What Rehearsal Packing is and where the button sits
Rehearsal Packing is a paid pre-pack: KakoBuy's warehouse packs the items you name as it would the real parcel, then reports weight and size. The pop-up says it "provides you with accurate parcel volume/size and accurate weight". The help centre calls it "Pre-packaged".
The button is labelled "Rehearsal Packing" and sits on the [My Warehouse] page. It opens a "Rehearsal" dialog with one optional field, "Intended route". Before packing, the interface says, "the system is unable to obtain the accurate weight and volume".
With it, you learn the figure first, choose a line second and pay shipping last. Our shipping calculator shows how much the line choice moves the price.
Rehearsal Packing buys you the true weight and size before you commit to a shipping line.
Two ways to order it, and where the result appears
Help article 117 describes two routes.
- Parcel already submitted, freight unpaid. Quote the parcel number, which starts with S. KakoBuy updates that parcel's weight when the rehearsal is done, and you can then pay the freight and send it.
- No parcel yet. Quote the item numbers, which start with OG. Best when every item shows "can submit parcel".
In Remarks, write the numbers and the packing requirements, such as "remove shoe box packaging" (KakoBuy's example). If they differ from the real parcel's requirements, the weight is not updated.
KakoBuy sends the weight through an order message, and a "Rehearsal" list in the user centre tracks each request. It shows Rehearsal No., Preferred Shipping Method, Weight, Volume, Value-added, Status, Submit time and Delete, Cancel or Refund actions. "Rehearsal Result" then leads to "Confirm and Submit": you can "submit the parcel directly according to the weight of the wrapped parcel".
Per an interface note, KakoBuy removes shoe boxes on request, and you can ask for a reconsideration if the volume still looks too large.
Pick the S-number route if a parcel exists, the OG-number route if not, and write one clear instruction in Remarks.
¥20 or ¥18, and the services priced beside it
KakoBuy's own pages disagree on the price. The pop-up in the web app, read on 18 October 2026, says the service "costs 20 yuan per time". Help article 117, rendered on 12 October 2026, says ¥18 per time. Plan on ¥20, about $2.80 at ¥1 ≈ $0.14. One third-party guide calls it free; KakoBuy's pop-up says ¥20.
| Service | Price | Unit | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rehearsal Packing | ¥20 (older article: ¥18) | per time | Gives exact weight and volume before you pay shipping |
| Parcel photos | Free | 3 photos per parcel | Before sealing, after sealing, on the scale; tick the box when submitting |
| Vacuum packaging | ¥20 | per parcel | Compresses soft goods such as quilts and clothes |
| Fragile reinforcement | ¥10 | per item | Air-column protection for breakable goods |
The free photos include a shot on the scale, but you see them after packing, not before you pick a line. More prices are on the fees page.
Expect to pay ¥20, and use the free parcel photos when you only need to confirm a weight.
When a pre-pack pays off: a volumetric example
Some lines bill whichever is greater, actual weight or length × width × height in cm divided by 5,000 to 8,000 depending on the carrier. Here is a hypothetical parcel on a line using 6,000. This is an illustration, not a quote: we borrow one line's price step as a stand-in, and KakoBuy has not told us which lines use 6,000.
Before: 40 × 30 × 20 cm = 24,000 cm³ ÷ 6,000 = 4.00 kg billed (actual weight 2 kg)
After removing shoe boxes: 35 × 25 × 15 cm = 13,125 cm³ ÷ 6,000 = 2.19 kg billed (assume actual weight falls to 1.6 kg)
Billed weight saved: 4.00 − 2.19 = 1.81 kg
Price per extra kg: KakoBuy's estimator quoted Germany, Europe DHL Line (Express Line), at $23.70 for 1,000 g and $39.30 for 2,000 g on 12 October 2026, so $39.30 − $23.70 = $15.60 per kg (a stand-in for the parcel's line)
Approximate saving: 1.81 × $15.60 ≈ $28.24, against about $2.80 for the ¥20 service, so roughly $25 net
This is an approximation, not a quote: the estimator quotes stop at 2,000 g, so we extended that $15.60 per kg slope past 2 kg to a 4 kg billed weight. The real price on the parcel's own line will differ.
The pre-pack is not worth it in other cases. On lines billed by actual weight, such as the estimator's "Actual Weight" lines, box size does not change the price. A single light item gains little. Shoe-heavy hauls: see the shoes guide and the shipping page.
Pre-pack when boxes drive volumetric weight; skip it when the line bills actual weight.
