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Ground floor: the smallest checkouts on the list
Finds whose smallest order costs under US$10 at the goods checkout, even with a heavy handling charge. Belts, studs, caps, tees, a card reader sold in tens.
Ground floor cards, cheapest smallest order first
15 finds. The two numbers under each photo are the first payment for the smallest order with no handling charge and with a heavy one (US$0.60 + 6 per cent). Freight is added in the worked ceiling below.
Ground floorNylon web belt with a toothless auto buckle
Smallest order: ¥2.50 + ¥1.95 postage = ¥4.45
First payment US$0.67 to US$1.35
One colour and one length on the menu: black iron buckle, 120 cm. Nothing to choose, so the sticker is the price. Measure an old belt before you trust a single length.
Open listing 1007288122107
Ground floorPocket microSD card reader, USB-A
Smallest order: 10 × ¥0.43 + ¥6.00 postage = ¥10.30
Options run ¥0.43 to ¥0.51
First payment US$1.54 to US$2.28
Sold ten at a time, so the ¥0.43 sticker becomes ¥4.30 before postage. The "colour" menu is really packing: bare, individually bagged, or a short body.
Open listing 525436255996
Ground floorOpen hoop studs in 304 stainless steel
Smallest order: ¥7.40 + ¥3.00 postage = ¥10.40
First payment US$1.56 to US$2.30
Only 19 pairs in stock when we read it. The spec sheet lists 304 stainless steel for the post and the hoop, and a pair weight of 15.9 g.
Open listing 1069403320023
Ground floorShort-brim soft-crown cap
Smallest order: ¥9.00 + ¥3.30 postage = ¥12.30
First payment US$1.84 to US$2.60
Six colours, one price. The fabric line says polyester at 61 to 70 per cent, so expect a quick-dry feel rather than washed cotton.
Open listing 1028983070573
Ground floorSmall round quartz watch on a thin strap
Smallest order: ¥9.00 + ¥6.00 postage = ¥15.00
First payment US$2.25 to US$3.03
Every colour option ends in "watch only", which tells you the gift box is not included. Stock was 11 pieces, so check it is still there before you plan around it.
Open listing 1000957142635
Ground floorRubber-soled canvas training shoes
Smallest order: ¥15.90, no seller postage = ¥15.90
First payment US$2.38 to US$3.17
Free carriage to the warehouse on this one. Sizes run from 34 to 45 in Chinese numbering; the classic yellow and an all-black pair cost the same.
Open listing 671591298280
Ground floorSquare-neck floral dress with puff sleeves
Smallest order: ¥14.50 + ¥5.00 postage = ¥19.50
First payment US$2.92 to US$3.75
Two prints, five sizes, one price. Stock was seven, which is thin for a dress; the title says chiffon while the spec line says knit fabric, so ask the seller which it is.
Open listing 1038677850926
Ground floorStraight-leg jeans, several fabric grades
Smallest order: ¥16.80 + ¥6.00 postage = ¥22.80
Options run ¥16.80 to ¥35.00
First payment US$3.42 to US$4.27
Eighteen options in four grades. The ¥16.80 headline belongs to the plain grade; the two stretch grades cost ¥32.00 and ¥35.00. Waist sizes also carry the old chi measure, 2 chi 1 for a 28.
Open listing 756738042568
Ground floorCotton joggers, straight or cuffed
Smallest order: ¥20.00 + ¥5.30 postage = ¥25.30
First payment US$3.79 to US$4.67
The "colour" menu also picks the leg: straight hem or cuffed. Sizes are written by body weight in jin on the Chinese page; the English page already converted them to kilograms.
Open listing 682849671291
Ground floor230 g combed-cotton crew-neck tee
Smallest order: 2 × ¥12.50 + ¥3.00 postage = ¥28.00
First payment US$4.20 to US$5.10
Twenty colours, all 230 g siro cotton, and the first tier starts at two pieces. Sizes S to 5XL are matched to body weight, so read the kilogram column rather than the letter.
Open listing 1028081427796
Ground floorGardenia eau de parfum, 50 ml, Chinese house brand
Smallest order: ¥29.90 + ¥3.00 postage = ¥32.90
First payment US$4.93 to US$5.89
A domestic label (WARMKISS) rather than an unbranded bottle, and the four "colour" options are four different scents. Liquids need a line that accepts them, which can lift freight.
Open listing 1053567338503
Ground floorPlain football training kit, shirt and shorts
Smallest order: ¥28.00 + ¥5.00 postage = ¥33.00
First payment US$4.95 to US$5.90
Sizes start at 4XS for children 100 cm tall and run to 5XL for 200 cm, all at one price. The kit is blank; any name or number printing would be a separate quote.
Open listing 723426340106
Ground floorHooded shell jacket with a detachable hood
Smallest order: ¥30.89 + ¥5.00 postage = ¥35.89
First payment US$5.38 to US$6.36
The price falls to ¥28.98 only at 500 pieces, so one jacket pays the first tier. Fabric is listed as "other", which is a reason to ask what the shell is before you rely on it in rain.
Open listing 1060691233931
Ground floorRound polarised sunglasses, TR90 frame
Smallest order: 2 × ¥16.00 + ¥5.00 postage = ¥37.00
First payment US$5.55 to US$6.54
Sold from two pairs upward, so the real smallest order is ¥32.00 plus postage. Lenses are listed as TAC polarised and not prescription-ready.
Open listing 948960619962
Ground floorLarge nylon shoulder tote
Smallest order: ¥33.00 + ¥4.00 postage = ¥37.00
First payment US$5.55 to US$6.54
Ivory, black or mint, one price. The title says canvas, the material line says nylon. Nearly 400 sold in a month, so the listing is not about to vanish.
Open listing 1069137434169
Worked ceiling for an Irish address
Ceiling US$62.00, three light pieces to Ireland. Our planning weight is 230 g a piece, so with 150 g of carton the parcel is 840 g. The cheapest general-goods quote to Ireland for that weight comes to US$32.46; with the heavy handling charge the freight checkout is US$35.17. That leaves US$26.83 for the goods checkout, and after handling US$24.62 of goods money, which is ¥164.20.
Take off ¥9.00 of seller postage and divide by 3: each piece can carry a sticker of up to ¥51.73. With no handling charge at all it would be ¥62.67; plan on the middle of the quoted lines instead of the cheapest and it drops to ¥42.36. That spread, roughly a fifth, is why the finder lets you choose both.
Try your own numbers in the Headroom finder, or compare with the other floors on the Spreadsheet page.
Where money slips away on the ground floor
Down here the sticker is the smallest number on the bill. Three things grow around it.
- The fixed part of the handling charge. On a US$3 payment, a fixed US$0.60 is twenty per cent before the percentage is even added. One goods checkout for several ground-floor finds pays that fixed part once instead of three times.
- Seller postage. The card reader costs ¥4.30 for ten and ¥6.00 to post to the warehouse. Postage is more than the goods.
- Freight per piece. In the Irish example, freight is larger than the goods money. Light pieces only become cheap when they share a parcel with something you were sending anyway.
The honest use of this floor is filler: pieces that ride along in a parcel built around something heavier.