Taobao is a Chinese online store designed for the end user. The system operates according to the C2C protocol. What it is? This is a special form of electronic commerce that consists in the sale of products and the provision of services by consumers to each other. The platform acts as an intermediary between the buyer and seller. A platform was created by a famous company with one goal - to facilitate transactions with consumers and sellers, it does not matter whether retail trade or wholesale. There are often positive reviews about Taobao, although there are negative points, and it is quite obvious that a single opinion cannot be formed at all.
General site data
The platform offers customers a wide range of different products for every taste. These are clothes, shoes, accessories, hats, various household appliances and other consumer goods. There are new products with a guarantee, as well as second-hand ones. Those who bought at Taobao gave different reviews, because it all depends on the seller, product quality and the buyer (if he didn’t like something, he is unlikely to leave a good recommendation, even if the deal went perfectly). Sales are possible at a fixed cost or contractual, there is also an auction. Previously, in order to register on the portal, it was necessary to have an account with a Chinese bank and a Chinese operator’s number, now things are different, everything has become easier and this is what users say in reviews when buying on Taobao. The main competitors of the company are Dangdang.com and 360buy.com.
Now Taobao is a world leader in the sale of shoes, clothes and accessories. China annually creates a lot of interesting things that are in demand all over the world. Even eminent brands have established the production of their things in China. This is due to the fact that one can find inexpensive labor in China, due to which it will be possible to produce goods of excellent quality at a bargain price. Feedback on orders from Taobao says that many users fell in love with this platform, because it is successfully developing in the face of fierce global competition. Users like Chinese goods, some buy them exclusively on the network, because in ordinary markets or boutiques everything comes out many times more expensive.
In addition, Chinese manufacturers always follow fashion trends and trends, their clothes are of quality, style, they are modern and unusual, and many people are looking for just that. A lot of users buy things at this site, because it is much more profitable than buying an outfit in a regular store, and you can save not only money, but time and effort. At Taobao, products with reviews are in great demand, because people trust the opinions of others.
Reason for popularity
Today, Taobao occupies the first position among popular online stores, and there are reasons for this. The portal is popular with a large selection of things and different products, it is known for affordable prices, discounts, promotions and auctions. When shopping at Taobao, consider feedback from other people first. The recommendations are always true; nobody buys other people's opinions to look their best.
On the net you will find negative comments from those who don’t like that the portal’s interface is Chinese. Because opinions and negative, people simply could not figure out the language barrier. It is recommended that you simply use the store in a browser with a built-in translator. It will be useful to read various recommendations on working with the site, as well as customer reviews about Taobao.
What are the sizes of clothes?
Each user will be able to pick up goods from China, clothes or shoes. On the portal you will find a variety of clothing sizes, ranging from XS and XXS to 4-5 XL. Those who ordered Taobao leave positive reviews, the site works around the clock, so making a purchase is not difficult. Each product on the site has a quality guarantee. If a thing is sent to you, but it is damaged, then the portal administration will surely deal with this issue and return the money spent to you. Therefore, maybe there are so many customer reviews on Taobao that they were satisfied with the cooperation and will not exchange the site for any other.
More about the site
Ordering goods from users does not take much time, but do not forget that buying a product in China will have to wait at least three weeks, but a big plus is the cost savings. The fact is that many sellers in the CIS countries have already set up a certain business for themselves: to buy goods in China and sell in their cities, countries with a large margin. So why should you overpay, is it not better to wait a bit, but to save one more thing on the saved money?
If you are tied to a specific date, then hurry to order the goods in advance (preferably a couple of months) in order to accurately receive it on time. If you have questions, you can even contact the site support and find out more about everything. Questions can also be asked to sellers from whom you wish to purchase this or that thing.
Attention! All purchases on the portal are made out after full prepayment, goods are delivered to almost anywhere in the world.
On the portal you will find a huge catalog of products, which includes a very different number of items. The catalog is updated daily, each seller is trying to offer customers cooperation on favorable terms for both parties. Unfortunately, you cannot try on your favorite clothes in advance, so carefully read the size chart on the portal, if necessary, contact the seller to find out all the details.
The portal has an extremely convenient search system, which will allow you to pick up any product you like. Each product has a detailed description in the catalog, because the customer will know everything about a future purchase in advance, review photos and read customer reviews on Taobao, with or without photos.
Historical excursion
Starting in January 2014, any person from anywhere in the world can register at Taobao. You only need to indicate the mobile phone number of the country where the person who wants to register resides. An SMS message with account activation will come to this phone. All products on the portal are paid using Visa cards. Read reviews about Taobao online store from satisfied Russian-speaking customers and make sure there’s nothing to fear and you can save on purchases right now!
