If you love to shop online you’re going to love Taobao. Home to everything from fashion and furniture to health products, electronics and cosplay costumes, you’ll find great bargains available. Use this guide as a good place to start your Taobao journey, and happy shopping!
We'll also introduce Wise account and card, a possibly cheaper way to send and spend money internationally.
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One of the biggest challenges faced by international Taobao shoppers is that the entire site is in Chinese with only very limited options to switch to English or any other language. To make Taobao English-friendly, use Google Translate to automatically translate the page content. It’s not a perfect solution, but it does make it far easier to navigate if your Chinese isn’t up to scratch.
If you don’t see the Translate button in your browser, you can change your options by clicking the 3 dots on the top right of the Chrome page. This will take you into your account settings where you can manage your language preferences.
It’s good to know you can search in both Chinese and English, although English language searches may not pull up as many results as Chinese. Most often though, the problem is too much choice rather than not enough - Taobao has filters available to narrow down your search.
Taobao is a treasure trove of cheap goods. Inevitably this means that alongside great bargains and honest sellers, you’ll find products and stores which are not so good. This may mean poor service, low grade goods, or issues with delivery - so it’s well worth checking the sellers you’re considering have good reputations before you spend any of your hard earned money there.
Taobao payments are made through the Alipay payment gateway, and always in CNY. If you’ve never used Alipay you’ll be asked to enter a password and create an Alipay account before you get started. However, paying is then fairly simple and can be done using your preferred credit or debit card.
Taobao adds a 3% fee for use of an international card³ - your card issuer may also add a fee which you’ll want to be aware of.
To make sure you get the best exchange rate available when you spend on Taobao, you may consider a provider like Wise.
Wise multi-currency account and card are on average 3x cheaper to send, spend, and withdraw money overseas, compared to 6 other provider and Malaysia bank accounts
Here’s how to pay with Wise card on Taobao:
With Wise, you don't need to worry about high foreign transaction fees like your regular banks charge. You'll only pay low, transparent conversion fees with the real exchange rate.
You’ve selected your bargains. Here’s how to get them.
The length of time it takes to get your goods to Malaysia depends on the shipping method you choose, the specific sellers you buy from, and the type of products you’re buying. An air shipment of a piece of jewelry will arrive quicker than a container full of furniture sent by sea. It’s safe to assume you’ll be waiting a couple of weeks at least - use the tracking tools available on the Taobao website to keep up with your goods as they travel.
Use the Cross-border logistics option on the Taobao website to track your shipment. Simply log into your account, and click to see where your goods are and when they’re likely to be in Malaysia.
You have a few different options when it comes to shipping. Items can be sent direct or in a consolidated shipment. Consolidated shipments involve collecting all the goods you order in a warehouse in China before sending them together in a single shipment by air or sea. This method is typically slower, but cheaper. There are limits on the size and weight of parcels that can be shipped, which may also vary according to your location within Malaysia, with additional costs for some outlying areas of the country.
Costs are calculated according to the final weight of the shipment. For shipments by air the first 500g of weight has a fixed price, and then you’ll pay an additional fee for each half kilo on top of that. Sea shipments are cheaper, but the charging is worked out using both weight and volume, with complex rules dictating what can be included in a single shipment. You’ll want to check the full details online to make sure your Taobao bargains don’t end up breaking the bank in shipping costs. Here are the key details.
| Shipping method | Taobao cost |
|---|---|
| Consolidated air freight | |
| Direct delivery | |
| Consolidated sea freight - small parcels |
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| Consolidated sea freight - large parcels |
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If you want to buy from Taobao but you have reservations about using the site directly, you can also use a Malaysian based agent to make the process more straightforward. Using a local agent has a few advantages. You’ll often be able to access an English language website to browse and select products, with support offered in English if you need it. Additional services are also available such as package checking to inspect the goods before they are shipped internationally from China. This can ultimately save time and make sure your items are correct before you pay for them to be shipped to Malaysia.
Shopping Taobao using an agent will typically cost you more than using the Taobao site directly - but can offer some peace of mind and cut down the hassle. Here are a few agents to consider if that’s the way you decide to go:
Depending on your personal preferences and what you want to buy, you might even choose to use a Taobao store in Malaysia to get your goods. Stores are beginning to appear which offer a hybrid shopping model, letting you click and collect your Taobao purchases for example. This can cut the costs of delivery and give you more options to have items delivered to home, or for self pick up at one of a variety of locations throughout the country.
You can visit a Taobao physical store at the MyTOWN shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur to check out the services on offer⁸.
Taobao has a handy help centre on their website which can help with common problems⁹. You can also log into your account to access 24 hour online support directly from Taobao.
If the issue you’re experiencing is with the payment rather than the Taobao site itself, get in touch with the Alipay contact for payment problems: Malaysia Service Hotline ( 60 ) 392125564.
If you’re shopping on Taobao you’ll need to pay in CNY. That means you need a smart and simple way to spend in a foreign currency without high fees. Meet Wise.
If you have a credit card with a traditional bank like Maybank, you’ll be charged 2%-2.5% every time you spend in any currency other than MYR¹º - and you may not get the best exchange rate out there, either.
Wise multi-currency accounts let you hold, send and spend dozens of currencies, and switch between them using the mid-market exchange rate. With Wise, you just pay a low 1.08% fee to convert your MYR to CNY, get the best available exchange rate, and avoid the 2%+ charge your bank will impose for spending with a foreign retailer.
Make sure your Taobao bargains really are bargains, by using Wise to cut the costs of international payments.
Taobao is a great site to find deals on anything you want to buy. You’ll need to put in a bit of effort to search and check out the sellers and the quality of the items on offer, but you can net yourself some great gear for way less than you’ll pay in a store.
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*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.
This publication is provided for general information purposes and does not constitute legal, tax or other professional advice from Wise Payments Limited or its subsidiaries and its affiliates, and it is not intended as a substitute for obtaining advice from a financial advisor or any other professional.
We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that the content in the publication is accurate, complete or up to date.
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