Terms
The agreement between you and Laowai. Last updated 25 July 2026.
What Laowai is
Laowai is a members-only marketplace where people in the UK and China list items and contact each other. We provide the platform, translation, verification and reputation system.
We are not party to your trades. Laowai does not buy, sell, ship, inspect or hold payment for any item. When you agree a deal, that contract is between you and the other member. We take no commission, and we cannot refund a trade.
Membership
- Browsing is free. Buying, selling and messaging require an active membership.
- Plans renew automatically until cancelled. Cancel any time from Profile → Manage or cancel membership — it takes two clicks, we don't ask you to email us, and you keep access until the end of the period you've paid for.
- Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial. Cancel within the trial and you pay nothing.
- Founding rates are limited to the first 50 members and stay fixed while the membership remains active and uninterrupted.
- UK consumers have a 14-day right to cancel; starting to use the service during that period may reduce any refund proportionally.
Listing rules
- List only items you own and are legally entitled to sell.
- No counterfeits. Replicas, fakes and unauthorised copies are banned, and posting one ends your membership without refund.
- Jewellery, watches and bags require a photograph of a certificate, receipt or equivalent proof. The site will not accept the listing without one.
- Describe items honestly, including faults. State clearly whether an item ships from the UK or from China.
- No weapons, drugs, live animals, counterfeit currency, stolen goods, or anything illegal to sell or post in the UK.
Importing from China
If you buy an item shipping from outside the UK, you are the importer. You may be liable for import VAT and customs duty, and delivery can take considerably longer than a domestic purchase. Agree who pays these charges with the seller before you pay for anything.
Paying each other
Members arrange payment directly. Laowai never holds your money and cannot recover it. Bank transfers and "friends and family" payments carry no buyer protection. Consider the other member's verification status, trade history and reviews before sending money, and be especially careful with a new account and a high-value item.
Verification
The 印 seal means a member passed an identity check with our verification provider. It confirms who they are — it is not a guarantee of their honesty, the condition of an item, or that a trade will go well.
Reviews
Reviews can only be left by the two people in a completed trade, one each. Don't post abuse, personal information, or reviews traded for favours. We remove reviews that break these rules, and we don't remove reviews simply because they're negative.
Ending membership
You can close your account at any time. We may suspend or remove an account that breaks these terms, defrauds another member, or puts the platform at legal risk. Where we end a membership for a serious breach, we do not refund the remaining period.
Liability
We provide the platform as it is, and we work to keep it available and accurate, but we don't guarantee uninterrupted service. We are not liable for losses arising from a trade between members, from an item's condition, or from a member's conduct. Nothing here limits liability for death, personal injury or fraud caused by us, or any other liability that cannot be excluded under UK law.
Law
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and disputes fall to its courts.
Contact
hello@laowai.co.uk