Back in 2008, the turnover of the main corporation amounted to about one hundred billion yuan, which is about fifteen billion US dollars. The share of Taobao itself amounted to approximately 1% of transactions in the Chinese market, and this is an incredible amount.
As of 2011, Taobao already accounted for 80% of online sales, and the number of users who opened an account on the site exceeded 370 million.
According to Xinhua News correspondents, in 2012 the turnover of Taobao and the Alipay payment system reached one trillion yuan, which is comparable exclusively with the turnover of eBay and Amazon.
In 2011, information appeared that the Alibaba Group Corporation decided to reorganize the company and divide it into three components. The main goal is to increase competitiveness and develop different models of doing business. As you can see, the idea was successful, because now all the portals of the Alibaba Group company bring huge income to the owners.
Buy, buy and buy again?
Feedback on Taobao's work is positive, negative, and neutral. Buying goods there or not is up to you. To calm your conscience, you should make a trial order and look at the system. Of course, you can focus on reviews about Taobao. There are a lot of them in the network, and many are written in a positive way, because no one can make a choice for you. Trusting customers or not is a purely individual matter.
How to buy goods?
You can find a lot of reviews about Taobao online, which tells how to make purchases. It is easy to do if you understand how the site works. An ordinary user who is not familiar with Chinese stores can be difficult at first, because it is worth publishing a brief instruction on how to make purchases on this portal. First you need to register on the site. So you can communicate with sellers, see the entire range of goods exhibited on the site - the fact is that there are stores that can be seen exclusively by registered users, while others open a limited number of pages without registration, and further viewing requires password entry. Registration will take you no more than ten minutes.
Step one. Product selection
First you need to go to the Taobao website itself. Here you will find a lot of information, including in the form of hieroglyphs. As already mentioned, you can use a special browser that automatically translates pages. Once you understand the interface, you can go directly to the directory, where you will see a variety of categories. Yes, when translating, half of the information loses its meaning and you can only guess what is at stake, therefore use filters from above (price range, sorting by popularity, and so on). Choose a product? Go to his page and be careful when viewing descriptions.
Step Two Attentiveness test
There are a lot of reviews on Taobao in Russian, so watch and study them carefully. Often write useful information about clothing sizes. Always look at the products, photos and options that are placed on the page. Do not think, if the size "M" is indicated, then this is exactly this size! It also happens that jeans, indicated as XXXL, can be 88 centimeters in the hips - and this is not an isolated case. Reviews about this in Russian will definitely tell you about this at Taobao.
Do not forget that “Taobao” is a Chinese clothing site, so strange sizes of things can get there, which do not even correspond to European ones. Learn pictures and recommendations of bloggers, other people. Many guys from Russia leave detailed reviews on Taobao so that it is easier for others to buy.
Here are some recommendations from others: it’s better to take a size larger than the other way around. Big clothes are easier to take off, but small-size ones are found all the time. Inattentive guys who buy small clothes, after trying to resell it on the Internet and often unsuccessfully, because the competition is great and there is also a choice.
Step Three Delivery
There is free delivery in China on the portal, but you need to look for it. Yes, you will have to pay extra for transportation to your destination, but if you can save a little, then why not take advantage of this. A lot of stores on the portal offer free shipping, usually these are manufacturers from Beijing. Choose goods from them, for example, if you do not want to overpay a lot.
Do not forget: you still have to pay for delivery - this is the position of the site, there is nothing to be done about it. You can read reviews with photos on Taobao and make sure that delivery is paid.
Fourth step. Price issue
Use the photo search to order products at the best value. Many sellers on the portal offer the same product, and prices may vary significantly. For example, a T-shirt at Russian prices can range from 180 to 750 rubles, while all the characteristics are exactly the same. Of course, it’s better to buy a product cheaper, but how to find this profitable product?
Fifth step. Checkout
Do you like the product? Confident about your choice? Then you can proceed to payment. It is very simple to do, there are many ways on the portal. Visa card payment is one of them. Transfer of funds should be made in parts: for the goods themselves and delivery services. This is not so expensive if you purchase more than one item, but collect the kit or order things with your friends (just split the shipping amount between yourself and save money this way). Unfortunately, you will not immediately know how much the delivery will cost (it all depends on the weight), but you can roughly calculate this by contacting specialists for help.
