What HooBuy means by rehearsal packing
HooBuy's "rehearsal" is a pre-pack. You ask the warehouse to pack the items you plan to send, weigh the parcel and tell you the real weight. We read this as a step before the parcel order, but HooBuy's article does not spell out the sequence. HooBuy's help centre prices it at 20 RMB per parcel. Its live service list on 26 October 2026 shows "Rehearsal operation" at ¥20 with an original price of ¥30, limited to 1. The two sources agree on ¥20. At HooBuy's own rate of ¥6.91 per euro that is about €2.89, or about $3.31 at ¥6.04 per dollar.
HooBuy says the result arrives by email and internal message when the rehearsal is processed. The site also has routes named /dashboard/rehearsal and /parcel-submit/rehearsal, which we saw in its route list but did not walk through, so the exact click path is HooBuy's to show you. As HooBuy is on Hold on this site, the fee is one more payment to make only when it saves you something.
Rehearsal packing is a ¥20 weigh-in that tells you the real weight before shipping is charged.
Rehearsal packing, parcel photo and the other warehouse services
| Service | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Rehearsal Packing | ¥20 per parcel (original ¥30 in the live list), max 1 | Items packed and weighed; real weight sent by email and internal message |
| Parcel Photo | ¥5 per parcel | One photo before sealing, one after |
| Detailed Photo | ¥1 each | Help centre says up to 20; the order form caps at 10 |
| Extend Storage | ¥10 per product ID per month | Only for items stored 60 to 90 days |
| Customized warehousing | On inquiry | Assembly, consolidation, custom bags, boxes or stickers |
The ¥5 parcel photo is at HooBuy's help-centre price at about €0.72. It shows what went into the parcel; it does not give you a weight. For the item-level photos, see our QC photos page.
The photo shows the contents; only the rehearsal tells you the weight.
Packaging options you choose when submitting a parcel
HooBuy's shopping guidance says that when you submit a delivery order you can tick package removal, package strengthening and tag removal, and that the warehouse then packs as requested. The help centre does not publish prices for bag or box removal, tag removal or reinforcement, so we cannot add them to a cost. Check the checkout total before paying.
Two warnings come from HooBuy's own articles. First, when you ask for packaging to be removed, the weight changes: the system estimates the billing weight from the stored weight with original packaging, so the estimate and the real figure may differ, and HooBuy says it refunds an overestimate beyond a continued-weight step within 72 hours after shipping. Second, goods whose tags or packaging were removed at your request are on HooBuy's list of items that cannot be returned or exchanged under its 5-day guarantee. Decide on removal after you are happy with the goods, not before. The refund page has the return rules in full.
Package options carry no published price, and removal can end your return rights.
Volume weight in one line
HooBuy's estimator FAQ says volume weight is length times width times height in centimetres, divided by 6,000, "for most air cargo". A box of 6,000 cubic centimetres equals 1 kg. Its help centre notes that carriers use 5,000, 6,000, 7,000 or 8,000, and that the route charges the greater of actual and volumetric weight. The per-line divisor is not published, so the estimator is the place to check. On 26 October 2026 HooBuy's Germany quotes tag all five lines we read, including DHL europe package-f1, as "Volumetric".
Light, bulky parcels bill on volume, and that is where a rehearsal helps.
Worked example: a shoe box and the DHL europe package-f1 line to Germany
The dimensions below are invented for the illustration. They are not HooBuy measurements, and HooBuy may round or measure differently. The rate comes from the estimator: on 26 October 2026 it quoted ¥98.20 (€14.21 at HooBuy's rate) for 1,000 g to Germany on DHL europe package-f1, weight only. The same line quoted ¥49.10 for 500 g and ¥196.40 for 2,000 g, so we use ¥0.0982 per gram as a straight-line stand-in. Real bills may differ, because dimensions can add volumetric weight.
