Reading a LitBuy route card, column by column

The estimator gives every route a handful of fields. Read together they say more than the price does, and each one is copied here as LitBuy printed it.

133 routes, 14 countries, 1 kg, no product type, read 16 Oct 2026

The freight form, before a query

LitBuy's freight estimator needs two things: a destination country and a weight in grams. Product type and box dimensions are optional, and leaving product type empty means routes that refuse ordinary goods still appear. All our readings use 1,000 g and an empty product type, so the counts on this site describe that query and nothing wider.

LitBuy Freight Estimator form with fields for destination country, weight in grams, product type and box dimensions — The estimator form before a query, 16 October 2026.

Delivery window

Each entry gives a minimum and maximum, such as 8 to 13. In most entries the unit is "workday"; in some the response leaves the unit empty, and we print "unit not given" rather than guess. Help 30 says delivery time counts from the day your parcel shows "shipped".

The window in the entry and the line in the route description can differ. LIT-Quickly-DHL-DE shows 8 to 13 working days in its entry and "usually 6-13 working days" in its description. We use the entry, because that is what the estimator presents as the window.

Table comparing the entry window and the description window for five LIT- routes — Entry window against description text for the LIT- routes in Germany and France.

Billing weight and the divisor

LitBuy bills the greater of actual weight and volume weight on most routes, with volume weight found by multiplying the three box sides in centimetres and dividing the result by a fixed number. In our sample the divisor is 8000 on most routes, 6000 on EMS, ETK, EUB and some USPS, UPS and DPD routes, and 5000 on two other UPS routes. A few routes bill actual weight only.

Help 33 explains the two-stage charge: you pay on an estimated weight when you submit the parcel, the warehouse weighs and measures the real parcel, and the difference is charged or, if you overpaid by more than one billing step, refunded to your LitBuy Wallet within 72 hours of shipment.

Bar chart counting sampled routes by weight rule: divisor 5000, 6000, 8000 and actual weight only — How 133 routes bill weight. A count, not a ranking.

Minimum and maximum parcel weight

Each entry also carries a weight range, which the estimator does not show prominently. Most routes in our sample accept parcels from 100 g or 200 g; a handful, including two LIT- entries, start at 0 g. EMS routes start at 500 g. At the top, limits run from 2 kg on three EUB routes to 30 kg on many DHL and EMS routes, with 31.5 kg on one ETK route to the United States.

The range matters at both ends. A single light item can be below a route's minimum, and a consolidated parcel of jackets can pass a route's maximum long before it hits the size limit.

Bar chart counting sampled routes by maximum parcel weight — Upper weight limits across the sample.

Size limit

Size limits come in three shapes. Most routes cap length, width and height separately, for example 60, 50 and 40 cm. Some use a length-plus-girth formula, L + 2 × (W + H) ≤ 300 cm with a cap on the longest side. A few cap the sum of all three sides, such as L + W + H ≤ 90 cm.

The shape matters for bulky, light goods. A long, flat parcel can pass a girth formula and fail a per-side cap, or the reverse. If a coat is in the parcel, check the size column before the price.

Bar chart of the three kinds of size limit across sampled routes — Three ways LitBuy routes express a size limit.

Tax label

Every entry carries one of two labels: "Tax free" or "Duties Payable by Recipient". The Shipping Policy says TAX FREE channels have clearance, duties and VAT handled and paid by LitBuy, and other channels leave them to you.

In our sample the recipient-pays label appears only on routes named HF- or HM-, which are EMS, ETK and EUB routes. The table counts both labels per country.

Table counting Tax free and Duties Payable by Recipient routes in each of 14 countries — Tax labels by country. Labels as printed by the estimator.

The EU notice: €3 per parcel

On 24 June 2026 LitBuy posted "Update on EU Tariff Policy". It says the new EU rules charge a fixed €3 per product category (HS code) in a parcel, and that LitBuy will continue to prepay and will charge a flat €3 per parcel regardless of how many categories it contains, for parcels submitted after 24 June 2026, 15:00 Beijing time.

The notice does not say which routes it applies to, and the estimator's tax label does not mention it. If the €3 matters to your decision, ask support which charge applies to the route you have picked.

LitBuy announcement list entry titled Update on EU Tariff Policy, dated 2026-06-24, with the first lines of its text — LitBuy announcement board, 16 October 2026.

LitBuy's own tags

Some entries carry a short tag: Fast Delivery, Affordable & Efficient, Positive User Feedback, Reliable or Limited-Time Offer. The tags come from LitBuy, not from buyers we can see and not from us. "Positive User Feedback" in particular is a label, not a published set of reviews.

We copy the tag into the board's last column and stop there. Most entries have no tag at all.

Bar chart counting LitBuy's tags on sampled routes, including entries with no tag — Tags as LitBuy wrote them, counted.

Two entries with the same readings

In Poland, LIT-Quickly-DPD-PL and STF-DPD-PL-1 match on every field we read: window, size limit, weight range, weight rule, tax label, tag and price. They differ in name and in the logo LitBuy shows next to them.

It is tempting to call them one route sold under two names. Nothing published says so, and two routes can share a carrier and a tariff. We show the match and leave it there.

Table comparing LIT-Quickly-DPD-PL and STF-DPD-PL-1 field by field, all values identical — Poland, 1 kg, same response, 16 October 2026.

Worried about the estimated weight: a rehearsal parcel costs 20 CNY, has the warehouse pack and measure the parcel before you submit, and usually finishes within 24 hours (help 07). Open the estimator

Next stop on this map: Countries with LIT routes