By the way, as soon as the goods arrive at a warehouse in China, the buyer receives an SMS notification. Moreover, the goods are allowed to be stored free of charge for twenty days. This is very convenient, especially if you place an order with several sellers, wait until all the goods arrive at their destination, and send things to yourself with one package (this can save a little on shipping). When all the orders arrive at the warehouse, you can go to their list in your profile, click on the green button under the cost of any product to place the package in your country.
If you click on the blue button, then you will combine all the orders into one. It should be noted that this action is possible if the goods have already arrived at the warehouse. As soon as you combine them, you will see a window where the weight of the package and the total amount of delivery are indicated. If everything suits you, then click the orange button and send the order to your country. Upon completion, a window opens where you need to enter the delivery address. Pay shipping costs. If all is well, then at the end a message will appear indicating the completion of the order. Now it remains only to wait for your purchases.
What are the reviews on Taobao?
Everyone has different opinions, someone liked the portal, and now it is the only place for shopping, other people did not like it. You can even put together a fashionable wardrobe on Taobao by reviews and look perfect. To do this, just study the recommendations of famous beauty bloggers who are regular customers on this site. They will help other people figure out their purchases, place an order and recommend sellers, clothes or other things. Do not think that the portal has only clothes, the choice and range of products is huge! You can find positive reviews on Taobao about tulle and other things that are unusual at first glance.
Watch and analyze the situation. In some cases, it is better to refuse the purchase, especially if the reviews on the goods in the prevailing amount are unflattering. Be careful: it does not matter what you choose - clothes, shoes or bedding. Always read reviews on Taobao to make sure that the goods are delivered intact, and also make sure that they are of high quality!
What are the negative aspects noted by users?
As it was said, opinions on the portal differ - some liked it, others didn’t. Of the negative aspects, many note expensive delivery. Yes, delivery will be paid, and there is nothing to be done about it. Some users did not like that the portal is completely Chinese. Of course, it’s difficult to understand the hieroglyphs, but you can use the Chrome browser, which has an automatic translator, and everything will immediately become clear.
Among the negative aspects, users noted a long delivery. This is also not very good, but, unfortunately, all Chinese shops work this way, some deliver goods faster, others do not.
Still users did not like the "roulette game". What does it mean? Sometimes it is not clear which person will receive the goods (we are talking about size and quality). Many users are accustomed to European sizes, but things are different in China. Therefore, you need to study the size chart, customer reviews of your country, in order to determine the size and quality of a particular thing.
Another negative point was that people noted that packages could be lost along the way. Unfortunately, there may be problems with logistics, and the mail will not rush to resolve them. Usually, everything moves around China without problems, but abroad obstacles begin to meet in the way. In such situations, you can open a dispute on the portal and return your money.
Some users have noticed the unpleasant smell of packages, but even this is not the biggest problem. If you wish, you can simply ventilate things or wait a couple of days, and the smell itself will disappear.
In most cases, people are not happy with the delivery, or rather its delivery time, but there is nothing to be done about it - all the same, things are sent from another country.
Should I buy on the portal?
Before placing an order for Taobao, think: are you ready for this? To find a really worthwhile thing, you have to dig through a lot of unnecessary. If you intentionally go to the store, you will see more or less selected things, but here you will have to look for something interesting and unusual on your own. Prepare in advance for difficulties, because the package will not come to you in a couple of days, you will need to be patient for weeks.
This method is suitable for those who want to buy unique and interesting things that are hard to find elsewhere. One more difficulty may arise - it can be difficult to resist and buy only what you really need. You may not be the person who loves shopping and always leaves the shopping center with large packages, but still the temptation to Taobao is big, and you are unlikely to be able to resist attractive prices, beautiful and bright things, shoes and accessories.
What are some secrets to remember?
It is completely unprofitable on the site to buy goods for a small amount, this is not Aliexpress, where delivery is free. The commission on Taobao can be up to 25% if the purchase amount is up to sixteen dollars. Therefore, it is best to cooperate with friends or other people who want to order products on the site, but do not want to pay fabulous money for delivery.
Before buying - sort out the little things. It may even take several days, but it’s not scary, the main thing is to understand how everything works on the site. This is not easy, because many people prefer other sites. However, you will be satisfied with the outcome - things on the portal are inexpensive, extraordinary, and by cooperating with others, you can save a lot on delivery.
“Taobao” is an excellent portal that allows you to buy things at competitive prices, if everything is properly thought out and done. Of course, you can search for something else, this is only up to you, but you should read reviews on Taobao in Russian and then decide something.