With the shoe box (example box 33 x 22 x 13 cm, 850 g shoes plus 300 g box = 1,150 g actual)
Volume: 33 x 22 x 13 = 9,438 cm3; 9,438 / 6,000 = 1.573 kg, so billed 1,573 g
Cost: 1,573 x ¥0.0982 = ¥154.47
Box removed, shoes in a bag (example 30 x 20 x 11 cm, 850 g actual)
Volume: 30 x 20 x 11 = 6,600 cm3; 6,600 / 6,000 = 1.1 kg, so billed 1,100 g
Cost: 1,100 x ¥0.0982 = ¥108.02
Difference: ¥154.47 - ¥108.02 = ¥46.45, about €6.72 at HooBuy's rate
In this example the scale shows 1,150 g with the box and the bill reads 1,573 g, which is the surprise a rehearsal is meant to remove. Against that, the rehearsal fee is ¥20 (about €2.89), so it would have repaid itself, and the same estimator weight lets you compare lines before paying. The saving is hypothetical. It assumes the dimensions above and that removal is accepted, and the example ignores the unpublished fee for removal. Our shipping calculator page lets you test your own numbers, and the shipping cost page has the line prices for six countries.
The example is an illustration: a smaller package cut the billed weight by 473 g, worth more than the fee.
When ¥20 is not worth it, and how long it adds
Skip the rehearsal when the parcel is one small, dense item, or when you will accept whatever the estimator says. HooBuy does not publish how long a rehearsal adds. The only related number is about 1 working day for inspection and weighing when goods arrive, and that is a different stage. Because the order-limit dialog says the warehouse has significant backlogs, we would not assume a quick turnaround; see the risk reminder and order limit page.
Rehearsal is useful when you combine several items, ship boxed shoes or knits, or are near a weight step. If you are close to a route's limit, remember that items with one side of 90 cm or more are tagged for separate packing and ship alone. Parcels over 30 kg or with a side over 120 cm go to HooBuy's customised shipping, which charges ¥20 as an operation fee first.
Not sure whether your row justifies it? Send us the row on WhatsApp (see the contact page) and pay per order. Start from the HooBuy spreadsheet home page for new rows.
Pay for a rehearsal when volume weight can change the bill; skip it for small, dense items.
What HooBuy buyers ask
How much does HooBuy rehearsal packing cost?
HooBuy's help centre lists Rehearsal Packing at 20 RMB per parcel, and its live service list on 26 October 2026 shows ¥20 against an original ¥30, with a maximum of 1. At HooBuy's own rate of ¥6.91 per euro, that is about €2.89. The fee is separate from international shipping, which you still pay if you ship.
What do I get from a HooBuy rehearsal?
HooBuy packs the items, weighs the parcel and tells you the real weight by email and internal message once it is processed. You get a weight, not a price quote for every line. Use that weight in the shipping estimator to compare lines before submitting the parcel for real, and keep the message as a record.
How long does rehearsal packing take at HooBuy?
HooBuy does not publish a processing time for rehearsal packing. Its help centre says only that an email and an internal message are sent when it is processed. Inspection and weighing on arrival take about 1 working day, but that is a different step. Allow extra days and do not plan around a deadline for this service.
Is HooBuy's parcel photo the same as rehearsal packing?
No. A parcel photo costs ¥5 per parcel and gives you one photo before the parcel is sealed and one after. Rehearsal packing costs ¥20 and gives you the weight. They answer different questions, what is inside the parcel and how much it weighs, and HooBuy's help centre lists them as separate services.
Does removing the shoe box lower HooBuy's shipping price?
It can, on lines that bill volume weight, because HooBuy says it charges the greater of actual and volumetric weight. In our worked example a smaller package cut the billed weight from 1,573 g to 1,100 g, though the dimensions are invented. HooBuy says items with packaging removed at your request cannot be returned or exchanged.
When is rehearsal packing not worth the ¥20?
Skip it for one dense, small item such as a keyring or a thin top, where the scale weight is also the billed weight. Skip it too when your parcel is far under the first weight step. It pays off for boxed shoes, bulky knits or mixed parcels, where the gap between estimate and reality is wide.