DHgate Spreadsheet: Buying on DHgate Directly, or Through Sugargoo?

DHgate direct or Sugargoo: which fits your order?

"DHgate spreadsheet" is one of the most searched platform-plus-spreadsheet phrases, and most searchers are weighing exactly this choice:

Our comparison, September 2026. DHgate figures from Trustpilot and Wikipedia; Sugargoo figures from its own guides.

Tax is the quiet difference. Since the US ended its duty-free allowance in August 2025 and the EU began charging €3 per item category from July 2026, three DHgate orders from three sellers can mean three separate duty charges. One Sugargoo parcel on a tax-included line means one.

Verdict: One cheap item: DHgate is fine. Three or more, or anything you'd want to inspect: Sugargoo.

Why is DHgate rated 1.7/5?

DHgate's Trustpilot score is 1.7/5 even though about half of its reviews are five-star, because Trustpilot weights recent reviews and recent ones skew negative: 35% of all reviews are one-star. Complaints centre on defective or mis-described items, parcels that never arrive and refunds refused; one reviewer said a dispute was closed although the seller's own label showed the mistake. DHgate replies to 99% of negative reviews.

DHgate has also been on the US Trade Representative's Notorious Markets list since 2022, over intellectual-property concerns, so branded listings may be removed and parcels inspected. Sugargoo's own record is middling — 3.5/5 on Trustpilot — but its complaints are mostly about delays and paperwork rather than money not coming back, and its refund policy sets deadlines with compensation.

The April 2025 DHgate surge

For most of its history DHgate was a niche wholesale site. In April 2025 it became one of the most downloaded apps in America. TechCrunch tracked the climb: #352 among free iPhone apps on April 11, #6 by April 13 with 117,500 iOS downloads that day, and #3 on April 14. The trigger was a wave of TikTok videos from Chinese manufacturers, posted as US tariffs on Chinese imports rose to 145%.

That surge sent millions of first-time buyers to DHgate and set off "DHgate spreadsheet" searches, with Google suggesting month-stamped versions ever since. Many of those buyers found that a spreadsheet of Weidian finds, bought through an agent like Sugargoo, gave them something DHgate couldn't: a look at the real item before paying to ship it.

Verdict: The surge changed how many people use DHgate, not how it handles problems.

If you still buy on DHgate

If you do buy on DHgate, these habits help:

1. Pick sellers, not listings — rating, order count and time on DHgate first.
2. Screenshot the listing when you pay; listings change.
3. Film the unboxing; many disputes turn on the state on arrival.
4. Escalate to your card issuer or PayPal if a dispute is closed despite clear evidence.

If you switch to Sugargoo, start with the main Sugargoo spreadsheet or a category sheet, and the shipping and duty calculator to compare a DHgate order with one Sugargoo parcel.

What one DHgate order and one Sugargoo parcel really cost

Comparing prices between DHgate and a Sugargoo haul only works on landed cost: item plus shipping plus tax, divided by the number of items. DHgate listings often show low item prices with shipping per order, and each seller's parcel is taxed separately where tax applies. A Sugargoo parcel adds the ¥8 packing fee and one international line — Sugargoo's own examples put 3 kg of clothing at $27.94 to the UK, $42.75 to France and $55.18 to California — spread across everything inside. Run both baskets through the shipping and duty calculator. For a single small item, DHgate usually wins; by the third or fourth item, one Sugargoo parcel usually does.