How to order from Taobao: A step-by-step guide to buy from Taobao

Taobao is a leading online shopping platform in China featuring a wide selection of physical goods sold from individuals or companies. Taobao is extremely popular not only with Chinese but also foreigners. With our guide on how to buy from Taobao, you can easily find items you want and buy them. Are you wondering if you can buy from Taobao directly as a foreigner? Can Taobao supply international shipping service to the USA or Europe? Read on!

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Can I buy from Taobao directly as a foreigner?

Yes, you can. Taobao provides a global site¹ for overseas Chinese and foreigners, offering a variety of international shipping services to deliver goods to your overseas shipping address.

Currently, Taobao supports consolidation or direct shipping to the following countries or regions²:

• Hong Kong, China
• Macau, China
• Taiwan
• Malaysia
• Singapore
• USA
• Canada
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Japan

Warning. Not all Taobao sellers support international delivery. Therefore, make sure to check the seller's delivery policies and fees carefully before purchasing an item from Taobao.

For countries not included such as the Philippines or any country in Europe, what is the best option to buy from Taobao?

1. You may ask the Taobao seller to contact the consolidation warehouse for advice on relevant overseas logistics issues or ask the seller to select their own logistics company for international delivery. If you are still unable to ship your order, we recommend that you cancel the order.
2. Choose a trusted Taobao shopping service.
3. Alternatively, you can try searching for similar products on AliExpress, which is known as “the international Taobao”.

What I can’t buy as a foreigner on Taobao?

When you purchase prohibited items overseas, i.e. items that cannot be shipped or purchased due to customs or local policy restrictions, they will be refused by the forwarder. At this point, you have to contact the seller to request a refund and the goods will be returned to the seller in the same way.

For countries and regions such as Singapore, Malaysia, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines,the catalogue of commodities prohibited for export from mainland China includes but is not limited to:³

• All types of potent poisons, biochemicals, and infectious substances;
• Addictive narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances;
• Items whose circulation or consignment is prohibited by state decree;
• Goods that are harmful to China's politics, economy, culture and morality (Falun Gong, etc.), goods whose content involves state secrets, and goods and their packaging that violate the "One China" principle;
• Goods that hinder public health;
• Animals, plants, their specimens and certain natural resources.
• Radioactive materials and all other types of dangerous or hazardous substances;
• Medical waste, chemical waste, industrial waste, etc;
• Gases;
• Flammable and explosive items;
• Chemicals, chemical laboratory supplies, medical products, etc;
• Corrosive goods;
• Various circulating currencies, gambling equipment and apparatus, etc;

How to buy from Taobao

1. Create your Taobao account;
2. Switch it to English;
3. Set your shipping address;
4. Browse items or enter the name of a product you want to buy from Taobao in the search box;
5. Enter the product details page. Check the item's details, reviews, pictures, etc. to see if the item meets your needs. You can also consult the seller for specific information about the item.
6. Select the product specification, colour, size and other relevant options, and then click Add to Cart. If you want to buy more than one item, you can put them in the shopping cart one by one.
7. Click "Checkout".
8. Select the shipping address and payment method, then click "Submit Order".
9. Make your payment, then wait for the merchant to deliver the goods.
10. Track your order. In the order details page, you can check the status of the order at any time, including whether the seller has dispatched the goods, logistics information, etc.
11. Pick up your parcel, and check the item for damage/not as described immediately.
12. If there is no problem with the item, confirm receipt and leave reviews on Taobao about your purchase experience.
13. If the parcel received is damaged, or the actual product is different from the description, contact the seller to complain.
14. Request a refund or reshipment.

1. Creating your Taobao account

Follow this step guide to create a Taobao account before purchasing from Taobao:

1. Open the Taobao website or Taobao app, find and click "My Taobao";
2. Click on "Free Register";
3. Once you have entered your mobile phone number, click "Next";
4. Enter the verification code you received on your mobile phone and select "Confirm";
5. Your Taobao account has been successfully registered.

2. Switch Taobao to English

There are a variety of tools or plugins you can utilise. Here’s a detailed guide on how use Google Translate app⁴ to change Taobao to English.

