October 2014
63
impossible for me to shop for all
our household needs in one go.”
But, with Taobao, she says, “You
can unearth virtually anything on
there! I once bought a replacement
vacuum cleaner tube for just five
yuan (HK$6) in a fraction of the
time it would have taken me to go to
a hardware store and try to explain
which one I needed.” As her Taobao
addiction grew, she began to assist
non-Chinese speaking friends with
their purchases, and launched her
business as a “retail facilitator” in
2013. “It’s pretty straightforward to
work with a Taobao agent: simply
contact them with a description or
picture of the item that you have in
mind, then they’ll let you know the
price and arrange delivery to your
designated address. Their service
usually costs about ten per cent of
the item you’re purchasing, plus the
delivery fee.”
Solo shoppers
But what about going it alone?
Shanghai-based American mum
Solveig Kettinger has used Taobao
agents in the past, but now relies on
Google Translate to shop on the site.
“Translations range from the useful
to the rather goofy, but it gets the
job done.” However, she also adds,
“It’s very possible that my Google
Chrome auto-translation misses
some of the finer points that address
when an item will be available…
I’ve ordered things, thinking they’d
arrive imminently, only to have the
vendor inform me that they’re delayed
because they’re coming directly from
the US, for instance.” Solveig lists the
advantages of shopping on Taobao as
in China, increasing to 50 per cent
and even as much as 90 per cent for
some items.”
The benefit of using a Taobao
agent for your purchases, says Jenny,
is clear. “As there is no charge for
sourcing items or answering any
questions you may have about a
product, you are under no obligation
to complete the purchase; so, if you are
not happy with either the item or the
price, you walk away and pay nothing.”
Busy mum Crystal Chu
founded Snappy Shopper (www.
snappyshopperasia.com) when she
found herself spending more and
more time on Taobao sourcing
practical items for her family after
their move from Hong Kong to
Shanghai. “It saves time on sourcing
everyday things. Particularly when
my son was little, it was almost
