Taobao has been going extra famous lately. Thought Iâd make a short Taobao shopping guide for those who want to try it out.
Taobao just sounds fancy due to its cheap prices, but itâs more than just online shopping. You need a lot of knowledge for you to be able to maximize itâs cheapness.Â
If you only plan to order a few wigs and items, itâll save you money and the hassle if you just order them locally instead of going to Taobao. Trust me.Â
Click here for a quick list of wig brands and their taobao sites
Click here for wig reviews
Disclaimer: I am no pro-Taobao shopper (lol) this is based on experience, my minimal Chinese language knowledge, and research. If you see any wrong information or would want to add up some stuff, feel free to message me.
Taobao is a Chinese marketplace, thus, Chinese characters, if you canât read Chinese, you can opt to use Google Translate, or Google Chromeâs lame translation, but that is kind of a hassle.
Taobao has its prices in RMB (renminbi) or CNY (Chinese Yen) written with  „ or ć
. More or less the equivalent of 1 CNY is 8PHP but may of course change.
Taobao consists of different sellers. If Taobao agents are doing this for a living, we can safely say that they know what they should do.
Taobao agents do the talking, place your orders, check them, combine orders so they can be shipped as one and the likes.
If you can speak Chinese, then go ahead and talk directly to sellers, but chances are, if youâre buying a lot of items, youâll save more with spending 10% on commission fee, than you will by shipping orders separately directly to the PH.
A few reliable Taobao agents are taobaospree, taobaotrends and taobaoring. Iâve personally tried out the last one, while the second one is suggested by most of my friends. We also have local Taobao agents such as Taobao Manila.
These shops normally accept Paypal or credit card payments, but some accept Western Union. Itâs best to browse through their FAQs section so you know the most convenient payment option for you.
Also, you might want to check the shipping courier they use, or if they allow courier request. Check out shipping info at the bottom of this post.
These agents normally take 10% commission fee of your total purchase. In addition, you also have to shoulder the local shipping from the supplier to the agentâs office. Minimum  price is at 15CNY per shop. So if youâre getting a few items from one shop, then chances are, youâll only get charged 15CNY nonetheless, unless the orders are too many or too bulky.
BTW, check on your orders along with the prices if itâs the same from Taobao. Iâve had experience wherein the order I had was by default on the max price of the range posted even though I selected the cheaper option.
When searching in a specific companyâs brand, each interface can be different. The best way to search is by means of choosing the color.
èČ means color in Chinese. Itâll easily narrow down your choices. However, some brands do not properly separate their wigs into colors, and can be incomplete.
Companies also usually line their wigs in terms of lengths, which can easily be identified through the metric system centimeter or cm.
You can also opt to type in the English titles on Google and grab on the Japanese titles, use the search function of your browser and itâll make the job easier as well. Of course this doesnât work all the time assome shops have image files for anime titles and so.
Hereâs a sample item interface from Taobao.
For feedback, itâs best to check on these legends to know if youâre dealing with legit companies. This range from hearts, to crowns in terms of successful transactions each company has done.
The icons at the bottom secures some more information.
As for sizes for costumes, you can quickly guess which one it is.
Donât be confused with the range price posted, once you select the choices, youâll get the exact amount you need to pay. At times, translators can fail you, this is where Taobao Agents come in. Most of them speak fairly good English so they can discuss with you and confirm with the seller what those words are if you canât grasp from the translation.
All you have to do now is place your orders to your chosen agent. Normally, theyâll confirm with you about clarifications, such as bangs style, add-ons, or availability of products.
This may vary from shop to shop, but the general idea goes as this:
this contains your total item cost + commission/service charge of agent + local shipping
this contains your international shipping charge to the Philippines, which may vary depending on your chosen courier.Â
 this is charged after theyâve received your items from the suppliers and checked them. Some agents would send in actual photos for you to see for yourself.
Different agents use different shipping options. One of the most common is through Express Mail Service or EMS. These agents normally get 40-50% discount than usual and will arrive in around 1-2 weeks and would blatantly suggest using it most of the time. However, based on personal experience, EMS can be the most surefire way for you to get taxed.. and a hefty amount at that. You even have to go to their office in Pasay if youâre from Manila. You can check out my experience with that through this link. On the other hand, those from the provinces are safer from tax compared from those in the metro.
You can opt to choose safer couriers such as Airmail. However, not all agents want to use a different courier. At the same time, Airmail can take a longer time of about 3-8 weeks but can be significantly cheaper. Plus, most of the time, it gets delivered to your house directly.
The first time I had something internationally shipped, I used DHL Express. It was for my BJD. I got taxed, but my item arrived safe and sound in the comfort of my home. Plus, they have a neat tracking system that updates you regularly on the status. Their customer service is pretty helpful too. But considering DHL as a private company, expect to pay more than the first two.
If you have any more questions, feel free to message me.
jbbartram-illu
jacobvanloon
annaxmalina
theartofmadeline
turnnoffyourmind
discoholicmusic