Explanation on how to order from Taobao

Ever since I published the post about Taobao, I got many emails, all asking to know 'how exactly can I order from Taobao?'. So to all of you, shop addicts, here's an explanation to help you understand how to use this website.

First of all, I know, the website is ONLY in Chinese. It doesn't mean you have to give up on the pleasure of buying cheap products, though... Try to use Google Translator. Even if the translation isn't accurate, most of the time you can still understand the meaning.

You first step should be registration. How? Find here the perfect explanation, including pictures.

Next - search and choose for products. Here and here you can read about the process of searching and ordering. Read carefully the part about sellers evaluation - for your own sake, only order from stores with high feedback rates.

Now to the more complicated part. You're done searching, you found what you need, and you want to order something. First, check with the store owner that they actually have the item in stock. Many times store owners put on sale items the don't carry at the moment. How do you contact the seller? Full explanation here, and also some questions in Chinese, to help you communicate.

After you made sure that the store has the item you want, it's time to order. First you need to have money in your Ali-Pay. Ali-Pay is kind of a Chinese Pay Pal. When you use Ali-Pay to pay the store, you're protected - if there's a problem with the order, Ali-Pay carry the responsibility to either solve the problem or refund your money. The best way to deposit money to your Ali-Pay account, is to use someone living in China or visiting China, and to ask him to go to the post office there and deposit money for you. You can deposit a large amount, that will stay in your account until you use it. Here's an explanation on how to deposit money through the Chinese post office. After you got someone to deposit the money for you, you need to get the number that is written on the slip and the password this person had chosen for you. With this number and password you can deposit the money online.

Time to order. Fill out a few details and your order is on the way to you! If you're sending to an address within China (if you have someone just sitting there and waiting for your packages...), then you're done. If you're sending anywhere else - check in advance with the seller that he can send it abroad. You can also remit money through your bank directly to the seller's account, but make sure that the seller is 100% trustworthy, because if you don't get what you ordered, you have no where to turn to ask your money back.

I used Taobao dozens of times, and never had a problem. In the one time I was missing one item out of a big order, I talked to the seller and he immediately refunded the money for the item I didn't get. Again, it is SUPER IMPORTANT to buy only from someone with high feedback rates, especially if you're not in China.

That's it, I think that should do. If you have any questions, you're more than welcome to contact me or leave a comment below. Promise I'll get back to you!

Coming soon - A tutorial for felt food!