Wuxia Edge - Ancient Chinese Series Blog
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Tutorial: How to buy things on Taobao
Taobao is like one of the only places in the world that you can buy things related to Ancient Chinese Series/Wuxia.
Wouldn’t you like to get your little hands on these? They’re cheap too!
The Tutorial
Firstly, let me just explain that Taobao is very similar to ebay, the
only difference I have spotted seems that it’s less of an auction site,
more of a buy it now.
I’ve been able to buy Chinese Paladin pendants, rare DVDs, posters,
The Legend of Qin toys, and so much more. I know most of you probably
want to buy toys/collectibles related to Ancient Chinese Series but as
you probably guessed, you won’t find it on ebay… Or in the stores!
1. Let’s first look at Taobao.
(Click image to enlarge)
The main thing you need to recognize is the search bar!
2. Determine what you want to buy. You must know the Chinese
characters of what you’re interested in. Here are some examples below:
Chinese Paladin 仙剑奇侠传 (pinyin: xianjianqixiazhuan)
Legend of the Condor Heroes 射雕英雄传 (pinyin: shediaoyingxiongzhuan)
The Legend of Qin/Qin’s Moon 秦时明月 (pinyin: qinshimingyue)
Use Dramawiki to help you find other names!
Sometimes, if you know the pinyin of the Chinese characters, you can
try typing it in. It should still come up with the right terms, but the
pinyin, not the English name… So you would search for “qinshimingyue”
and not “Qin’s Moon”.
3. So, let’s put in our search and see what we want.
If you are searching for a specific item, like poster, or figure, or pendant, here are some words that might help you:
Toy/figure 玩具
Plushie dolls 娃娃
Pendants 吊坠
Games 游戏
Posters 海报
You can also use Google translator to help: http://translate.google.com/
(Follow the steps on this picture to get the word you want)
4. Let’s say, you found what you wanted…
So, you want this pendant here. Copy the URL!
http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=12235824266&spm=a230z.1.10.2
Same this URL somewhere, like notepad/word document. Remember to also put a description and price.
5. We need to now find a Taobao Agent. Let me explain what that is.
Taobao is the Chinese ebay, but it operates mostly within China.
You’ll need a Chinese bank account to transfer money and most of them
ship to only China. A Taobao Agent will buy the item for you, and for a
5-10% fee, they will ship the item FROM china to your location… Usually,
you can work paypal with them.
Taobao Agents will help you, the international buyer – get your product from China, without you having to be there.
Of course, they charge a fee and shipping to the USA/Canada or any other countries usually require more money…
I am going to recommend Taobao Spree: http://www.taobaospree.com/
I’ve used them numerous times, they have been very easy to deal with,
prompt, and always ships my things fast, and they are pretty cheap too!
Of course, there are many more out there and you may like to do your
own research before using a specific one. However, because I have
personally used Taobao Spree has gotten my items easily, I recommend
them.
Another reason why I recommend them is because they always tell me if
they think an item is pirated, or not as good… They really seem to care
about your items and try to help you! They actually take the time to
tell you the DVDs you’re buying may not be the official ones!
6. Email/Contact the people on Taobao Spree or whatever Taobao agent
you chose. You need to usually provide the following details -
Item Name
Item URL
Item Quantity
In Taobao Spree’s case, go on the order form: http://www.taobaospree.com/order_form.htm
There is exact information to how to contact them. They should reply fairly quickly (unless it’s a Chinese holiday, or weekend).
7. They will confirm information with you, and once everything is set
up, they will ask you to pay them the required amount plus fees (minus
the final shipping fee).
After you pay them (usually through paypal), they will buy the item.
You will wait a week or two, before hearing back from them. They will
tell you they got your money but usually won’t reply until the item is
on their hands, or if they need any additional information, eg: If you
are buying cosplay outfits, they will ask for sizes…
8. Usually when the item arrives, the Taobao Agent will send an email
to confirm its arrival! Sometimes, they even send a few pictures to
prove it. If you want to see pictures, you can always ask them.
For example:
If you bought a lot of other items at the same time, they can hold
the item until everything arrives, so you only have to pay one shipping
fee.
9. Taobao Agents usually will only use EMS, for safety reasons.
When everything arrives and you are ready for it to be shipped to
you, ask for shipping request and they will send you the final shipping
fee (ranges anywhere between $30-50) – because usually the items are
super heavy and EMS is rather expensive.
10. Pay them, and make sure the address in your PAYPAL ADDRESS is
what you want to use, because that’s the address they will send it to.
Feel free to confirm it with them.
