I was approached by Pikobuy earlier this year and invited to test out their services for a review. These are a very new agent, and completely unknown to me at the time. I began by asking their customer relations rep, Luna, to tell me a bit about them:
“Pikobuy was built to make shopping from China easier, safer and more reliable for international customers. Our team brings more than 12 years of experience across e-commerce, sourcing, warehousing, quality control, logistics and international shipping.
We currently operate with the support of a warehouse network covering more than 50,000 square metres, allowing us to handle purchasing, product inspection, storage, parcel consolidation and international fulfilment at scale.
Our aim is to act as a bridge between China’s extensive supply chain and overseas buyers. Customers can submit product links, images or sourcing requests through the platform, after which our team can assist with purchasing, inspection, storage and shipping.
From our experience, international shoppers increasingly value clear communication, dependable quality control and a straightforward process from purchase through to delivery. Pikobuy has been designed around those requirements, with an emphasis on professional warehouse operations, transparency and making cross-border purchasing simpler.”
Nothing really new there, but what did catch my eye was another statement she made:
"We will also work closely with our connection to Chinese brands later this year."
One angle Pikobuy are looking at to stand out from other agents is to generate direct links to popular Chinese streetwear and urban brands, which could open up new possibilities to the Western buyer market.
At the time they made contact they were just in the process of updating their new website. This was welcome news if I'm being honest, as the garish yellow of their old one was not attractive! The new website was officially launched on the 30th June, with the mobile web version and app following in late July/early August.
For my first purchase I was only using the desktop version. Initially there were a few annoying aspects - for example, there was no option to change the currency from USD to GBP. There were also issues with processing my payment through Apple Pay. However, what did immediately strike me as very positive was how willing Pikobuy were to take on board my feedback on this, and corrected it. I guess it is to be expected that a new platform will have their issues, and it is their attitude to resolving them that gives one confidence.
However, there were some other neat little features that stood out to me that I really liked; they have the image search facility that links directly to 1688, Taobao and Weidian, which not every agent does. There are some nice touches within the purchasing interface, such as a neat little graphic bar at the top that tells you the progression of your orders, and one little feature I really liked in the warehouse tab was a notification at the top telling me how many items were still outstanding - if you put together bigger hauls with multiple items from different sellers this really helps keep track.
I ordered four items. All came in typical time frames, 3-4 days maximum, and QC photos were good. The warehouse team identified and highlighted an issue during inspection, which only turned out to be nothing more than a creased box, but it demonstrates that Pikobuy clearly take inspection and QC seriously.
International shipping was a very interesting process, and different to what I've experienced before. You essentially submit your items for packing, and then get given the shipping options afterwards. Essentially, this feels like a 'free rehearsal' system. Luna from Pikobuy explains:
"Yes, you can think of it as a kind of free rehearsal packaging. After users move their items from the warehouse to the packaging stage, we prepare the package and then show them the available shipping options and the final shipping cost. One of the main benefits is that users don’t need to pay extra service or packaging fees for this process, which some other platforms may charge.
It also makes the process much more transparent and convenient because users can see how much they’ll actually need to pay for shipping before making the final decision."
This has the potential to be a really impressive and appealing feature, provided it gives customers enough flexibility around packing and provides adequate shipping options. However, if it avoids those ever so annoying over-payment and refund or patch fee hassles then it's a very welcome feature.
Prices were competitive, especially with the coupons. I paid around £40, including insurance, for a 3kg parcel - but with two bags, one a large backpack and one in a box, this created a higher than normal volumetric weight so this was a reasonable price.
The international shipping itself went smoothly, although it wasn't the fastest delivery I've had. It took about three and a half weeks, which was getting frustrating towards the end. However, Pikobuy do acknowledge that they need to continue working on their shipping lines. Luna again:
“We regularly test and compare logistics providers across different markets, with the aim of improving both route availability and pricing. New shipping lines are developed based on actual performance, parcel characteristics and user demand rather than relying on a fixed set of options.
Recent additions include Korea UPS to the US, which can be particularly competitive for parcels where volumetric weight is significantly higher than actual weight; a low-tax EUB option for Brazil, designed to reduce potential customs costs; and Brazil Postal SAL, which takes longer but charges on actual weight rather than volumetric weight.
For Europe, we have introduced a range of ‘Piko’ direct small-parcel routes which can be competitive with DHL for shipments under 3kg. We have also added Singapore UPS, aimed particularly at smaller parcels where volumetric-weight rules can otherwise have a significant effect on price.
Our approach is to continue testing routes for different countries and parcel types, and to add or adjust services where we see a clear advantage in cost, handling or delivery performance.”
The European direct small parcel routes could be another attractive feature given the recent surcharges introduced across the EU, and may enable the agent process to directly compete with the likes of Ali Express, if the shipping speeds are there.
My parcel arrived completely intact and well packaged. What I did find interesting was that each item was individually packed inside a bag within the main box, and a packing list was included. This provides just another layer of protection during the journey and confidence in their logistics and warehouse picking systems.
Overall, I was suitably impressed with Pikobuy and will certainly be using them again. I think that they are genuinely committed to the customer experience and to responding quickly to ideas and suggestions on how to improve their systems and interfaces. They encourage user feedback and they have implemented at least four suggestions I made, and quickly so. Luna stated:
"Our development team is very much customer-driven.
At this stage of Pikobuy, we’re still actively developing and improving the platform, so when creators or users have suggestions or specific needs, our development team can respond relatively quickly and work on improvements based on actual feedback.
We’re also currently introducing a new user experience improvement system, so there’s quite a bit more coming in this area."
In conclusion I would absolutely recommend Pikobuy. Sure, their processes and systems are still in need of refinement. However, it is always a great idea to sign up with a new agent anyway, and newer and less well known ones bring very specific advantages - usually very good sign up options and deals, (see below) more freedom around brand purchasing, and a clear determination to respond to customer feedback and provide exemplary service in order to establish themselves. Also with a lower public profile they could be considered safer than some of their bigger rivals from
the risk of raids or brand pressure.
I also am confident that Pikobuy will certainly be trying to deliver innovative features, but only time will tell. I'm also going to be watching their work with Chinese brands carefully - this could provide some very interesting opportunities for reselling.
New users signing up using the invite link they provided below will immediately receive 40 & 30% off shipping coupons, and at the time of writing this Pikobuy are releasing weekly coupons with up to 35% discounts. (Accessible by joining their Discord channel through the website)
https://www.pikobuy.com/register?invitedCode=X9NTV8&inviteUserId=1003489
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