How to buy on Taobao ? Guide in English – 2024
“For Chinese people online shopping is a lifestyle” said Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba group and Taobao shopping platform. If you have spent even the smallest amount of time in China, you will have heard of Taobao (here), China’s biggest online shopping service. However much to the frustration of many foreigners living here, Taobao is only available in Chinese. But don’t worry, our team here at HI-COM has translated the most useful parts of the website in English, so you can start grabbing those bargains just like the Chinese have been doing for many years now!
Once you get over the language barrier, the site is actually very easy to use. And if you already use a Chinese bank card or Alipay, your shopping experience on Taobao will be even easier.
On the other hand, if you’re not resident in China, you’ll have to go through shopping agents to receive your packages. We’ll explore this possibility at the end of the article ⬇️
PS: This guide and the examples in it are on a computer interface. A mobile version is coming soon… 😉
So let’s begin!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
– Step 1 : Presentation of the home page
– Step 2 : Register
– Step 3 : Sign In
– Step 4 : Find an article
– Step 5 : Results of the search
– Step 6 : Description of the article
– Step 7 : Add to shopping cart
– Step 8 : Payment
– Step 8 : Payment confirmation
Step 1: Taobao English home page
Once you arrive at taobao.com, you will see a main search bar with a “Search” button (this also works if you search for English words or brand names), categories of goods on the left, advertisements in the middle, a QR code to scan with your phone to activate the Mobile Taobao App, and Taobao mascot under the code with three orange buttons: Login, Register and Open your own shop.
Go ahead and click “Register“.
Step 2: Registering at Taobao in English
The developers at Taobao have already created a registration page in English, so you should have no problems signing up.
Step 3: Logging in to Taobao in English
After registering, you can then log in. Here you have two choices; you can either scan a QR code with your mobile, or click on the orange computer icon that’s partially hidden n the top right corner.
Step 4: Surfing the Taobao English Guide
Now let’s move on to the fun part – searching for an item you wish to buy. In our case we are buying an iPhone cover. For best results, we recommend that you find the name of the item translated into Chinese first, and enter it into the search bar. This will bring up a wider range of results and choices.
The filters here are really useful. You are free to choose styles, materials, special features, sort by price (or enter an minimum / maximum price range in the windows marked with ¥), and sort by origin of shipment. You can tick the “same day arrival” window, “new product” or “used products” etc. depending on your needs.
Step 5: Choosing your items on Taobao English Guide
We picked out our item here using a brand name and a Chinese description.
When you compare the products, here are a few things you may want to look out for:
- The number of people who purchased this item (the small grey number next to the price)
- An Icon of each platform on which it is sold (e.g. Tmall, red icon on the last line)
- Origin of the shop (above the blue logo of the messenger).
The product we have selected has been purchased 105,438 times. It is sold on Tmall (so we are going to be redirected, but fear not – Tmall is well integrated to Taobao), and it will be dispatched from Shenzhen (the origin of shop/shipment information comes in handy if you’re in a rush to get your products, as it will take less time to be delivered). Feel free to play with the filters the way you like.
Step 6: Item details
By clicking on the item, you will enter the shop, where you can choose an exact model or check the trustworthiness of the seller (check the line with the red numbers above the product – monthly sales and feedback, if applicable).
Model: You can choose the color, size and other criteria. Now, if you get past all the ads, you will see some additional information on this page: freight info – price and time of transportation, amount of units in stock.
You will also find some statistics such as how many times the product was sold in the last 30 days (117,227), and how many times it has been rated (144,353).
Step 7: Adding your address to your Taobao account
After you have made your choice, go ahead and click either “Add to Shopping cart“, or “Buy now” for a direct payment.
To make a payment you will need to enter your address (enter it Chinese if possible) and contact info, select the items you want to pay for and click the red button. You will then be directed to the payment page.
In our case we do not have a Tmall voucher, and we do not need to send any messages to the sellers, but we have those options if we need them.Among the other options you might want to choose the type of delivery, ranging from a super fast one (SF express), an average one (set by default), or a slower one (China Post). You can adjust the quantity you wish to order and even request a Fapiao invoice.
Step 8: Using Alipay when shopping on Taobao
If you are using Alipay on your computer, this synchronised web helper will pop up automatically. Otherwise log in to your internet banking service, by clicking on the logo of your bank.
If you are using Alipay, enter your password and press “Confirm the payment”.
