Taobao agent advice?

[mul-ta]

TL;DR: Could anybody recommend a taobao agent that works in the evening?

They don't need to be the cheapest out there, just reliable and with good customer service. So far I've been using Taobaoring (TBR) which is all good, but they only work until 6 pm Beijing time. Right now I'd like someone who can talk to a seller in the evening. I asked TBR if they could either do that or purchase the items without confirming with the seller first. The answer was an indirect no, which is quite understandable, but means I will have to take my business elsewhere. At least BaseTao states that they work until 8:30 pm, which should be enough. Has anybody been dealing with them lately? Opinions? Recommendations?

[Moonbreeze]

I usually use Ebeebuy. Next to contact by email they also offer communication via Skype.
Not sure about working hours though. I am a bit slow myself and usually reply to them in the morning.

[mul-ta]

Thanks Moonbreeze, maybe I'll check Ebeebuy out. I'm probably thinking and plotting too much about this though – it may simply be that the seller is not worth doing business with if they do not care to reply to messages.

[LadyMoondancer]

I use BaseTao, they've been fine for me.  However I never try to contact sellers about anything.  So I don't know how that would go.  I just order the items (via their Taobao number) on BaseTao, and then BaseTao orders them for me.

They do have holiday periods where they don't do any business at all (like around the Chinese Lunar Year festival).  Not just for a day or two, but for a week or more.  They always announce it in advance on their website.

[mul-ta]

^ Gracious Lady! I continue to be much amused by your tumblr.

I haven't tried to talk to the seller myself, either. I might know just enough Chinese to get the job done, but I'm not sure if the seller would take kindly to a random foreigner contacting them out of the blue. Actually, any serious agent typically contacts the seller as a part of their order process, because many taobao sellers list stock that is actually not there, and it is generally easier to check with the seller in advance than to buy an item that does not exist. The reason why you don't need to think about these things is that your agent of choice has been doing their job well.

My problem is that the seller and my usual agent are essentially never online at the same time, because their daily business hours do not match. The seller has not replied to the offline messages left by the agent, and there is no way for me to know why. Is the seller rotten? (Does not seem so to me, but I guess you never know.) Or is it because of something the agent has said or done? (Like, barraged the seller with messages? I would be suspicious and/or annoyed, too.) Nobody has paid anyone anything, so no imminent danger there. I'm just vexed because I'm not able to buy an interesting, rare, somewhat expensive item that I ultimately can live without.

[LadyMoondancer]

Thank you, I aim to amuse!

Well, I will say this:  on the few times when I've given the BaseTao people specific requests for a seller, they've come through.

Like, there was a seller who had "egg fakies" (G4-ish fakies in eggs), but the only one I really wanted was the one in the yellow egg. (Because she had Glory's symbol.)  So I ordered 4 or 5, and mentioned something like "I'm especially hoping to get the yellow egg."  And thanks to BaseTao I got an order of nothing BUT yellow eggs, LOL!

Similarly, they contacted a seller to specify that I wanted the Concerned pony set of "My Lovely Horse".

However, there is a language barrier . . . The BaseTao people speak English, but not exactly well.  If you are asking for a specific item, it helps to have a picture to send them.

As far as general ordering of goods, that goes smoothly.  They get items from the Taobao sellers quite quickly.

For context, I only buy ponies and Transformers on Taobao, and maybe the occasional crazy shirt, so I don't have any experience with other categories.

[mul-ta]

Thanks for sharing that. Based on what you say, BaseTao sounds like an option. Do you know if they still offer skype or livechat support, or have you just been emailing them?

[LadyMoondancer]

Their website is not the most intuitive, so it took me a while before I figured out how to send messages!  There's no Skype or email.  There's a sort of PM system where your messages are associated with a particular item.

So, to ask about an item, you put it in your shopping cart.  At that point you can "Add Note" to ask a question.  The BaseTao people will contact the seller to ask whatever, then will add their own note with the answer.

They also use notes to let you know when an item is out of stock and such.

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