Would Like To Hear From People Who Have Taobao Items For A Few Years

[matchalatte 16]

i've been buying from taobao since 2011 but never bought big items like tv console, sofa or bathroom fixtures before, only clothes, bags, shoes and kitchenware like utensils and cakestands, plates before. i think lighting can still consider since they're usually quite cheap even for designer replicas like tom dixon. same goes for chairs like tolix or eames. maybe about 100 odd RMB so can buy. but i wont buy expensive or bulky items like sofa or dining tables since those are usually more ex and freight also has to cost at least $100. if anything goes wrong like if seller sent faulty or wrong piece its quite impossible to bring back to exchange. want to sell also dunno sell to who and its not something small that you can chuck in the store room and forget about it.

whenever i shop at taobao, my preference is usually tmall since i think their stuff are better in quality. if its a taobao shop i will sort according to 销量 and make sure it has a lot of 成交纪录 and there are reviewers' pics. that way i can roughly know how my item looks like and whether or not it has 色差. of course online shopping has its risks but so far i can say that based on the way i search and narrow down, 80% of what i received are usually quite ok.

[wyx03 12]

I bought LED down lights, T5 LED lights, kitchen sink, basins, bathroom faucets, mirrors, LED ceiling lights, LED track lights, and many more. None of them is faulty or broken. Some sellers even give extra spares for items that I bought from them. My 2nd batch of goods (computer chair, dining chairs, LED lights, decorative pots, etc) will be shippped out this weekend.

As bro OceanEleven mentioned, we need to put in some effort to compare and review comments from other buyers on the sellers. I have spent more than SGD3000 buying from TB and Tmall. I would have spent more than SGD6000 if I were to buy the some goods locally. Take for example, the exact same basin that I spent sgd50 buying from Tmall/TB costs sgd105 if buy from HoeKee. Of course, it depends on individual if saving 50% worth the risk for such a fragile item.

[jonatha332 4]

I got my lightings and chairs from Taobao as well. It is very worth the money. For shipping, I used Peeka because it helps me check for the items before they ship. I nearly shipped a very ugly looking lamp that looks good on the website, the item has great reviews some more!!. You can read the my following review. I also created a simple guide on how to ship as well as provided other shippers that you can consider. Hope this helps!

My Peeka review and guide

Edited October 7, 2014 by jonatha332

[Doris Chin 4]

Recently I went to china and many Chinese still buying from websites! Seems like other than TB, there is also jing dong. Similar to other websites, there is always the concern of fake reviews.

[mummychua 4]

Sorry noob qns for TB purchases,

1) seller with 5 diamonds but zero sales at selling at higher price

2) seller with 2 crowns but with 17 sales at cheaper pricing.

Which one would you buy from?

if im not wrong crown is better than diamonds. with 2 crowns, past sales record and cheaper price, 2 is the obvious choice.

[Crystal Hoo 9]

I bought a lot of things from TB too, from experience also depends on the agent u engage. Last time I just join bulk purchase so it's at your own risk if the items are not in gd condition as they don't check for u. Recently I started using peeka , so far so gd, if the item is over priced or mirror broken at their receiving centre, they will advice u not to order, get refund from seller. Before I used agent , I have lights bought , delivered that are broken... Can't exchange....

[Celtricia 6]

Sorry noob qns for TB purchases,

1) seller with 5 diamonds but zero sales at selling at higher price

2) seller with 2 crowns but with 17 sales at cheaper pricing.

Which one would you buy from?

[kim76 18]

Hi,

I bought quite a few items from TB last year. Some ok, some not ok. U can go see my Tblog for the stuff I bought.

My biggest purchases from TB are 2 chairs. Quality is ok but I still prefer LUSH quality.

Now, the egg chair skin had come off (not peel off but no longer sticking to the base), the other chair is still going strong.

Will I buy again? Yes, I would. Cos the price I paid is very cheap.

My recommendation will be don't buy LED lights, taps, shower system. I will spend a bit more for these items cos it will be a hassle to replace them once they are spoil. Unless of course you are very hands on and dont mind replacing those.

Below link is straight to my post of the chairs.

http://www.renotalk.com/forum/topic/47187-our-first-home-at-cck/page-55#entry791293

Have fun shopping!

[JeremyChia 1]

Wow thanks for the wonderful tips all. I have decided not to purchase any major items from TB like sinks and lights.

[OceanEleven 203]

TB and Tmall still have their charms for folks looking for a bargain. Still there is no 100% guarrantee that all items sold are in perfect condition when arrive.

The bottomline is for buyers to practise some due diligence, common sense and effort.

Please read up the comment/feedback and note the quantity sold.

I have had better experience in Tmall than TB so far. Items arrived in sound packaging and one piece.

Managing one's expectation is required as well. You cant pay peanuts but expect LV quality.

Consider the items you are buying, non electrical, less moving parts are generally safer. Eg. Dining tables are more reliable than chest of drawes.

China is the world's factory. More than half of the global goods are manufactured in China. So let's face it, you can run but you can never hide.

[guojiawen 101]

I have never brought any things from TB before so I cant comment but I did ask my friends from China about TB, she told me TB is not a big thing in China now because of their quality issues. In China, they only use TB to buy items like clothing, bags, shoes or like what DarkWingZ mentioned racks, bin and accessories ... Her advise is get prepared to buy and throw if you shop at TB. She also mentioned those reviews and comments are all 'fake' and some information provided by seller are not true too. She said this is China!

Does this hold true for tmall as well? Agree that pics can be deceiving but there are renotalk bloggers who managed to find good gems from tb and tmall as well..

I thought a lot of furniture from tb can be seen in places like imm too... so probably same supplier? quality wise should be as good as what you see in Singapore if they import from China too..

Think those SG shops that import from China have employees who help to do strict QC. One of the issue with directly buying from China is there's no middleman to do the QC and reject bad quality items.

Cheaper price but comes with a risk I guess? Cos if lemon items reach an SG shop, they will handle the issue and ensure we get a good quality one. But if we receive a lemon item through TB, the exchange will be a nightmare..

[Brian Huang 4]

I thought a lot of furniture from tb can be seen in places like imm too... so probably same supplier? quality wise should be as good as what you see in Singapore if they import from China too..

[woodywood 0]

I have never brought any things from TB before so I cant comment but I did ask my friends from China about TB, she told me TB is not a big thing in China now because of their quality issues. In China, they only use TB to buy items like clothing, bags, shoes or like what DarkWingZ mentioned racks, bin and accessories ... Her advise is get prepared to buy and throw if you shop at TB. She also mentioned those reviews and comments are all 'fake' and some information provided by seller are not true too. She said this is China!

[DarkWingZ 6]

small item like racks and bin still ok~ electronic item u might think twice. i bought 20 Track light out of it 4 spoil. ordered second time out of 16, 4 spoil. bought two clock, 1 spoil. we research and purchase from with good review and higher rating but still kenna this.... their photo made the material seem very solid but actual can be quite jelly

[Songz 132]

It have to depend on what items you are looking for and for seller you will need to see his ratings + reviews

To my knowledge there are some who are good previously but become worse after it become popular ...

Hope this helps