Taobao is a popular Chinese online shopping website, think of it as something like the Amazon of China. It had launched the South-East Asia site in late 2013 as part of its regional expansion and many Singaporeans have since signed up and been enjoying great bargains from the site ever since. Friends would gush over how cheap the items are and that you could find almost anything you wanted on Taobao. I am no stranger to Taobao but due to my poor understanding of the Chinese language, I have long hesitated shopping from the site on my own. Instead, I would join sprees, order through agents and most recently, been tagging on a friend’s orders.
The thing about tagging along a friend’s order is that you cannot buy too much or bulky items because you already feel bad for troubling your friend. And then there’s the logistics to handle because the packages are sent to your friend’s address instead of yours. So I decided to try ordering on my own. Taobao has this online guide, which teaches you step by steps on how to purchase from the site. After following the instructions, I had managed to successfully cart out my first purchase. Once I had gotten the hang of things, I had several purchases made, amounting to a few hundred dollars.
So this is how it works. After carting out and confirming my order, I had a choice of paying for it via credit card or eNets. Next, my order would then be sent out from the seller to my choice forwarder. Taobao four appointed forwarders, which you could select from. Each time there was an update in the delivery status, I would be notified through the Taobao app and my mobile phone. Once my order had reached the forwarder’s warehouse, I had a choice of shipping it out or accumulating several orders to be shipped out together. Needless to say, I managed to consolidate all my orders and had this huge package shipped over to my place.
The bulk of my first purchase is made up of buys for my little one. There are lots of educational items for preschoolers available on Taobao. I had also gotten him some English books by our favorite authors, Kumon activity books and educational toys. But these toilet-training items were my favorite of the lot because how can anyone not like these simply adorable potty and urinal. I paid S$25 for the bundle including shipping to Singapore.
The husband was not left out in my shopping spree as well. I had gotten him two tees and a pair of shoes, all for under S$50 including the shipping to Singapore. Now, that is what I would call a great bargain. The shoes alone were only S$10 before shipping and I could not believe that you could get men shoes at such a dirt-cheap price. One thing about shopping online is not being able to guarantee the type of quality you would be getting and that is when the feedback section comes in handy. After reading through the positive feedback and seeing actual photos of the product by customers, I decided to just go ahead with the buy since what I did I have to lose with such a low price. When I received the goods, I must say that I had no regrets at all.
And last but not least, I also got something for myself. I bought these adorable mobile cases for my S6. Shopping on Taobao can get really addictive and I am already preparing for my next shipment. If you have not tried shopping at Taobao then you are really missing out on the deals.