Glossary: rehearsal, storing, dismantling the board and tracking words
We read KakoBuy's web interface on 18 October 2026 and found neither "Storing" nor "Dismantling the board". They look like machine-translated logistics events. "Storing" usually renders 入库 or 在库, which is the usual Chinese term for a warehouse scan; that is an explanation, not KakoBuy's definition.
| Word | Source | Meaning (our reading unless KakoBuy defines it) |
|---|---|---|
| Rehearsal / Rehearsal Packing | KakoBuy interface | The paid pre-pack described above |
| Storing | Not a KakoBuy label we found; likely carrier text | Usually 入库 or 在库: scanned into a warehouse or hub (usual Chinese meaning, not KakoBuy's) |
| Dismantling the board | Not a KakoBuy label we found; meaning unconfirmed | Unconfirmed; two readings below |
| Folded outer packaging | Not defined by KakoBuy | Unconfirmed; possibly a packing step that cuts volume |
| Stocked in / in storage | KakoBuy help centre | Item reached KakoBuy's warehouse; storage and return clocks start here |
| Can submit parcel / Ready for Shipping | KakoBuy help centre | Our reading: checked; you can request shipping |
| Mailed | KakoBuy help centre | Our reading: the seller has sent the goods (the help centre uses it in its cancellation rules) |
| Signed for | KakoBuy help centre | Our reading: received at KakoBuy's end; the help centre starts a 60-day clock for abnormal forwarding parcels here |
| Info received, In transit, Out for delivery | KakoBuy tracking set | Our reading: data received; moving; last-mile courier has it |
| Delivery failure, Exception | KakoBuy tracking set | Failure: no one home, security, rejected, invalid address. Exception: returned, delayed, lost, damaged, destroyed, cancelled |
| Delivered, Expired | KakoBuy tracking set | Our reading: delivered; the tracking record has lapsed |
| "The carrier has not updated the trajectory yet" | KakoBuy tracking page | No tracking events yet |
"Dismantling the board" is the unclear one, and KakoBuy does not define it. Reading (a): 拆板 is the air-cargo term for breaking down a pallet at a hub, which would mean the parcel has landed. Reading (b): a warehouse step that removes boxes or boards while repacking. Check where it sits in the timeline: after export clearance points to (a), before the parcel ships points to (b). Neither is confirmed, so ask support. The 100-day countdown after "in storage" is on the storage page, and the stages before it are on the order status page.
"Storing" and "dismantling the board" are not KakoBuy labels we found; "Rehearsal" and "Stocked in" are.
How much time rehearsal adds
KakoBuy says it completes the pre-pack within 24 hours, in both the pop-up and help article 117. It happens before you pay freight, so it delays your decision, not the carrier journey.
A realistic plan: wait until every item shows it can be submitted, order the rehearsal, read the result next day, pick a line, then pay. KakoBuy says parcels ship within 24 hours of submission and payment, and carrier pickup follows within 2 working days with none on weekends or holidays. Our shipping time page adds the other stages.
Allow one extra day, and order the rehearsal only once everything has arrived.
Probeverpackung and Embalaje de ensayo
KakoBuy's German interface calls it "Probeverpackung", literally a trial packing. We read only the label, so we assume it is the same service as the English pop-up; we did not check a separate price.
The Spanish interface calls it "Embalaje de ensayo", a trial packing in the same sense. For EU orders, the €3 duty charge added at checkout is separate from the pre-pack. A Polish label, "Wstępne ważenie", also exists.
Probeverpackung and Embalaje de ensayo are the German and Spanish names for Rehearsal Packing.
Questions buyers ask
Is KakoBuy rehearsal packaging free?
No, according to KakoBuy itself. The pop-up on the [My Warehouse] page calls it an additional storage service costing 20 yuan per time, while an older help article says ¥18. Some third-party guides call it free, but we found no support for that on KakoBuy's own pages. Budget ¥20, about $2.80.
How long does KakoBuy rehearsal take?
KakoBuy says it completes the pre-pack within 24 hours of purchase, and its help article adds that the weight arrives as an order message. It adds about a day before you can choose a line and pay. Order it only once every item shows "can submit parcel", which is when the help article says it works best.
What does "dismantling the board" mean on KakoBuy?
KakoBuy does not define it, and we found no such string in its interface on 18 October 2026. Two readings are plausible: 拆板, breaking down an air-cargo pallet after landing, or a warehouse packing step that removes boxes or boards. After export clearance suggests the first; before shipping, the second. Ask support.
What does "storing" mean on KakoBuy?
"Storing" is not a KakoBuy order status we could find. The status KakoBuy documents is "in storage" or "Stocked in", meaning your purchase reached its warehouse. In a tracking feed, "storing" usually translates 入库, a scan into a warehouse or hub, which is an explanation of the Chinese term rather than a KakoBuy definition.
Do I need rehearsal packing for every parcel?
No. It adds roughly $2.80 and a day, so use it only when the weight or box size decides your line or price. On lines billed by actual weight, or for one light item, the estimator already tells you enough. The free parcel photos include a shot on the scale.
Why would my rehearsal result not update the parcel weight?
KakoBuy's help article says that if the packing requirements in your Remarks differ from the requirements on the real parcel, the weight is not updated and the result arrives as a site message instead. Write one clear instruction, for example "remove shoe box packaging". Weights follow the parcel as packed, so a mismatch means a message instead of an update.