Taobao - Help Please!

[bronycraft]

Hi there!

I've been trawling through Taobao, and there is LOADS of stuff I would like to order! However - I have absolutely no idea how to do this haha. Could anybody help me out?  I've heard I'll need a Chinese agent, as you need a Chinese number to sign up, but would anybody be able to point me in the right direction?

Thanks so much in advance! I'd also be happy to piggyback on anybody else's Taobao order if that's easier!

[moving to Trader Support ~ many thanks ~ hathorcat]

[Galactica]

I use "Taobaonow.com" as my agent- it's pretty self explanatory when you check the site, it walks you through

[bronycraft]

Awesome! Thank you so much - so you've ordered from these, with no problems?

[Galactica]

Sure- they are a little slow, but reliable.  Sometimes you don't get what you ordered- but that is not the agent's fault so much as the seller-  keep in mind that it is near impossible to return things.  I just take that as a risk of doing business with Taobao.

There is another agent that will take pictures of what you ordered before sending it to you that some people have mentioned on here- but I don't know what agent that is.

[DaffyDilly]

I used Taobao Now, and my parcel (from them to me) went missing. It got tracked to the UK and then vanished into thin air. I spent a lot of time contacting postal services, carriers, customs etc and it'd never been received at customs. Taobao Now refused to refund/replace until they had a successful claim with Hong Kong Post which can take up to 6 months (according to Taobao Now) and as I was already near the PayPal claim window, I had no choice but to dispute in PayPal to get my money back, or risk losing it forever! I got blacklisted.

Just watch the PayPal deadlines

[bronycraft]

Oooh okay...that sounds like more effort than its worth haha.  Have you used any other companies daffy, or are they the only ones?

[Draikinator]

The Chinese postal service is notoriously unreliable. I had many packages lost while I lived there. Unlike the US where we had government run/monitored postage in China it is mainly run by private businesses. No matter where you go, big cities or little villages, you see these little bikes with these huge metal cars attached full of packages. I've literally seen a man in a delivery suit outside my apartment complex come out of the door with a package and throw it away. I have no idea why.
The easiest shipping via taobao is kuaidi which is this kind of usual shipping- it's usually the third option on the shipping stuff. So when these agents order things via taobao, they leave the seller a time and address for the shipping and they pay the delivery person when they arrive the shipping cost of the item. And they actually can haggle on this usually. But they probably aren't going to mention that to you lol.
So shipping in China is very unreliable and things are often lost. I've never used a taobao agent because i... well, I lived in China. I just had stuff delivered to my house. And now delivered to my friend's house and he just ships it to me in exchange for american snacks and toothpaste and stuff.

There's a couple of different companies though I believe? You ca usually google them. I know MFC has some topics with taobao agent service reviews with lots of information from people who use them.

[ashlite]

I wondered how Taobao worked! lol This has been a very informative little thread! I had no idea it was such a process!

[hathorcat]

I ll second Taobaonow.com as a good agent; they can be slow but considering the amount of horror stories I have heard over the years about other agents I consider them trustworthy. But always always remember when you are using these services there is a risk and a likely hood that, as in Daffys case, if something goes wrong you are not going to get very much help.

And with that I am moving this over to Trader Support.

[Galactica]

I agree you should never go with regular mail or airmail ALWAYS use EMS, they are not perfect but it is registered and you can at least track your package more easily.   

I am not surprised that Taobaonow didn't refund your purchase until after they received the insurance claim proceeds- I don't think that is how things operate there.  I would actually be surprised if any agent were willing to give you a refund in your situation (that is, before the claim process is conducted)

[bronycraft]

Thank you! I've decided to go and place an order with them this week

[CupidStrikes]

Just a note - unsure if you're aware but EMS's cost contributes to the customs limit here, and will always be handled by ParcelForce, and is more likely to be charged than regular mail. As Daffy said, tracking and insurance isn't a guarantee of safety or even getting your money back

This thread has been interesting, though! Let us know how everything goes :3

[Shiromisa]

I'll also rec Taobaonow! They've always been really polite and helpful to me, and worked with me on payment time when I was having a bit of unexpected financial trouble.