When they ship it, they should give you a tracking number.
Recommended Taobao Sellers:
Chinese Cosplay Outfits: http://mizuyoshi.taobao.com/
Word of Advice:
Usually, items on Taobao is really cheap, but do consider the final
shipping fee – as you literally have to pay two lots of Shipping fees,
one is from Taobao seller to Taobao Agent. That is usually very cheap
though… And the final shipping is from Taobao Agent to you.
Don’t always choose the cheapest one!
Look at feedback and seller ratings, you can find them here:
If you buy cosplay outfits, you will need to know a lot of measurements. However, the Taobao Agent will usually ask that.
Please be aware that Taobao Agents usually cannot ship metal swords. So, only attempt to buy the wooden/blunt swords.
Good luck with buying on Taobao!
If you need any help, or would like to share your experiences and tips on buying things from Taobao, feel free to comment below.
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24 Comments
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Discussion
redred says
2014-09-05 06:38:20Hi. I have this problem – when i want to pay item more than 2000 Yuan, it says that:
Sorry, you can not complete the payment!
Cumulative payments exceed the limit of 2000.00 yuan
You may need to: choose other means of payment.
I Change to others method of payment, but still cant proceed.
Please help. Thank you.
taobaosoeasy says
2014-01-07 04:25:56I love those dresses. Good thing you find it easy to buy from their site. There are lots of good reviews I have heard about Taobao but when I get there, it’s very hard to read
I’ve googled and found this amazing site http://taobaosoeasy.com/, cheap anime costumes and affordable trendy clothes which I think, are from Taobao
Jade says
2013-11-17 08:06:06Huh?
Oh drat! There I was, wanting my own 柳葉刀 too!
Hāhā~
Have your experiences with that agent been that good? I’m a bit worried – my mum is too – that maybe there could be some new employee with… sticky fingers.
I used a really good agent, but everything is in Simplified and I don’t really like that. This might sound like a silly question, but does Taobao have books and things like that in Traditional? I’m quite obsessive when it comes to languages. I’d even buy a copy of my order if I could get it in Traditional. Is there a key word or something that would help with searching?
I’m sorry if my questions are queer.
sapphiresky says
2013-11-19 04:51:55The agent has been really great, I haven’t had any problems yet and they are helpful in telling me about infos, and I’ve gotten everything I have ordered without any mistakes/things missing.
About simplified/traditional, I have no idea cos I never even read Chinese lol
XiaoLongNu says
2013-10-11 04:43:37It’s an awesome Chinese dress up games website I’ve been to, and includes amazing dress up games for several popular ancient series! They need to make a Gujian dress up game!
sapphiresky says
2013-10-13 10:40:23OMG yess i agree, I actually saw some Gujian cosplay outfits for the show, i really think they should do those dresup games. Wait are you talking about online ones or real life?
XiaoLongNu says
2013-10-02 08:49:56Ever heard of Caihongtang?
sapphiresky says
2013-10-04 01:05:45No, I haven’t :O What is it?
Edit: Wait, is it a type of candy?
Taobaobuying says
2013-09-25 02:18:02taobao,the biggest online shop in China.because the cheapest price ,Efficient way and good quality,more and more people like buying from it.but for the foreigners,they want to buy the items from it,there are some problems ,such as: Payments, freight problem
some taobao sellers will add the price for the foreigners,but for them,they don’t understand chinese,usually buy the expensive than Chinese people
so now,they need the agent that can help them buy the items from China.
If someone meet trouble of buying from taobao or other Chinese online shops.
Taobaobuying could help you!
Taobaobuying is a experienced, professional and efficient group.We help people in overseas to buy goods from China shopping website.Low service fee,cheap international shipping cost with high quality service.Don’t hesitate any more!To be your taobao agent,enjoy your taobao shopping!
more information,pls view our web: http://www.taobaobuying.com
pls feel free to ask if you have any question to my Email: taobaobuyingservice@gmail.com
XiaoLongNu says
2013-09-20 05:06:03Okay, there’s a bunch of QingXue costumes there, and I’d love a full set, as accurate as possible. But I’ve got rules:
No animal products, including silk(animal rights activist in training)
No used costumes
No sweatshops or child labor(rights activist in general)
Full set, if any at all
sapphiresky says
2013-09-20 09:28:22Hmm I think it would be really difficult to know if they use animal products or used costumes. Maybe you can ask the taobao people to ask the shop people ? I can’t even read chinese to know any of that><
Taobaobuying says
2013-09-04 12:59:27Hello, My name is Minnie
I am a Taobao buying assistant from China.
