Taobao Shopping Service - Local
Taobao.com Shopping Service - Singapore
If this is your first time using my service, or you're here by accident, please read this. Yes I know it's very wordy, but you only need to read it once. I swear. Seriously, please do read everything. It's your precious money we're talking about. Don't spend it without knowing what you're spending it on.
*Note: For Singapore only. Overseas shopping service goes by a different system and rates which you can view on this page.
WHY TAOBAO.COM
- Taobao.com is a Chinese version of Ebay
- Buying direct from China is cheap because you've buying direct from their factories
- Great variety of cheap and unique stuff
- Shopping paradise for subculture hobbyists like cosplayers, lolitas and doll collectors.
WHY A SHOPPING SERVICE
To buy from Taobao.com, you need:
- Chinese bank account or Alipay account (the Chinese version of Paypal) to make payments
- To know Chinese to communicate with sellers, understand product descriptions and navigate the website
- A logistics company in China to consolidate your purchases and ship to you
If you don't have any of the above, here's where I come in.
WHY ME
- I have all the above-mentioned.
- I have a year's experience purchasing from Taobao for myself and friends, previously through shopping services, and now on my own.
- I spend a lot of time online and am able to give very fast responses.
- I have organized local GOs. Check out my Feedback page for my good feedback.
- Most importantly, I'm knowledgeable about subculture hobbies (lolita, cosplay, bjds), something that most regular shopping services lack. I can help you to ask the sellers to address concerns unique to your purchase.
WHAT YOU CAN BUY
Anything in any quantity (as long there's sufficient stock) from any seller, except branded products, brand replicas, electronics, dvds and liquid items as such items are notorious for being confiscated or held up at the China customs.
I can request the logistics company to mark down the value of the shipment so you don't get hit by customs.
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST
I do 2 types of shopping service - Group Order (GO) and Individual.
Group Order
GOs are hosted whenever I myself have things to buy from Taobao. I don't charge participants additional service fees since by splitting shipping costs with me, they're already helping me to save money.
However, since we have to wait for everybody's orders to be finished, especially made-to-order ones, waiting time for the entire shipment would be longer even if your own items are instock items. Usually, I do try to cap the waiting time to a month.
There is no fixed date for GOs since I don't shop on schedule. If you want to know when I open a GO, please watch this page for updates. I might consider setting up a mailing list if the demand is there.
Current GOs:
August - OPEN
I also do not require a minimum number of participants or cap the maximum number of participants. I do cap orders at $400 and below to avoid custom fees so I don't have to mark down the shipment value. You may get as few as just 2 participants, or as many as 8 participants in a GO. The shipping costs could vary with the number of people.
Individual Order
You can place orders any time. You won't have to wait for other participants' items. The entire shipment is yours. This is good for those who need their items urgently. There will be a 5% service charge on the cost of your shipment, excluding shipping fees to Singapore.
Calculating the costs
For both GO and Individual Order, the currency exchange rates and shipping rates are the same. Only the shipping costs are different, and GO participants don't pay shopping service fees.
For both, 3 sets of payments are required - Payment for purchase, payment for shipping to Singapore & payment for shipping within Singapore (optional).
1) Payment for Purchase
Covers:
- Cost of item
- Domestic shipping within China
- Currency conversion rate for topping up my Alipay account
- 5% service charge - Individual Order only (Purchasing from Taobao is not as simple as you may think. For details, see 'How it works' section below)
Take This blouse for example. It costs 228rmb. Domestic shipping fee （快递) is 10 rmb.
Currency conversion rate for my alipay top up is 1 SGD = 4.5 RMB (subject to change if market fluctuates).
For GO participants, cost of item in SGD is (228 + 10) / 4.5 = SGD 52.90
For Individual shoppers, cost of item in SGD is [(228 + 10) / 4.5] x 105% = SGD 55.60
This method of calculation is the same no matter how many items you buy. Here's a tip though. Buying multiple items from the same store could save you domestic shipping fees as most sellers only charge the fee once per shipment.
2) Payment for Shipping To Singapore
My logistics company goes with Dpex which typically charges 22 SGD for first 500g and 5 SGD for subsequent 500g. This rate may fluctuate slightly based on exchange rates in China.
For individual shipping, shipping cost is simply based on what the logistics company quotes.
For GO shipping, it's a little more complicated. The base cost is split equally among the number of participants. The rest of the cost of the shipment is calculated based on the weight of each person's items.
