taobaoing

Hi everyone,

I have been browsing taobao and have come across some interesting and cute things that I want to buy for my baby. However, the thing is that I have no knowledge of mandarin whatsoever. I have read some stuff online with some people saying that it is an amazing website where they have bought things from clothes to furniture while others claim that the sellers never sent the items they ordered.
Do you think it is safe to but from taobao given that I dont know any mandarin? Are the sellers able to communicate in english? Will I be able to get a good deal if I dont know any mandarin? How much do they cost to send over the items to hong kong after consolidation??
Any advice will be appreciated.
Thanks!

One of the sad pitfalls of TaoBao is that if you use the English interface, Aliexpress, you'll get ripped off. I've seen countless examples of something on Aliexpress being 10 times as much as it is on TaoBao. Also, the shipping, if you can work it out with a company called ManyBo, is much cheaper. There's always Banggood, but it is much slower and the prices are higher, but the shipping is included.
The best way to use TaoBao is to ask a friend who can read Chinese to help you. You can get halfway there with Google Translate and the suppliers are used to HK people communicating in English. In general, the suppliers are pretty good. On the few occasions when we didn't get what we ordered or there was stuff missing, they quickly replaced items or gave us a credit.
A good tip for you is to make an ID with a Chinese name and matching email address.

I might help u

try this page, I think they only take like 10% commission: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TaobaoSolutions/?fref=nf