Taobao - DIY!

Shipping promotion by 4px! I finally succumbed to temptation and made my first foray into Taobao, all by myself, no agent! This is made possible because Alipay finally accepts Singapore credit cards!

Taobao is indeed frustrating. Especially Alipay. They keep asking you to link your mobile number to your account, but it doesn't accept Singapore numbers and there's no way to skip it. Can't quite remember how I worked around it. Just ignore it I think.

And the login keeps timing out. And forces you to enter a bloody captcha EVERYTIME you relogin. Irritating!

Since most Taobao sellers do not ship directly to Singapore, and will surely cost a bomb if they do, forwarding services are now available to make things easier.

Unfortunately, the ordering workflow for Singaporean buyers is not so intuitive, although I believe I can still do it right if I were to just feel my way around. Still, it doesn't harm to take a little help.

To communicate with the sellers, Taobao strongly recommends using the official messaging application, AliWangWang. It is a bloated, slow program that doubles as the devil recommending you products ceaselessly, enticing you to shop compulsively. By clicking on the chat icon on the product page, the seller can see which product you are enquiring about. Using the chat, you can ask all you need to know (in Chinese, of course, never tried other languages though) and even attempt to ask for a discount or shipping waiver (within China only, of course). Sellers have the power to quote you a price different from that listed, but first, you will need to add the item to your shopping cart and submit the order, before they adjust the price. They call the action "拍下" and the item is referred as "宝贝". The very first time, I wondered why they wanted me to take photo of the product?? Ya, got some lingo to learn. And they will keep calling you "亲", which I think is directly translated from "dear". I'm not your dear! *Cringe*

Ya, it definitely helps if you are comfortable with typing Chinese. Otherwise just suck thumb and buy at the listed price.

I'm not sure if I'm mistaken, but I think after submitting the order, it's a commitment to purchase. Failure to pay may earn you a negative feedback from the seller.


9/1
I submitted the order for a few items, selecting my forwarder as 4px. There are only 4 to choose from. Of course you can use some other forwarders, but I can't be bothered. Then login to Alipay to pay for them. FYI that there's a 3% transaction charge for using credit card... zzz... Remember to factor this into your cost analysis!

What's cool about Taobao is that it automatically saves a snapshot of the item once you confirmed the order. Useful for people like me who forgets promptly what I just bought. And can be used as evidence in event of dispute.

The forwarder works like Vpost; your parcels from all over China will be sent to the forwarder's warehouse and held there for free for the grace period. When all your parcels have arrived already, consolidate and signal 4px to send them to you, in Singapore. 4px will then bill you. Pay using Alipay (don't forget the 3% credit card transaction charge!!!) and wait patiently.


13/1
4 days later, I received a sms from 4px informing me my tracking number and that my parcel will arrive today. How fast is that! And totally not expecting a sms at all! It's a pity that they didn't state the estimated time, but that's fine, somebody's home most of the time.

Check out my loot!

2014新款糖果色手提包女士包包单肩包斜跨包潮贝壳包小号时尚女包 Bag
Wanted to try out a bag with a definite shape which I can use to cover my tummy, so I got a cute 贝壳包.

RMB39.9 -> $11.82

Quite nice inside. No frays. The zip works smoothly. Metal parts are shiny, although the color still looks cheapo. Comes with a longer sling strap.

O no! A cut at the bottom! Imperfection! O well, nevermind, it's at the bottom where nobody can see. Actually, too bad if there's any defect, coz I'm definitely not going to take the trouble to send it back to China.

What's horrible is that the bag stinks of chemicals. Very, very pungent. I could feel the toxic fumes displacing the oxygen in my room. Other buyers have complained about it, but I decided to close one eye since the bag is so cheap XD I had to leave the bag outside to air.

I realized that because the bag is hard, it would be blocking me during meals. Damn. Maybe a soft bag is still better.

Free charm from the seller. I attached it to the handle's metal part.

**Update on 9 Aug 2014: Don't know what happened, but Father managed to rip one side of a handle off and the metal pin was nowhere to be found. Either the bag is really not durable or Father cannot be trusted with bags. Not safe to own a branded bag!


新鸟 偏光太阳镜女 大框潮流墨镜 2013新款太阳眼镜女 日韩优雅 Polarized Shades
Needs shades for contacts days. Strangely, polarized shades are extremely rare. Picked a superstar style.

RMB69 -> $15.65

Ok, seems like the real deal. It came with a card that's supposed to display a hidden image when viewed through polarized lenses.

Needless to say, the test passed.

They won't be so dumb as to send a test the product would fail, right? How does that card work?

