The 21 HooBuy order statuses and what you can do at each
HooBuy's help centre lists 21 shopping-order statuses, roughly in this order. The meanings are HooBuy's, shortened by us. The last column is our reading, except the 72-hour, 24-hour and 48-hour limits, which are HooBuy's. HooBuy is on Hold on this site, which makes the label you are looking at worth reading closely.
| Status | What HooBuy says it means | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Payment Pending | Order generated, payment due within 72 hours | Pay inside 72 hours |
| Process Pending | Submitted, waiting for a purchaser to verify it | Wait; HooBuy gives review times in hours |
| Order Processing | Assigned to a purchaser, ready to order from the seller | HooBuy says it cancels "Processing" orders within 24 hours (the article does not say which label) |
| Purchased | Bought from the seller, waiting for delivery to the warehouse | Ask for a cancel; the agent checks with the seller within 48 hours |
| Shipped (Local) | Seller has sent the item to the warehouse | Wait for domestic delivery |
| Received | Arrived at HooBuy, waiting for inspection | Wait |
| Stock arrived | Inspected and weighed, waiting to be stocked in | Wait |
| Stored | In the warehouse, can ship any time in the free storage period | Submit a parcel; order extras such as detailed photos |
| Clear Balance | Real purchase cost exceeds what you paid | Pay the difference |
| Invalid | Price or name mismatch, no pictures or description, or a virtual or prohibited item | HooBuy names no action |
| Order withdrawn | Cancelled by you, by customs restriction or another reason; refund sent to your HooBuy account | Check where the refund landed |
| Returning | Item sent back to the seller with consent, waiting for the seller's refund | Wait |
| Returned | Return and refund completed, refund to your HooBuy account | Check the refund |
| Exchanging | Exchange being processed after talking to the seller | Wait |
| Separated to ship | The seller may send the goods by another courier | Wait while the agent verifies with the seller |
| Confirmation pending | The purchaser needs to confirm information with you | Follow the instructions on the order page |
| Expired | Storage period ended or item abandoned; the item is destroyed | Nothing; prevent it by shipping before day 90 |
| International delivery fee pending | Parcel submitted, waiting for payment | Pay the shipping fee |
| Processing | Shipping fee paid, waiting for dispatch from the warehouse | Wait |
| Shipped (International) | The item has been sent out | Track it (see below) |
| Completed | Delivered to you | Confirm receipt; report problems within 72 hours |
HooBuy does not publish a fee for cancelling after Purchased.
Most labels need no action; Payment Pending, Clear Balance, Confirmation pending and Stored are the ones where you move.
Parcel statuses: the second set of labels
Once you submit stored items for shipping, HooBuy creates a parcel with its own labels under User Center, then Parcel.
| Parcel status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Payment pending | Parcel submitted; pay the international fee within 72 hours |
| Verifying | Submitted, waiting for confirmation |
| Verified | Checked; it will leave the warehouse soon |
| Ready for Pickup | Being sorted, leaving the warehouse soon |
| Packaging | Left storage and is being packed |
| Packaging Completed | Waiting for the courier to collect it |
| Shipped | The courier has picked it up |
| Order Return | Cancelled, for example because the receiver details are wrong or incomplete, or an item is prohibited on the chosen line |
| Domestic Return | Came back to the warehouse after failing Chinese customs security check |
| Overseas return | Came back from abroad after failing customs inspection or another delivery problem |
| Confirmed Receipt | You have received it |
A Domestic Return is re-sent free, HooBuy says; after an international return you pay redelivery. For the money side of these steps, see HooBuy shipping cost and the refund rules.
Order labels carry an item to Stored; submitting a parcel adds this second set of labels.
"Verifying", "Clear Balance" and "Expired": the three that confuse people
Verifying is, in HooBuy's payment article, a payment check rather than a purchase step; the parcel table above uses the same word for a different stage. HooBuy says orders paid with special methods such as credit cards go through a verification period. If the status has not changed after 24 hours, it may need extra information from you, sent by email or internal message. No reply within 72 hours and the order may be cancelled, with the money returned to the original payment method. If no message arrives within 24 hours, contact support.
Clear Balance (also called an outstanding balance) appears when the seller's price changed after you ordered. HooBuy says it mainly involves the Chinese domestic delivery fee and that you pay the difference by following the instructions page.
Expired means, per HooBuy, that the item is destroyed: free storage lasts 90 days from Stored, then goods count as abandoned and are destroyed. Screenshot the date an item turned Stored.
