guide on buying from taobao

[NightRaven49]

recently i mentioned that i had a guide for buying pc parts on taobao, and have since received numerous requests to share it. as the requests are more public this time and this is the second round of requests, i will paste it below with the context of buying a 3070. bolded and strikethrough parts are revisions.

Spoiler: Taobao guide

i assume u dont have a taobao acct yet, so just create one following guides u can find on google, eg. from here. and yes i do recommend using the mobile app, since it charges u sgd directly, instead of rmb to ur card if using the desktop site.
once u are done creating ur account, this should be what ur main page should look like:

the top bar is ur search bar. so just go in and enter "3070". u should see a list of results and u can browse listings. in a particular listing, there will be 2 buttons at the bottom right corner: 加入购物车 (add to cart) and 立即购买 (buy now); the second button can sometimes be 领券购买 (buy with coupon) when the shop offers discounts, but is basically the same button.

i recommend using the latter since u can check sgd price a lot faster; dont worry, u still have to fill in a few things before the purchase goes through, so u can just view the pricing before going back to shop more. a window will show the different models available, so just select which model u want and tap on the big orange button on the bottom (usually 确认 (confirm) but can sometimes be 领券购买, same thing) which should bring u to the payment screen.

once u are on the payment screen for the model u are ready to purchase, select the address that u are shipping to. again, there are guides u can google that show u how to add a new address, i think the one i linked above has it too. make sure to enter ur singapore address to open up the official shipping options since it is a lot easier to deal with. once u have done so, select the option for 官方直送 (direct shipping) taobao has revamped the shipping methods page with a more comprehensive version. so after selecting ur sg address, a submenu will pop up showing which shipping method it has defaulted to. ideally it should show 官方直邮 - 空运 (direct air shipping), which allows u to pay for both the product, gst (if appliacable, generally on single items below $400) and shipping at once, usually can expect the shipping for a gpu to be about 50-80 rmb. if it does not default to direct air shipping, u can tap on 更改 and check if it is available. the full list of available shipping options will be shown.

translations
直邮 - direct
集运 - consolidated
空运 - air
海运 - sea
if direct air does not show, consolidated air may still be a viable option, though do try to verify the weight of the whole card + box as they go by actual weight and keep in mind that consolidated is more expensive than direct for the same weight. i would discourage cainiao sea shipping as there are better rates from 3rd party forwarders, not to mention gst.

after that, enter ur credit card details under 支付方式 (payment method) and select 使用新的Credit/Debit Card. i would recommend saving ur credentials since there will be a waiver of the 3% service charge for newly saved cards, plus it will be easier for u to shop in the future. once ur done, just double confirm everything to make sure things are satisfactory and tap 去支付 on the bottom right. the app will confirm ur order and just sit back and relax and wait for the card to arrive. there is also tracking, so u can go to the 我的淘宝 tab on the bottom right of the app main page and check up on progress once in a while. can expect it to take a week (if ur lucky) or two.

if u have any questions do feel free to ask them below ill try to answer to the best of my abilities.

 

[wongminmin]

how many days different between normal air and express air?

 

[wongminmin]

how to determine seller not selling used gpu? can return?

 

[stylechap]

how to determine seller not selling used gpu? can return?

Can return
Only if you can deposit in collection locker in china

 

[Entry Level PC]

recently i mentioned that i had a guide for buying pc parts on taobao, and have since received numerous requests to share it. as the requests are more public this time and this is the second round of requests, i will paste it below with the context of buying a 3070. bolded and strikethrough parts are revisions.

Spoiler: Taobao guide

i assume u dont have a taobao acct yet, so just create one following guides u can find on google, eg. from here. and yes i do recommend using the mobile app, since it charges u sgd directly, instead of rmb to ur card if using the desktop site.
once u are done creating ur account, this should be what ur main page should look like:

the top bar is ur search bar. so just go in and enter "3070". u should see a list of results and u can browse listings. in a particular listing, there will be 2 buttons at the bottom right corner: 加入购物车 (add to cart) and 立即购买 (buy now); the second button can sometimes be 领券购买 (buy with coupon) when the shop offers discounts, but is basically the same button.

i recommend using the latter since u can check sgd price a lot faster; dont worry, u still have to fill in a few things before the purchase goes through, so u can just view the pricing before going back to shop more. a window will show the different models available, so just select which model u want and tap on the big orange button on the bottom (usually 确认 (confirm) but can sometimes be 领券购买, same thing) which should bring u to the payment screen.