Fits my big face. Not very sure, but I thought the image feels a bit distorted. There's a wee bit of puckering at the bottom of one of the lenses. Hmm... passable lah. My spectacles also seemed to distort initially, but I guess I got used to it. Maybe everything just takes getting used to. Brain, I'm counting on you.

The sunglasses comes with a hard zip case. Free gift is a mini screwdriver so that you don't have to send the product back just to tighten a few screws. I passed it to Father.

**Update: Ok lah, doesn't take long to get used to it.


舒适美容防皱100%桑蚕丝 加厚真丝枕巾19/22姆米多色 Silk Pillow Cover
Mother always said that I leave behind a lot of hair on my towel pillow cover. Sometimes I wonder if it's because the towel is too rough! And the towel sometimes leaves marks on my face after sleeping on my side for too long.

A few years ago, I read about silk pillow covers from the flowerpod forum. Now's my chance to get one and try for myself.

RMB32 -> $9.84, off-white

I know the picture says the color is silverish-grey, but I'm using it just to show what kind of thing I bought!

No idea if it's authentic silk. Not gonna perform a flame test on it. Placed my trust on the numerous positive reviews.

Only one side is smooth. It comes with strings for you to secure it to your pillow so that it won't slide off and the fan won't blow it off. Really comfortable to lie on! Not sure if it helped with my hairloss, but my face surely feels less pricking.


洗脸神器手工洗脸刷洁面刷清洁毛孔去黑头日本职人刷洗面刷超柔软 Facial Cleansing Brush

RMB19.8 -> $4.66

The lousy fake Clarisonic is too bulky for a manual brush. Might as well get a real manual brush.

The item is packed nicely in a plastic box so that the brush is protected from external pressures. The bristles are soft and numerous. It does it job well.

**Update: Less work during my monthly extractions! That said, it's unable to clean the soft parts of the face thoroughly, like the tip of the nose. You have to spend some effort to clean the brush itself. Like, liberally part the bristles so that water is able to reach the bottom. It doesn't dry easily too. The sun at my window is useless. My laptop vent is the best.


日本时尚化妆刷 软毛面膜刷 粉底刷子 美容化妆刷 Clay Mask Applicator Brush

RMB2 -> $0.55

When I was using my new Now Foods European Clay Powder mask, I felt using my finger to apply was messy. And so I need a brush! More pro!

And why not, when it's just $0.55?

For buying just the facial cleansing brush and this applicator brush, the seller threw in a free piece of sponge! The kind that my last beauty salon sold me for $7! Thanks!!

The sponge is so lovely! It absorbs water better than the Daiso one that I have been using. Unfair comparison, I know.

**Update: I went back to using my finger soon after as it wasn't easy to spread using the brush. Not mention the wastage when the mask is stuck in the brush bristles.


御宅女OTAKU面膜礼盒 10片 6款保湿美白全能 OTAKU Sheet Masks

RMB35 for 3 boxes of 10s -> $27.44

Looking for My Beauty Diary masks, but they are too expensive. Unsure of the China masks, so I went for the current hottest mask from Taiwan, OTAKU.

The packet is full of essence! No bad reaction from it. The effect lasts to the next day, at least. Might see improvement in skin condition if used daily and not like once a month? XD


Unsure if a soft or hard case is better, so I got both. It entitles me to free domestic shipping yay! I requested from the CSO, who adjusted the shipping after I confirmed the order.
三星N7100手机壳 Note2硅胶套 Soft Silica Gel Case for Samsung Galaxy Note 2

The highlight of the soft cases is the raised ridges, which the seller calls 浮雕. Nice! This case covers all around, leaving only the screen exposed. This is gonna be my primary case!

**Update: Gave up on it soon. This case covers the side buttons as well, but the plastic is not customized for easy pressing. Very irritating when I press the rocker buttons and get the other direction instead. Banished to a corner in my drawer.


三星n7100手机壳Note2 Hard Plastic Case for Samsung Galaxy Note 2

It's love on first sight! Apparently it's the same for many others, because my order was delayed waiting for this item to be restocked. The back has a texture, which the seller calls 兔皮纹, or literally "rabbit skin pattern". Nice! But does not improve traction on slippery surfaces.

This phone case does not cover the bottom and top of the phone, buttons and only covers half of the corner.

**Update: And so, it became my primary case. Pretty hor? Haven't dropped my phone so far, so I'm lovin' it!

The seller threw in a free gift, a screen protector. I tried to apply it, but failed miserably. Best left to the professionals.


A friendly reminder for you to drop a positive feedback of at least 10 words and RMB5 will be credited to you. Forgot which shop gave me though. Well, it seems to be the norm to drop positive feedback regardless, otherwise the seller might rate you negatively!