternatives lists open agents where the same marketplace row can be bought. You can also hand us the row through the channel on our contact page. Either way the habit stays: pay for every order, and every parcel, at the moment you place it, and leave nothing parked in an agent wallet.
Choose generic sets, keep the paperwork, and expect customs to look at a big box.
Brick-set questions from sheet readers
Can HooBuy remove the box from a brick set before shipping?
HooBuy's help centre lists pre-pack bag or box removal as an option you can select when submitting a parcel, but it publishes no price for it. Removing packaging at your request also makes the item non-returnable under its return rules, so wait until the 5-day return window has passed, and photograph the box first as proof of what was inside.
Will HooBuy count the pieces in a sealed set?
No. HooBuy's help centre says sealed items are not opened and only the exterior is checked, and standard QC usually gives 3 photos: front, back and side or logo. A piece count cannot come from those. Ask the seller for photos of the numbered bags and the instruction booklet cover, and compare the printed count with the listing.
Why does a light brick set cost so much to ship?
Boxes are large for their weight, and every line on HooBuy's estimator carries a Volumetric tag. Its FAQ divides length × width × height in cm by 6,000, so a 38×28×8 cm box counts as 1.42 kg even if it weighs 1.1 kg. At Germany's ¥98.20 per kilogram, that gap alone is about ¥31.
Do battery-powered brick sets have extra restrictions?
Yes, likely. HooBuy's help centre names items with electrical parts or batteries among the customs risk categories and calls phones with batteries, magnets and power banks risky. It publishes no list for toys with motors or light kits, so ask HooBuy support before paying and expect a line such as Hoo-electronic-t to Brazil, quoted at ¥194.26 per kilogram.
Is it safe to order a set that copies a famous brand's design?
We would not. HooBuy's help centre says it cannot authenticate brands, that goods seized by customs are the buyer's responsibility, and its web app shows a Risk Reminder for branded items. A set that copies a protected design may count as trademark-infringing goods. Generic building-block sets with their own artwork avoid that risk.
How much can a cheap brick set cost in total?
A ¥120 set is only a starting point. On our example, ¥120 plus ¥10 seller freight, ¥83.47 shipping unboxed and the ¥8 declaration comes to ¥221.47, or €32.05 at HooBuy's rate of ¥6.91 per €1. Boxed, shipping rises to ¥139.31 and the total to ¥277.31. Import tax in your country comes after that.