Now for some serious Maths.
For example, the shipment weighs 5.1 kg. The total cost of the shipment is thus $22 + $6 x 10 = SGD 82.
There are 3 people in the GO.
A's items weigh 1.7kg which is 1/3 of the entire shipment.
B's items weigh 0.5kg which is 1/10 of the entire shipment.
C's items weigh 2.5 kg, which is 1/2 of the entire shipment.
(doesn't add up? don't forget, the carton adds weight too)
A's shipping fees will be ($22 / 3) + (1/3 x $60) = SGD 27.40
B's shipping fees will be ($22 / 3) + (1/10 x $60) = SGD 13.40
C's shipping fees will be ($22 / 3) + (1/2 x $60) = SGD 37.40
I will fork out the excess.
As you can see, the more people join, the less each pays since the base fee is quite expensive. But if your items are very heavy, don't expect your shipping fees to be too cheap.
Because I don't know how much your purchases weigh and I don't know how many people will eventually join the GO (unless you are the last participant), please understand that I can't quote an exact figure for your shipping fee. As such, I only collect shipping fees after the items have reached me so I can weigh the items. If you have a budget, let me know and I'll try to help you estimate whether the shipping fees will turn out too costly for you.
3) Payment for Shipping within Singapore (Optional)
If you can meet me at my absolute convenience, I will do a meet-up with you. No additional delivery charges.
If you can't meet me at my convenience, you may choose postage. Please note that you'll also have to pay for packaging material. And for items weighing more than 2kg, you'll have to use Speedpost. which is pretty costly.
How this works
Stage 1: Verify item status with sellers
1. I will help you to check the availability of your item at no charge and no obligations.
2. I will confirm your purchases and specifications with you, including the exact cost of your purchase. If there is any information that you need to know which you didn't understand from the item description (e.g. if there's a disclaimer that you won't be getting the same type of fabric), I'll inform you. If you need anything translated, I can also do it for free.
Stage 2: Purchase Items
3. I will quote you the total cost and you'll pay me via bank transfer.
4. I will top up my Alipay account and purchase your items.
How would you know that I've placed your order successfully? I go by the user name kurodatenshi on Taobao. Once I've informed you that I ordered and paid for your item, my username will appear under the 成交纪录 tab of the item page. So rest assured that I actually used your money to buy your items.
5. I will monitor the status of the items and hurry the seller if they've overshot the promised deadline.
6. When the seller has shipped your purchase, I will contact the logistics company to check if they have received the item from the seller.
Stage 3: Shipping from China to Me
7. When all items are shipped to the logistics company, I will pay them and have them ship the items to me.
8. Once items get to me, I will do all the necessary weighing and stuff and inform you how much you have to pay for shipping fees, which you can pay via bank transfer or during meet-up.
9. Items delivered to you either through meet-up or local postage.
Disclaimer
I disclaim responsibility from the following:
Quality checks
I am not based in China and I cannot conduct quality checks for you. The logistics company will check that they got the right item in terms of obvious features like quantity and colours, but they will not check for problems like wrong sizing and quality (damage, different material etc).
Bear in mind that you run a risk of receiving a wrong or defect item due to a seller's mistake for which I will not be held responsible for since I've already done my part to verify the item specifications with you.
Unforeseen Delays
Sometimes, sellers may overshoot promised deadlines due to various reasons. One reputable seller made me wait an extra month and a half for my purchase because her factory had to relocate. Again, this isn't something within my control. I can only ensure that they eventually get your item shipped out or try to get them to give a refund.
The only way to reduce the possibility of above cases happening is to purchase from sellers with good feedback (check with me if you're not sure).
Lost / Damaged Packages
The shipping companies that have been used are reliable so far, but accidents do happen and packages could go missing or damaged from unforeseen circumstances. If you're worried about this, I will not ask the logistics company to mark down the shipment value.
Phew! Thanks for reading! If you'd like to proceed with your order, go on to the blue box below. Remember that inquiries are non-obligatory and non-chargeable! ^^ If you have further questions about this service, don't hesitate to email me or leave a comment here!
Send an email to
with the following information per item:
Shipping location: Include city and zip code
Item Page Link:
Quantity:
Measurements: (for things like clothes and doll clothes)
Specifications e.g. colour, fabric etc.
If you can't understand Chinese and don't know what options are available, I will explain to you. Just make sure the Item page link is there! ^^
Graphics from:
