how to taobao?

[cwah]

Hello there,

I've been mainly shopping on ebay and aliexpress due to the simplicity of the process and some sense of security with their protection system.

But taobao has the best price however it doesn't seem simple to order. It's in chinese, shipping cost are not indicated, I'm not sure there is any protection system, I don't know how to pay safely...

Anyone managed to get through them safely?

 

[DAND214]

You can read Chinese?
I can't find anything on that site.

Dan

 

[speedpower99]

yoybuy.com is the agent to buy taobao stuff. Most taobao stuff ship within China only. International shipping could be expensive.
taobao probably is more risky than aliexpress which is more risky than ebay :lol:

 

[cwah]

I can't read chinese but some member from endlesssphere purchased from taobao because it was directly from factory.

You can get some good deal when you find out a good source

 

[Dauntless]

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.31.ty83Fa&id=37891529997

Google translate worked pretty good. But I'd say you can find whatever on Alibaba just as easily.

http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/2014-New-Fat-Tire-Electric-Bike_1734959104.html

http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/48V1000W-fat-tire-green-power-electric_1697833271.html

 

[Arbol]

I subscribe myself. I also have seen some products at taobao, unavailable anywhere else, and I do not know how to purchase them.

 

[izeman]

i can HIGHLY recommend mistertao.com as buying agent. they have a great working site and ordering is very easy. you just c&p the taobao's article id into their basket. then you check out, pay for the products. they order it for you, after they receive them, they take PICTURES of all goods (can be seen in your user account/order history, and you can check that they received the right products in good condition). then you pay the shipping, their commission 8% over all including shipping, and they send it to you. please don't forget to add customs and taxes.
good thing is: shipping inside china costs ~$1 per shipping. so you can buy from different vendors, mistertao collects them, and makes one big parcel. take care that there are regulations that make you use special carriers for BATTERIES and LIQUIDS! i used EMS and the parcel arrived within 4 days to europe. the whole process took 3 weeks though as i changed shipping method etc and repackaging took some time.
overall a great experience.
and yes. products were SUPER cheap (if i lived in china), and are still cheaper then ordering in a european shop, but savings where not that massive as expected on first time checking taobao.
recommended products: connectors, charging equipment, wires (heavy but still super cheap)
if you got question: ask.

 

[Jason27]

taobao sells complete garbage on ebay. He sells mass produced lifepo4 packs made in 2009 that have been sitting in a warehouse in China.

I would never give him my money. Their are better battery vendors out there.

 

[izeman]

taobao sells complete garbage on ebay. He sells mass produced lifepo4 packs made in 2009 that have been sitting in a warehouse in China.
I would never give him my money. Their are better battery vendors out there.

haeeeh? taobao is like amazon. it belongs to alibaba. but like amazon it's a myriad of different shops from different suppliers. there may be an ebay seller taobao, but taobao.com is a totally different story. did you even look at it?

 

[Punx0r]

Would it be more or less risky to gamble on a roulette spin and then if you win and double your money, buy from reputable, local supplier?

 

[izeman]

Would it be more or less risky to gamble on a roulette spin and then if you win and double your money, buy from reputable, local supplier?

i don't understand that question. why should it be risky to order from taobao? millions of people are doing it every day. on the other side: a casino wins always on the long run. so you have a 100% chance to lose all your money there.
sure you can support your local business which does exactly the same as i do. buy low, sell high.

 

[cwah]

how do you look for items in taobao if you don't write chinese?

 

[izeman]

how do you look for items in taobao if you don't write chinese?

google chrome does a surprisingly good job with it's online translation.
i don't know how they do it, because i tried to translate a chinese manual with google and other translators and they output only garbage.

 

[Punx0r]

i don't understand that question. why should it be risky to order from taobao?

Is it not risky? You always get exactly what you order?

 

[izeman]

i don't understand that question. why should it be risky to order from taobao?

Is it not risky? You always get exactly what you order?

why shouldn't you? do you think that chinese vendors can stay in business if the cheat on their customers? products fail as likely if bought locally or directly in china.
chinese are known to exagerate. i wouldn't buy batteries there. but wire, connectors, chargers and stuff. no problem. it's the same as ebay. you don't buy from sellers with bad rating.
but everyone has to judge the risk for himself. i took it. i order thing from ebay that come directly from china every day. never had a real problem. though i don't think i would order a whole bike for $1000+.

 

[cwah]

Have you found good motor, controller and charger there?

Any seller you recommend?

 

[izeman]

Have you found good motor, controller and charger there?

Any seller you recommend?

nope. i was not looking for those products. as i said: i ordered wire, connectors, heat shrink, and chargers.
for motors/controller i would go to em3ev.com or for controller kelly or lyen. chargers is hard to say, but so far all my bmsbattery ones are working, and i repaired 5 from friends (mostly failed due to transport damage)