Taobao Shopping Guide
We know the struggle of opening up the Taobao site only to give up after getting overwhelmed by the information that's stopping you from completing your purchase. Taobao is a true online treasure trove - you can literally get anything here from furniture to jewelry, furniture, snacks, all sorts of knick-knacks, even things you never knew you needed (or never knew existed). The downside of this? Everything is in Chinese, and it's an impossible struggle for those who can't read the language.
If you can't read Chinese yet have always been hoping to try shopping on Taobao, you're in the right place. Learn how to shop on Taobao with our step-by-step cheatsheet guide, and you'll be a Taobao pro by the end of the article, even if you're a banana!
Step-By-Step Taobao Shopping Guide
1. Allow Page Translation On Google Chrome
Can't read Chinese? Get the Taobao website translated with the Google Chrome page translation function! Access the Taobao website on your Google Chrome browser and simply click the translation icon in your search bar.
If you don't see the icon on your browser, you can switch it on in your settings with these simple steps.
- On your computer, open Chrome.
- At the top right corner, click the three dots > Settings.
- Scroll the sidebar to Advanced > Languages.
- Scroll to Languages section.
- Toggle/switch on the option to "offer to translate pages that aren't in a language you read".
Once you're done, head back to the Taobao page, refresh it, and you should be able to see the translation icon now! Do note that the Taobao mobile app offers a more seamless shopping experience, but the page translation function is only available on web. If you can read simple Chinese, you can consider shopping on the app instead!
2. Register For An Account
Account registration is pretty straightforward on Taobao - spot the button to register for a new account on the upper right-hand side of the website. Thankfully, you can opt to use the English version of the registration page. You will have to key in your phone number and verification code to create a new account, everything else is quite standard.
3. Fill Up Your Shipping Address In Your Settings
On the homepage, click the button with your Taobao account number (as circled in the image above) and go to your account settings. Select "shipping address" from the sidebar and fill up your preferred delivery address. It's best to complete this before starting to shop!
4. Time To Shop
Once you have your account set up and logged in, it's time to fill up your cart! Just like in other e-commerce websites, look for the items you'd like to purchase with the search bar. There are 3 ways you can search for what you want if you can't read Chinese:
1. Search in English: the website will actually detect your search even if you type in English! However, you may not get as many search results as opposed to typing in Chinese.
2. Search in Chinese: well, Google Translate is your best friend! While it's not 100% accurate, it's still very helpful. Get the Chinese term of what you're looking for and paste that into the search bar.
3. Search with images: this one's a perfect cool function that's actually available on the Taobao site. If you already have a very specific product in mind and have a photo of it, you can upload it via the search bar by clicking on the camera icon there. As long as the product is available on Taobao, search results of stores that sell the product will pop up.
If you'd just like to browse and don't have anything specific in mind, check out the category sidebar on the homepage. While the page translation isn't perfect, it'll give you a sense of what you can look for on Taobao, from clothing to jewelry, furniture items, home appliances, shoes, beauty products, and more.
Once you click into a category, you'll be presented with a myriad of options to shop from. Make use of the filter system to better locate an item of your preference. You can filter the selection by brand, style, size, country of origin, and more.
4. Evaluate Items And Add To Cart
Whenever you search for a product, you'll be presented with a great variety of choices from different sellers on the platform. Click in for more information and evaluate which one you'd like to add to cart. You can see details like price, delivery location, colour options and sizes available, how many people have bought the product before, and more.
We would also recommend checking out the seller's rating and scroll through the reviews from customers who have purchased the same product to evaluate whether to place your order. On the right tab, you'll be able to get an indication of the seller's reputation, and can even drop him/her a message if you'd like. Do note though that sellers on Taobao communicate mainly in Chinese, so you may find it hard to do so if you don't speak the language.
The sellers on Taobao are given ratings from customers who have bought items from them, and the system allocates them a seller rating based on a point system.
- A positive rating gives a seller 1 point
- A neutral rating gives a seller no points
- A negative rating minuses 1 point
This means that the more positive transactions a seller has had, the more points he or she will receive. High points indicate that a seller has had many satisfied customers, or has been in business for a long time, thus being more trustworthy. The rating results are showcased in the form of icons like hearts and crowns as per image above.
When you find products you'd like to purchase, add them to your cart. Even if you're not sure whether you'd like to buy something, you can still add it to cart and remove it later on before checking out! Alternatively, you can click the "collection baby" (yes, google translate is not perfect guys) button with a star icon to save an item to your favourites so you can review it in the future if you want.