1. On your iPhone, open the Google Translate app.
2. Navigate to the Home screen.
3. Press and hold the Google Translate application firmly.
4. Drag your finger to “Paste to translate” → [Language], then release it.

Note:
To change the Taobao app to English on an Android device using the Google Translate app, click here.
Learn best ways to change TaoBao to English, full article click here.

3. Add your card

Taobao doesn't support directly linking bank cards, so you need to go to Alipay (Taobao and Alipay are two platforms under the Alibaba Group, which have been linked and authorised by and to each other) to do this.

Select "My" - "Bank Card" - "Add Bank Card" in the lower right corner, fill in the information according to the prompts and submit.

Taobao/Alipay currently supports international credit cards such as Visa, MasterCard and JCB for payment. Handling fee will be charged for using UnionPay mobile payment, which is 1% of each transaction amount. The minimum charge is RMB1 and the maximum charge is RMB25.

Note: The handling fee is not refundable if the transaction is refunded.

FAQs

Is it safe to buy from Taobao?

Overall Taobao is safe. However, there are risks involved in any online transaction. And there are hundreds of thousands of merchants on Taobao, who have different reputation statuses and different reviews for the items they sell.

It is generally recommended to check the seller's reputation status before purchasing, as well as the time of registration, and the user reviews of their service and products.

How long does Taobao direct shipping take?

It depends.

After your purchase from Taobao is sent to the collector, the collector promises to put the parcel into the warehouse within 8 hours after signing for the parcel from the collector's warehouse. The parcel will be shipped out within 24 hours from the time the buyer successfully pays the shipping fee.

For Hong Kong and Taiwan, Taobao promises to deliver the items to Hong Kong and Taiwan and deliver to the buyer's shipping address or pick-up point within 3-5 working days, counting from 00:00 on the next day of the buyer's paid collect shipping fee.

It takes 5-7 working days for Singapore and Malaysia, 10-15 working days for other overseas regions².

Buying directly from Taobao in the USA? What do I need to know?

• Shop from Taobao global site and change it to English.
• Choose from Taobao direct shipping or consolidation shipping based on your needs and your shipping address.
• You may select a Taobao agent for Taobao shopping service to save your time.
• Don't buy items that can't be shipped from Taobao to the U.S.

Are there fake brands on Taobao?

Sellers on Taobao are a mixed bag and the quality of items varies. Some items may be fake or of poor quality. It is recommended to buy from the official flagship and certified well-established shops on Taobao and Tmall for quality assurance. If buying from an individual seller, it is recommended to check other user buyer reviews first.

Send your earnings out of China using Wise!

If you’re working or living in China, you’ll probably need to transfer RMB overseas from China. In this scenario, your best bet is to use the services of a reliable global money transfer tool to make international transactions for you at the best rates.

This is where Wise comes in. Wise uses the middle-market exchange rate plus a small upfront conversion fee, and can help you to send money to over 160 countries, including China. Sending money from or to China is easy and fast. All you have to do is to open a Wise account and make a few taps on your Wise app or via online.

Pay for your transfers with Alipay

We’ve introduced an easier way for you to pay for your transfers — Alipay.

Whether you’re paying expenses in another country or sending money to family back home, you can use Alipay to pay for transfers of up to 50,000 CNY.

Unlike bank transfers, there are no minimum limits on what you can send and Alipay operates all day, every day. So you can send money at a time that suits you, not them.

How to pay with Alipay

1. Enter an amount: Select CNY as the currency you’re sending from, then enter how much and which currency you’re sending to — you can send up to 50,000 CNY per transfer.
2. Choose your recipient: This needs to be either your own account outside of China or your Wise balance.
3. Select Alipay as your payment method: If you’re on your phone, you’ll be automatically redirected to your Alipay app. If you’re using our website, you’ll be shown a QR code which you can scan from your Alipay app.
4. Confirm payment: Once you’ve paid, go back to the Wise app or website and select ‘I have paid’. Your transfer will then be on its way.

Over 16 million people across the world are receiving and sending money with Wise. They also use Wise to hold and convert currencies. There are 40+ currencies to choose from. You can get CNY money in China, and USD in the USA!

This service is provided in partnership with a licensed third party payment provider in China.