once u are on the payment screen for the model u are ready to purchase, select the address that u are shipping to. again, there are guides u can google that show u how to add a new address, i think the one i linked above has it too. make sure to enter ur singapore address to open up the official shipping options since it is a lot easier to deal with. once u have done so, select the option for 官方直送 (direct shipping) taobao has revamped the shipping methods page since the creation of this guide with a more comprehensive version. so after selecting ur sg address, a submenu will pop up showing which shipping method it has defaulted to. ideally it should show 官方直邮 - 空运 (direct air shipping), which allows u to pay for both the product and shipping at once, usually can expect to be about 50-80 rmb.

if it does not default to direct air shipping, u can tap on 更改 and check if it is available. the full list of available shipping options will be shown. if direct air does not show, consolidated air may still be a viable option, though do try to verify the weight of the whole card + box as they go by actual weight and keep in mind that consolidated is more expensive than direct for the same weight. i would generally discourage sea shipping as there are better rates from 3rd party forwarders, not to mention gst.

after that, enter ur credit card details under 支付方式 (payment method) and select 使用新的Credit/Debit Card. i would recommend saving ur credentials since there will be a waiver of the 3% service charge for newly saved cards, plus it will be easier for u to shop in the future 3% waiver sadly no longer a thing since i created this guide once ur done, just double confirm everything to make sure things are satisfactory and tap 去支付 on the bottom right. the app will confirm ur order and just sit back and relax and wait for the card to arrive. there is also tracking, so u can go to the 我的淘宝 tab on the bottom right of the app main page and check up on progress once in a while. can expect it to take a week (if ur lucky) or two.

if u have any questions do feel free to ask them below ill try to answer to the best of my abilities.

thanks for sharing
taobao vs aliexpress
which one is better?

 

[shadow84]

The process in buying from taobao is not so difficult. Whats more difficult is determining if seller is genuine or not, and whether we will get what we pay for. Some sellers see overseas address may attempt to cheat de coz they know its not easy to initiate a return and refund. And gpus costs $2k +/-.


Maybe can share the sellers that you had helped some bros to get the gpu from?

 

[stylechap]

The process in buying from taobao is not so difficult. Whats more difficult is determining if seller is genuine or not, and whether we will get what we pay for. Some sellers see overseas address may attempt to cheat de coz they know its not easy to initiate a return and refund. And gpus costs $2k +/-.


Maybe can share the sellers that you had helped some bros to get the gpu from?

What are you talking about?

China seller only covers domestic shipping
They can't see your address

 

[shadow84]

What are you talking about?

China seller only covers domestic shipping
They can't see your address

If you set to SG address in TB and will be shipping directly via TB airfreight (not forwarder), they can actually reject somehow. Kena a few times le. Im not sure what they see, but i tried with same item to forwarder and no issues. So it depends.

 

[wongminmin]

What are you talking about?

China seller only covers domestic shipping
They can't see your address

actually they can.... although it is domestic address......... they see 转运仓....weird wording behind the address......they knew these are overseas buyers.
they will purposely ship faulty, used, fake ,missing, incorrect product....etc.......

buying from taobao is easy 1 2 3, but filtering dishonest sellers is much harder.

 

[stylechap]

actually they can.... although it is domestic address......... they see 转运仓....weird wording behind the address......they knew these are overseas buyers.
they will purposely ship faulty, used, fake ,missing, incorrect product....etc.......

buying from taobao is easy 1 2 3, but filtering dishonest sellers is much harder.

Up to them lo
They ship to many countries
Who knows one of the victims might be rich china man go back to screw them

 

[stylechap]

If you set to SG address in TB and will be shipping directly via TB airfreight (not forwarder), they can actually reject somehow. Kena a few times le. Im not sure what they see, but i tried with same item to forwarder and no issues. So it depends.

How do you pay them direct overseas shipping fee?
I know some have exorbitant charges like 400rmb which the usual savvy people won't choose

 

[shadow84]

How do you pay them direct overseas shipping fee?
I know some have exorbitant charges like 400rmb which the usual savvy people won't choose

Select taobao airfreight/seafreight option when u r checking out. Same as lazada, u dun pay direct to seller, u pay to the platform and they will release the $$ to them when item is delivered,

 

[stylechap]

Select taobao airfreight/seafreight option when u r checking out. Same as lazada, u dun pay direct to seller, u pay to the platform and they will release the $$ to them when item is delivered,

Not even sure what you're talking LOL
The seller only ship to TB forwarder
Only TB forwarder know your SG address

There's only

Taobao Direct Flight/Sea
Taobao Consolidated Flight/Sea
Contact Seller for shipping Option
(In rare cases) direct seller shipping

 

[shadow84]

Up to you if you think china seller dunnoe your address, its your risk anyway.