Step 9: Confirmation of your purchase and payment on Taobao
You will then receive confirmation of your payment (as indicated below by the green tick), and the estimated delivery time will also be displayed here.
And of course beware of scams!
So there you have it, you are now free to shop on Taobao in a language you understand! Let us know in the comments about your shopping experiences using our guide.
HI-COM Answers Frequently Asked Questions About TAOBAO :
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How long does it take to ship from Taobao?
If you are expecting a purple within Mainland china, expect your purchase to be at your door within 2 to 3 days. If you are shopping at the store within your city, the delivery is next day, but there is no guarantee to that if you didn’t set the details with the seller via the Taobao inner messenger – WanWan! If there are any problems with the items purchased or you would like to return the items, make sure you talk to the seller first.
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What are the reviews and opinions on Taobao?
Taobao is often perceived as a site for the sale of poor-quality Chinese products. Nevertheless, Taobao is a site mainly used by Chinese consumers, so you just have to know how to spot the good products from the bad ones.
Taobao has controversial reviews, as people who have had a bad experience will share it, but people who have had a good experience will not.
So, as a TAOBAO consumer, we can tell you that this is an application or website, where product reviews are paramount to inspect before making any purchase. Having already ordered from Taobao, we received all our orders on time and as described. Despite the differing opinions on this platform, we recommend that you follow our tips and guides for ordering products on this site.
As on all good websites, there are some so-called “toxic” sellers who are indeed dishonest about the product description or the shipment of the package. TAOBAO is no exception to the rule, and in our section on “How to avoid scams on TAOBAO” you’ll find out how to ensure a good customer experience on this site.
Finally, TAOBAO is a highly recommendable site, especially if you live in China. It will be very useful if you don’t want to spend much and quality is not an important criterion depending on the product.
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What’s the difference between AliExpress and Taobao?
Taobao, unlike AliExpress, is an e-commerce site primarily focused on selling products directly in China, not across borders. This is why the AliExpress website is available in English, unlike Taobao, which is only available in Chinese, but thanks to our guide you’ll be able to order without worry.
AliExpress deals mainly with foreign trade, while Taobao deals with Chinese domestic trade.
As far as payment methods are concerned, AliExpress is open to international payment methods such as Paypal, whereas on Taobao you can only pay with Alipay or WeChat pay.
Taobao offers better-quality products, with faster delivery thanks to a much larger number of sellers than AliExpress.
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Is Taobao a trusted and reliable site?
TAOBAO is a trusted and reliable site if you know how to choose the right seller and the right product.
To do this, you need to be fluent in Chinese or have a translation tool at your disposal.
What’s more, payments via Alipay or WeChat pay are verified and controlled. The site is also secure. So you can order products on TAOBAO without fear if you know how to select the right products.
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How to avoid scams on Taobao?
To avoid scams on Taobao, it’s important to read the comments and reviews about the seller and the product you want to buy. As the website is in Chinese, you’ll need to either master the Chinese language or have a translation tool to understand and translate the reviews posted by people who have bought the product. Note that in China, Chinese people write reviews for all products all the time! As a result, product reviews are very important, and usually in very large numbers.
What’s more, if a seller sells a non-compliant product or fails to ship it, this will be reflected in the comments and ratings of the product or seller page.
If you have zero comments on the product, it’s quite suspicious. It may also mean that the product page is often deleted to remove negative comments warning you about the product.
What’s more, if the price is really low compared to the competition, this is also a way for you to be wary. Indeed, very low prices compared to the competition may be proof that it’s surely a scam.
Finally, accessing the seller page allows you to see whether or not there’s any cohesion between the products being sold. If you’re looking to buy a dress and you see on the seller’s page that he’s also selling electronic products, that might seem suspicious too.
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What is Taobao Focus and shopping agents?
When you are not in China, it might be hard to do shopping on Taobao, since the delivery is strictly local. But there are hundreds of agents out there to help you with your Taobao shopping experiences. Be careful when choosing your shopping agent!
TAOBAO Focus is an intermediary site dedicated to shopping on TAOBAO. This website helps you buy on TAOBAO and have your order delivered from China.
It differs from other TAOBAO agents in that it doesn’t require minimum orders, it’s in French and the service fees are competitive.
So there you have it, you’re now free to shop on Taobao in a language you understand! Let us know about your experiences in the comments.
