Kakobuy sizing: measuring before you ship, not after
A listing that says L tells you nothing. The number that decides whether a parcel comes back is the flat measurement on your own garment, read against the tape in a QC photo.
Chinese listings size garments by measurement, not by body size, so the letter on the label is a marketing category. The reliable method is to measure a garment you already own flat, compare that number with the flat number in the listing or in the QC photo, and treat a gap of 2 cm as the edge of normal production tolerance. Everything below is how to do that with one tape and no size chart.
This page is method, not a size table. The index carries 307 rows of name, brand, price and category — it does not carry garment measurements, because the platforms do not publish them in a machine-readable field. Claiming otherwise would be inventing numbers.
Why "size L" means nothing
A Chinese listing can carry three different size systems at once, and they do not agree with each other:
- Letter sizes — S, M, L, XL. On domestic Chinese production these run roughly one size smaller than the same letter in EU retail, but "roughly" is doing a lot of work: it varies by factory, by category, and by whether the item is aimed at export.
- Haoxing notation — strings like 175/92A. The first number is body height in centimetres, the second is chest girth, and the letter is the body-type class (A is standard, B is fuller, C is fuller again). It describes the body the garment is cut for, not the garment.
- Flat measurements — the only number that survives shipping. A listing that says xiongwei 112 for a jacket is telling you the finished chest circumference, which you can check against a jacket you own.
The letters are also why two rows in the same index can both read "L" and be four centimetres apart. When the label and the tape disagree, the tape is the garment.
The four numbers that decide a top
Take a top that fits you the way you want, lay it flat on a table, and measure four things. Write them down once — they do not change.
| Number | How to take it flat | What it controls |
|---|---|---|
| Chest, flat | Armpit to armpit, straight across, seam to seam | Whether it closes and whether it layers. Doubled, this is the xiongwei the listing quotes. |
| Shoulder | Shoulder seam to shoulder seam across the back | Where the sleeve head sits. Two centimetres wide and the armhole eats your triceps. |
| Sleeve | Shoulder seam to cuff, along the top of the sleeve | The difference between "cropped" and "too short", which no photo shows. |
| Body length | Centre back, collar seam to hem | Whether it covers the waistband. The single most common disappointment on hoodies. |
For trousers the four are waist flat (doubled), front rise, inseam, and hem opening. For a jacket you add one: pit-to-pit under the arm plus the sleeve measured from the shoulder seam, never from the centre back.
The worksheet you actually use
Match your number to the listing's number, in the same unit, measured the same way. The right-hand column is the part most people skip, and it is the part that decides whether a 2 cm gap is a defect or a Tuesday.
| Garment | Measure on yours | Tolerance and dispute |
|---|---|---|
| Hoodie, sweatshirt | Chest flat, shoulder, length | ±2 cm normal · dispute above 3 cm, or any label/tape disagreement |
| T-shirt, shirt | Chest flat, length | ±1.5 cm normal · dispute above 3 cm |
| Jacket, coat | Chest flat, shoulder, sleeve from seam | ±2 cm normal · dispute above 3 cm on the chest |
| Jeans, trousers | Waist flat ×2, inseam | ±1.5 cm on the waist · dispute above 3 cm waist or 2 cm inseam |
| Knitwear | Chest flat, unstretched | ±3 cm normal · dispute above 5 cm, or a hem that will not lie flat |
| Shoes | Insole length in cm, and the box label | ±0.5 cm on the insole · dispute any box/insole/outsole disagreement |
Where the tolerance and the dispute line differ, the gap between them is judgement: a hoodie 2 cm short is wearable, a hoodie 2 cm short with an L label on a 56 cm chart is a mixed batch and worth refusing — which is exactly the first worked case on this site.
Units you will see, and the fractions that fool people
| Unit | Equals | Where it shows up |
|---|---|---|
| cm (limi) | 1 cm | Almost every garment table |
| cun | 3.33 cm | Older tables, tailors, some jeans |
| chi | 33.3 cm | Cloth length, not garment width |
| jin | 500 g | Weight bands, and the "how heavy is it" question on a listing |
Two traps in the same table. First, a number written as 2 chi 1 in a jeans listing is a waist of 70 cm, not 63 — the trailing 1 is a fraction of a chi, not a decimal point. Second, weight bands in jin are rounded down: a listing that says 2–3 jin covers 1.0 to 1.5 kg, and a 1.7 kg hoodie sits in the next band even though it is "under 4 jin".
The tape in the QC window
This is where the site's own workflow pays for itself. When the item reaches the warehouse you get 48 to 72 hours with photograph evidence, and a tape in frame converts your worry into a number. Ask for a specific shot rather than a general one:
- "Tape across the chest, flat, seam to seam, one photo" — this is the xiongwei check, and it takes the warehouse ten seconds.
- "Tape along the insole, heel to toe, and a photo of the box label in the same frame" — this settles shoe sizing in one image.
- "Tape on the label, and the hem laid flat" — the length check, and the fastest way to spot a garment cut from the wrong block.
Then compare against the number you wrote down, not against the listing's marketing copy. A garment that measures within tolerance and still disappoints was the wrong measurement — most often it is the length, not the chest.
Four ways it still goes wrong
- Vanity sizing on branded rows. A brand that runs its own sizing will not match the domestic haoxing grid. Measure the brand's own size, not the letter.
- One-size items. "One size" on a knit means "fits most"; a 112 cm chest flat is not a 92 cm customer. Read the flat number, ignore the label entirely.
- Shoes measured by outsole. Insole, outsole and box label are three different numbers and disagree by 1 to 1.5 cm. Always ask for the insole. Our second worked case exists because of this.
- Knitwear that grows. A wool blend measured on arrival and again after a week differs. Judge knitwear at ±3 cm and never reject on a single reading.
Questions
Do Chinese sizes really run one size small?
On domestic production, often — but the useful statement is narrower: the letter is unreliable while the flat measurement is not. Compare centimetres, not letters, and the one-size-small question stops mattering.
Can I get measurements before I pay?
Only what the listing publishes. Most listings give a flat table in the description; if it does not, you are buying on the letter and on the seller photo. That is a reason to prefer rows whose listing includes a table.
How much does a 2 cm difference cost me?
A domestic exchange inside China plus a second warehouse cycle, typically a week and a small handling fee, plus the risk that the replacement is from the same batch. That is why label-versus-tape disagreement is treated as a rejection trigger rather than a tolerance question.
What if the warehouse tape disagrees with the listing table?
You have photo evidence and a window. Ask for the correct size or a swap before the parcel is consolidated; after consolidation the item is in a sealed box and the question becomes a return, which costs more and takes longer.
Does the index tell me which rows have size tables?
No — it carries name, brand, category and price, and it does not carry measurements or size-table presence. Use it to pick the row, then check the listing itself for the table.
Next: read the three worked QC cases, or check what the rows cost in the price index before you commit to a size run.