Verifying needs your answer within 72 hours, Clear Balance needs a payment, and Expired cannot be reversed.
Tracking a parcel: where the number is and why it stays quiet
HooBuy sends a tracking number after shipping. Open User Center, click Parcel and choose Tracking Details on the parcel, or paste the number into 17TRACK or the carrier's own site.
- Days 0 to 3: on some routes, the first scan appears only about 3 days after dispatch.
- After the first scan: the next update comes when the courier picks the parcel up and scans it, which HooBuy says can take 3 to 10 days depending on the route.
- "The plane entered the port": HooBuy says it means either in transit, or arrived and waiting for a local scan.
- Day 3 after shipping: "details" on the parcel page shows the carrier-adjusted weight, if it changed.
If the carrier's weight is higher than the estimate, HooBuy asks you to pay the difference; if lower by more than a continued-weight step, it says it refunds the difference within 72 hours after shipping. Line days are on our shipping calculator and the shipping time guide.
Quiet tracking for a few days is normal on some routes; weeks of silence deserve a ticket.
How long statuses last, using only HooBuy's own numbers
HooBuy publishes some timings and leaves others out. We do not add averages of our own.
| Stage | HooBuy's number |
|---|---|
| Payment Pending / parcel payment | 72 hours |
| Process Pending (review) | 3 to 5 working hours; some articles say within 6 hours |
| Seller dispatch | 3 to 7 days for Taobao and 1688 sellers |
| Seller to warehouse | 1 to 2 working days (Pearl River Delta), 3 to 5 (Yangtze River Delta), about 7 elsewhere |
| Received to Stored | About 1 working day for inspection and weighing |
| Parcel stages after Verified | Not published |
Editing a paid order restarts the processing clock, HooBuy says.
Only the first half of an order has published timings; the parcel stages do not.
When "Purchased" lasts for weeks
From June to September 2026, Trustpilot reviewers described paid orders stuck at "Purchased" or "pending" for four weeks to more than two months, and HooBuy answered 0% of the 30 complaints on Reclame Aqui between 1 April and 30 September 2026. We have not verified those reports. Our HooBuy status page has the timeline and the stuck-order steps, so we do not repeat them here.
In short: compare your wait with the dispatch window above, screenshot the order page, then write to support. To move the row, use the link converter and see HooBuy alternatives. If you prefer to skip an agent account for now, send us the row on WhatsApp (see the contact page) and pay per order. Start new rows from the HooBuy spreadsheet home page.
Weeks at Purchased fall outside HooBuy's own timings, so ask in writing and consider moving the row.
What HooBuy buyers ask
What does Process Pending mean on HooBuy?
Process Pending means your order is submitted and waiting for a purchaser to verify it. HooBuy's help centre says new orders are reviewed in 3 to 5 working hours, or within 6 hours if you submit between 09:00 and 18:00 Beijing time. Another article uses 08:00 as the start of the day.
Why is my HooBuy order stuck on Purchased?
Purchased only means the agent has paid the seller and the item is travelling to the Xiamen warehouse. HooBuy says Taobao and 1688 sellers dispatch within 3 to 7 days and its agent follows up from day 4. Weeks beyond that resemble what Trustpilot reviewers describe from June to September 2026 (individual reviews we have not verified), so screenshot the page and write to support.
How do I find my HooBuy tracking number?
The number appears after the parcel is shipped. Log in, open User Center, click Parcel, and choose Tracking Details on the parcel. HooBuy also suggests pasting the number into 17TRACK or the carrier's own site. Orders still at Purchased or Stored have no parcel to track yet, so no number exists.
Why has my HooBuy tracking not updated for days?
HooBuy's help centre says that on some routes the first tracking entry appears only about 3 days after dispatch, and later updates can take 3 to 10 days depending on the route. HooBuy names international small packets as a typical example of lag. If nothing moves after that, ask support, quote the parcel number, and do not assume the parcel is lost.
What does Expired mean on a HooBuy order?
Expired means the free storage period ended or you chose to abandon the item, and HooBuy's system then destroys it. Free storage is 90 days from the Stored status, and an extension costs ¥10 per product ID per month for items stored 60 to 90 days. Submit a parcel before day 90, because HooBuy says the item is destroyed.
Does Clear Balance mean I was charged twice?
No. Clear Balance means the actual purchase cost exceeded what you paid, usually because the seller changed the domestic delivery fee, so you pay the difference. Check the amount against the seller's price, and open a ticket before paying an unexplained large gap, since an outstanding balance is not a duplicate charge.