Question back to TS, any recommended reputable gpu sellers?

 

[stylechap]

Up to you if you think china seller dunnoe your address, its your risk anyway.

Question back to TS, any recommended reputable gpu sellers?

Then you don't buy lo
The scalped local palit prices still cheaper than taobao, only their design is mostly ugly

Taobao GPU is only good for china design or scarce model like gigabyte

 

[NightRaven49]

how many days different between normal air and express air?

never tried express air, the rates are pretty expensive.

how to determine seller not selling used gpu? can return?

usually they will mention that it is either 二手 (second hand), 拆机 (taken from used pcs) or 9/99成新 (like new). u can also message them to confirm the condition of the item. return is can return, just whether u can find a service that can get it back to china at a price that makes sense.

Can return
Only if you can deposit in collection locker in china

i just shipped a card back via singpost, they accepted the address the seller provided to me, doesnt look like a collection locker.

thanks for sharing
taobao vs aliexpress
which one is better?

never tried aliexpress but from what i hear shipping is usually about a month or more and the prices dont really look that great so i just use taobao since best case scenario is a week or less of waiting.

The process in buying from taobao is not so difficult. Whats more difficult is determining if seller is genuine or not, and whether we will get what we pay for. Some sellers see overseas address may attempt to cheat de coz they know its not easy to initiate a return and refund. And gpus costs $2k +/-.


Maybe can share the sellers that you had helped some bros to get the gpu from?

actually they can.... although it is domestic address......... they see 转运仓....weird wording behind the address......they knew these are overseas buyers.
they will purposely ship faulty, used, fake ,missing, incorrect product....etc.......

buying from taobao is easy 1 2 3, but filtering dishonest sellers is much harder.

the few who have bought gpus from taobao never got back to me whether they were scammed but i highly doubt they were; u spend so much tio scam wont make noise ah. anyway ive bought many many items from taobao over the years, including 5900xs when they were still costing well over $1k and i still got what i paid for every single time. when it comes to pc parts on taobao, very unlikely that u will get scammed i feel; i dont think the sellers even care if u are overseas or not (ive used both official cainiao shipping and 3rd party forwarders). my general advice when shopping is just do ur due diligence and check for reviews with pictures and/or follow up reviews and seller reputation: sellers with diamonds/blue crowns/golden crowns (in increasing reliability) are considered fairly reliable, though ive bought from sellers with only hearts (lower than diamonds) and still got what i paid for. so what ive told other people in the past when they ask regarding which seller is reliable: i dont have any recommendations but u dont have much reason to worry either.

How do you pay them direct overseas shipping fee?
I know some have exorbitant charges like 400rmb which the usual savvy people won't choose

i literally included it in the guide

The scalped local palit prices still cheaper than taobao, only their design is mostly ugly

Taobao GPU is only good for china design or scarce model like gigabyte

i think radeon rx 6000 cards are cheaper on taobao and quite readily available. rtx 3000 is still pretty pricey.

 

[stylechap]

i just shipped a card back via singpost, they accepted the address the seller provided to me, doesnt look like a collection locker.

Ok I think I didn't see in detailed the available options cause all are in China so I just cancelled my returns

Just to confirm, there is no local return services by Taobao. SG-CHN shipping is by own cost right?

 

[NightRaven49]

Just to confirm, there is no local return services by Taobao. SG-CHN shipping is by own cost right?

that also depends on the seller. u can filter based on listings that offer 本地退 (local return), but these are very few and far between, for pc parts at least. otherwise, yes u will need to bear the cost of returning urself. shipping the card i sent back cost me $50

 

[wongminmin]

Ok I think I didn't see in detailed the available options cause all are in China so I just cancelled my returns

Just to confirm, there is no local return services by Taobao. SG-CHN shipping is by own cost right?

most don't offer local return, u have to ship back on your own.
those who offer local return are under taobao scheme...which is totally major disadvantage for the sellers.

 

[stylechap]

that also depends on the seller. u can filter based on listings that offer 本地退 (local return), but these are very few and far between, for pc parts at least. otherwise, yes u will need to bear the cost of returning urself. shipping the card i sent back cost me $50

most don't offer local return, u have to ship back on your own.
those who offer local return are under taobao scheme...which is totally major disadvantage for the sellers.

Yes.. I think those that qualify for local returns are those stuffs that they display in suntec?
Even then...i just checked it's a one-off pop-up store