5. Confirm Items In Cart
When you're ready to complete your purchase, head to your cart. The checkout process is pretty straightforward - you can opt to delete items (clickable text on the right of each item box) you don't want if you change your mind.
Tick the boxes for all the items you wish to purchase - you can do it manually one-by-one, alternatively, there's also a checkbox at the bottom where you can select all items in one go. Once done, click the orange button to check out! Do note that the price listed is in Chinese Yuan (CNY) and does not include shipping costs.
6. Check Out
Once you proceed to the check-out page, you'll have to fill up some details for shipping and payment. Select the shipping address you've already filled up in your account settings (as guided in step 3 above).
Next up, you'll have to select your preferred delivery method from 3 available options. We would suggest selecting "official consolidation - air freight" if you're purchasing items small items (less than 25kg), or "official consolidation - ship freight" if you're purchasing heavier items like furniture. These two options are more cost-effective and convenient, though you'll have to complete a second payment for your shipping fee (explained below).
Shipping Method | Description | Cost |
|---|---|---|
Consolidated Shipping - Air Freight (官方集运 – 空运) | All your purchased items will be sent to a Taobao warehouse in China by individual sellers, consolidated, repacked, and delivered to you altogether via air freight. Shipping fee will only be calculated and paid separately after the items reach the warehouse. | 15RMB for first 0.5kg | 14RMB for subsequent 0.5kg Weight restriction: 25KG |
Consolidated Shipping - Sea Freight 官方集运 – 海运) | Same as above, but delivery will be via sea freight, which will take a longer duration than air freight. Shipping fee will only be calculated and paid separately after the items reach the warehouse. | *varies depending on size and weight of items Weight restriction: 500kg |
Direct Shipping (官方直送) | All your purchased items will be sent to the Taobao warehouse for registration, and will be immediately sent to you directly as individual packages. The downside of this payment method is that you will have to receive multiple individual packages, which may be inconvenient if you're purchasing multiple items from different sellers. It is also more troublesome as you will have to negotiate directly and individually with the sellers to arrange for shipping, and this will be problematic especially if you cannot converse in Mandarin. You will however be able to pay for the shipping fee right upon checkout. | 14RMB per 0.5kg Weight restriction: < 25kg |
Once you've filled everything up, complete your payment and you're done! Note: payment on Taobao is done via Alipay - if you don't have an Alipay account, you'll be directed to set one up. Registration is pretty easy and straightforward!
7. Shipping Fee Payment
*this step is only required if you selected a consolidated shipping method.
Once you've completed your first payment, it's time to sit back and wait for the items to be consolidated in the Taobao warehouse! You will usually receive an SMS message when an item reaches the warehouse (if you're purchasing more than one item, you will receive multiple SMSes), and can check the progress on the website as well.
To check if all your items have arrived at the warehouse, click the "cross-border logistics management" tab on the Taobao homepage. Once it seems that all your items have reached the warehouse and are ready to be delivered, check all the boxes and allow the system to calculate the shipping cost based on the total weight of your goods. Select your shipping address and complete your shipping fee payment. Now everything is settled and you can wait for your package to arrive!
You can check the status of your delivery on the Taobao site - you may be surprised how transparent and clear the tracking system is! There are timestamps and descriptions for every delivery step along the way, so you'll be able to find out where exactly your package is at.
Depending on the number of items you purchase, air freight delivery will typically take 2 - 3 weeks to reach you. You will usually receive an SMS from the delivery company when your package on the day your package is going to be delivered.
Tips For First Time Taobao Buyers
1. If you're not very confident, don't buy too much during your first purchase! Select perhaps just a few items from 1 - 2 sellers to test it out. If you face any roadblocks during your purchase (especially when it comes to shipping fee payment), seek help from a friend that can read Chinese!
2. While the items on Taobao are generally a lot cheaper than in Malaysia and the variety is amazing, practice self-control when you make your purchase as shipping costs can be expensive especially if you buy more than 20kg.
3. Make sure you do your due diligence and evaluate the seller and product you're planning to purchase (refer to evaluation tips in Step 4).
4. Don't like the stress and complexity? Book through a Taobao agent such as EZ Buy. All you have to do is paste the product link from the Taobao site onto an agent site and complete payment there, the site is completely in English (and can also be set to Bahasa as well), so you don't have to worry about anything going wrong.
Happy shopping!
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