PonyBuy Spreadsheet FindPartner guide to finding the item

Categories

Every category fails in its own particular way

The advice "check the size chart" is useless because it is the same advice for everything. What actually helps is knowing what specifically goes wrong in the category you are about to buy from, because it is different for shoes than it is for bags.

The list below is ordinary retail categories on our listing site. Each one links to a page we have tested, and each carries the one failure that catches people out at the moment they pick an option.

Or search the catalogue by word instead

Seventeen colour options shown as thumbnails inside a single listingOne listing, seventeen different things to buyChoosing here is the whole game. The search box could not have toldthese apart, and the order only records the one you clicked.Counted on a PonyBuy product page, 2026-08-04.

The eight people start with

The marker under each icon is our own three step read on how easily that category is picked wrong at the listing page. It is a judgement, not a measurement.

sneakers icon with a three step marker for how easily this category is picked wrongCategory

Sneakers

More versions under one listing than any other category, and the size charts differ from seller to seller.

Browse this categorycasual shoes icon with a three step marker for how easily this category is picked wrongCategory

Casual shoes

Often listed by a length in centimetres rather than a size number, which is better information than most charts give.

Browse this categoryleather shoes icon with a three step marker for how easily this category is picked wrongCategory

Leather shoes

Colour names carry the most weight here and photographs the least, because leather photographs badly under shop lighting.

Browse this categorysandals icon with a three step marker for how easily this category is picked wrongCategory

Sandals

Men and women versions of one design usually share a listing and differ only in the option name.

Browse this categoryhoodie icon with a three step marker for how easily this category is picked wrongCategory

Hoodies

Fleece lined and unlined versions share a listing, a price band and often the same photographs.

Browse this categoryt shirt icon with a three step marker for how easily this category is picked wrongCategory

T-shirts

The category where a size chart matters most and is published least, because the fit is the whole product.

Browse this categoryshirt icon with a three step marker for how easily this category is picked wrongCategory

Shirts

Sleeve length and collar type live in the option name rather than the title.

Browse this categoryjacket icon with a three step marker for how easily this category is picked wrongCategory

Jackets

Season matters. The same model is sold in a light and a padded version under one set of pictures.

Browse this category

All twenty six, with the trap named

Every link here returned a live page when we checked it on 2026-08-04.

Three category risk markers explained, from one bar to threeReading the three step markerOne barOne size or no size. The photograph tells youmost of it.Two barsOne attribute decides it, and it hides in theoption name.Three barsVersions differ in ways a thumbnail cannot show.Our own read on the choosing step, written 2026-08-04.
The marker under each icon above uses these three levels.
CategoryWhat goes wrong at the choosing step
SneakersMore versions under one listing than any other category, and the size charts differ from seller to seller.
Casual shoesOften listed by a length in centimetres rather than a size number, which is better information than most charts give.
Leather shoesColour names carry the most weight here and photographs the least, because leather photographs badly under shop lighting.
SandalsMen and women versions of one design usually share a listing and differ only in the option name.
HoodiesFleece lined and unlined versions share a listing, a price band and often the same photographs.
T-shirtsThe category where a size chart matters most and is published least, because the fit is the whole product.
ShirtsSleeve length and collar type live in the option name rather than the title.
JacketsSeason matters. The same model is sold in a light and a padded version under one set of pictures.
Down jacketsFill weight is rarely published, and it is the number that decides whether the coat is warm.
JeansWaist measurements are given in centimetres more often than in inches, and the two get mixed up in translation.
SweatpantsLength is the failure mode. Chinese sizing runs shorter in the leg for the same waist.
ShortsCheap to buy, heavy for their price in freight terms. Worth consolidating.
SweatersPhotographs are usually styled, so the fit you see is not the fit you get.
BagsThumbnails are small and hardware finish is the difference between two versions. Reference picture territory.
BackpacksCapacity in litres is often missing. Compare the dimensions instead.
Shoulder bagsStrap length and drop are almost never listed, and they decide whether you will wear it.
WalletsSmall, light and easy to add to an existing parcel without changing the freight much.
BeltsSold by total length, not by waist size. Measure a belt you own first.
WatchesMovement type is the thing that separates two versions and the thing least likely to be written down.
EyewearLens colour and frame colour are separate options, and they get confused in the thumbnails.
JewelryPlating and base metal are usually only described in the seller notes, if at all.
HatsOne size dominates, so the risk moves from fit to colour accuracy.
ElectronicsPlug standard and voltage are the real variants. Check before, not after.
HeadphonesModel numbers survive translation better than anything else in this list. Use them.
PerfumeVolume in millilitres is the option. Restrictions on what can fly apply here more than anywhere else.
Plush toysSize in centimetres varies enormously under one listing, and the photograph never shows scale.

Two categories that behave differently from the rest

Electronics. The variant that matters is not colour or size, it is the plug standard and the voltage. Those are frequently in the option name and almost never in the translated title. Read the option, not the heading.

Perfume and anything pressurised or liquid. The restriction is not on the listing at all. Which services will carry it is decided when you submit the parcel, and the official guide notes that some items are restricted to certain delivery types. Deciding to buy it and deciding how it flies are two separate moments.

How the parcel step works

A personal looking parcel next to a commercial looking oneWhat the parcel looks like from outsideLooks personalA few different things, sizesthat suit one person.Looks commercialTen of the same item, a runof consecutive sizes.Nobody can promise how a given parcel is treated. What you can do isdecide the shape of it while you are still choosing options.PonyBuy customs guidance names quantity of identical items as a factor. Read2026-08-04.

How to read this list without overthinking it

Three markers, one sentence each.

One bar

Hard to get wrong

Hats, socks, keychains, plush toys. One size or no size, and the photograph tells you most of it. Buy these first if you are testing an agent for the first time.

Two bars

Read the option names

Hoodies, backpacks, perfume, jewelry. Usually one attribute decides it, and that attribute is written in the option rather than the title.

Three bars

Ask something before you pay

Sneakers, jeans, watches, bags, eyewear. Either the versions differ in ways a photograph hides, or the sizing is published thinly. This is where the message box earns its keep.

Write the request

Not on the list

Something else entirely

Our catalogue has 65 categories and this page names 26 of them. If yours is missing, the general rule still holds: find the one attribute that decides it, then check whether the listing publishes that attribute.