Buying in Taobao

[mrkeys]

Hello. I just want to warn my fellow expats about the scheme in taobao.it's  not really 100% safe as the site claims coz i just had a bad experience when i was trying to buy some musical instrument and when im trying to pay the system just went error.after that all the money is gone.we reported this to taobao and they just said that the seller is a swindler and he uses some virus program to hack into the system.now i both dont have the goods and the money and dont even know if i can still get it back.it s around 3200 yuan so its a little big.

[junjuncayacap]

Thanks for your warning.

Hey, I was told that I should choose the seller with a lot of diamonds below his/her name.  So far all my purchases were perfect but the items  I bought were less than RMB500 though.

There was one seller that replaced the BOSE stand that I purchased from him, instead of a pair speaker stand, I received only a single speaker stand.


juncay

[junjuncayacap]

And there is another option (maybe Alipay, not sure though) that the seller cannot get your money not until you receveid and verified your items... However, I did not try this because as I've said, I only purchased items with prices below RMB500.

juncay

[henry]

i've been shopping on taobao for like a year now and so far there hasnt been any real problem unless ofc broken items or sort.
its true to shop safely from there always look for the diamonds or crowns (way better than diamonds). Also if possible u can buy multiple items form the same seller that way u get a discount , free "shipping" or even both.
i'll try to attch picture of the "trust" levels from lil red hearts (stay away form these if possible) to crowns
happy shopping fellow expats
also can check out www.china.alibaba.com for whosales
 

[junjuncayacap]

Thanks Henry!

This will be of great help, I thought diamond is the highest trust level.


juncay

[finbarr]

i am new here, how do i get taobao in english? are there other trustworthy online shopping places in china? i love amazon.cn a friend helped me set up the account and they do deliver pretty quick and so much cheaper than the .com address

[Rico]

Hey bro, give me a call I think  I can help you, because you said you were trying to buy, it means taobao hasnt release your money to the seller yet as it is a protocol, call me 13721075560

[Edward Ye]

 

[Virginia9742]

http://taobaofieldguide.com/how-to-buy-from-taobao/how-to-buy-from-taobao

That website is pretty useful.  I got almost all the way through registering, but I had a problem with payment and I will have to have a friend help me setup my Taobao account.

[rgeczi]

Virginia, just use Google Chrome's page translator to get you through the process.  I did it all myself.  I setup both a Taobao account and an Alipay account to link to it.

I buy all my stuff from Taobao.  Who needs the hassle of trekking to the busy hypermarkets around Hefei?  Not me.  Plus I'm lazy, so....it all works out well in the end. 

[Virginia9742]

I do use that translator, but it can only do so much.  I finally got my friend to finish setting it up for me today.

[chowder]

Hi Virginia! Im interested to know how to use the taobao too.so how do you pay? are cash on delivery basis? thanks!

[rgeczi]

Chowder, best way to do it is linking up an Alipay account to your Taobao account.

Really, you guys can do this all via Google Translate.  I am not the brightest light in the line, but I did do it without any Chinese assistance.  Just use common sense as to what is required of you if the translation is not perfect, and everything should fall into place.

[Virginia9742]

I beg to differ, sir!  Not to accuse you of being a bovine scatologist, but my experience was different from yours.

 I set the account up on my own, and had a Chinese friend help me with inputting some information such as my address.  I was able to use the website for COD, but I have yet to link my account to alipay.  Also, I have yet to receive my unicycle.  I guess the vendor didn't want to do a COD to a new customer.  I will see if it comes in the next few days, otherwise I will wait till I link my account.

[rgeczi]

9 times out of 10 the sellers will ask for either payment via Alipay, or payment via direct bank deposit.  COD sellers are not in majority there.

And besides, setting up an Alipay account is easy, funding it is easy, and linking it is easy.  I don't know why you would go the COD route.