Taobao is the largest online retail and wholesale website in China, we at Taobao buying assist customers in the purchase of items from taobao.com and forward their shipments from China to the rest of the world at a low cost.
We also assist our customers by communicating with sellers on their behalf, we can inspect our customers products upon request before shipping internationally for no extra charge.
How does it work?
1: Buyer sends us links to desired items including colours/sizes/quantity
2: We send you the invoice for your selected items and domestic shipping (+10% our fee)
3: Buyer sends payment
4: We purchase your items from sellers
5: We inspect your order and invoice you for international shipping
6: Buyer sends payment for international shipping and items are shipped within 1 business day
We ship with your choice of EMS, DHL, UPS, TNT or China Post
*We offer 45% discount off the EMS official pricing for EMS shipments*
If you have any questions or would like to make a order please don’t hesitate to contact me and I will assist you and give you a professional Taobao buying experience.
We have been serving our customers since 2009 and I am looking forward to assisting you with your Taobao buying needs.
- Minnie
Web: http://www.taobaobuying.com
Email: taobaobuyingservice@gmail.com
Skype: piepei12
XiaoLongNu says
2013-08-25 11:38:05Well said,then-I’m making an account. But I’ll need a lot of help
sapphiresky says
2013-08-26 03:33:59Awesome, let me know if you do need help! I’ll do my best.
XiaoLongNu says
2013-08-20 06:52:10I’d love some cosplay outfits;) Especially one for Feng Qingxue. Do you know where I can get one? If you do, I’m considering making an account(assuming I can get around it okay without Chinese being my primary language).
sapphiresky says
2013-08-24 10:55:44OMG YESSS feng qingxue’s outfit is BEAUTIFUL and i would love to wear it too!!!!!!!!!!!!
GREAT IDEA :O you can try it but you should get it through taobao spree, they make it easy for you, particularly with paying. i dont think you can pay to taobao directly without a chinese bank.
passerby:) says
2014-01-30 08:48:31I wouldn’t suggest you to make an account, cuz I did and its useless if you don’t have a address for them to send to in china and you won’t be able to pay, cuz you will have a hard time trying to verify yourself in alipay, their type of paypal. They have however, a way to add in international credit cards, but I haven’t find out how exactly to get there. They also have this taobao storage to keep your goods so it can be sent overseas but it can only be used for buy it now product, no the ones that they need to make it after you pay. Hope that helps.
5Water says
2013-08-17 10:17:40What a long, detailed tutorial! Thank you so much! When I have more time (and money to buy what I would want), I will look at this tutorial again and get myself some of those wuxia items!
sapphiresky says
2013-08-24 10:50:32THANK YOU I AM SO HAPPY you thought this was detailed. i hope you get to buy some things
ahning74 says
2013-07-09 03:42:19I wonder if there’s a site or anything that sells the bells Lin Yue’ru and Li Xiao Yao have? I would love love to order those. I mean, who wouldn’t?
sapphiresky says
2013-07-09 09:07:49Ohh Hmm yes taobao sold it :O I actually bought one!!
loveyoubebe says
2013-01-08 01:11:21This website http://china-cart.com/c.asp?page=1&i=762 is also a site to Ancient Chinese Clothings. Or you could just type in chinacart.com IF you’re using Google Chrome, beacuse I typed in http://www.chinacart.com and it didn’t work. This site has tons of things ranging from shoes, crafts, clothes, hair accessories, and many more things. Also the price ranges from the types of clothes.
http://china-cart.com/d.asp?a=Ancient+Chinese+Tang+Dynasty+Beauty+Costume+and+Hair+Accessories+for+Women&d=22078
http://china-cart.com/d.asp?a=Ancient+Chinese+Fairy+Costume+and+Hair+Accessories+for+Women&d=22077
Here are two clothings that I very much liked and I hope everyone will check this site out also.
sapphiresky says
2013-01-08 09:42:19OMG I LOOOOOVEEEE Chinacart! That’s like the first place I ever bought Ancient chinese clothing! Their outfits are just beautiful! I got a Xuejian outfit from them, including the wig too! Thank you so much for posting those links, I adooore the fairy costumes, they are just gorgeous!
Bumbleberri says
2012-07-31 01:03:15Haha wow you know so much! I’ve always wondered about Taobao since a lot of people in the forums I’ve gone to always mention about this site. Next time I shop here, I follow these steps, thanks!
Oh and btw, my Huang Rong tutorial is up at my blog if you’d like to check it out! LOL but its kinda shabby cuz of lighting and stuff…