# Taobao agents



## flori78 (Sep 7, 2008)

Hello,

Apart of TaoBaoDirect, can we post our experiences with Taobao agents? We can make a list of reputable Taobao agents and everyone will benefit.

Thanks...


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## Martin_B (Apr 11, 2008)

I have worked with TaoBaoNow.com twice now, and everything worked very smooth.

Regards,

martin


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## flori78 (Sep 7, 2008)

dank je...


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## infinitime (Feb 16, 2006)

I opened a TaoBaoDirect account recently...as I wanted to purchase several items from one particular seller on TaoBao... 

As they were all coming from the same source, I asked TaoBaoDirect if they would ask the seller to combine domestic shipping (from seller to TBDirect's warehouse in Shenzhen). To my surprise, TBDirect said "no", and asked that I pay for individual shipping for each item! I wasn't keen on doing so (as the seller would have most likely combined everything anyways), and cancelled my transaction. 

In the end, I decided to use another agent.


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## mleok (Feb 16, 2010)

Did you find another agent who would combine shipping? I did ask TaoBaoDirect to combine shipping but it was only for two items, and I didn't get a response about that request. I went with TaoBaoDirect instead of TaoBaoNow at that time, as TBD had a better exchange rate for RMB to USD than TBN.

One does have to do a bit of due diligence, since the various agents seem to have ways of padding their profits, be it not crediting you for combined shipping, or having different exchange rates. I would be interested to hear about other options as well.


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## infinitime (Feb 16, 2006)

I ended up placing my order through TBN, am currently waiting for the items. You are right that TBN's exchange rate is less favorable, but they responded quickly, and their system automatically adjusted for combined shipping from the same seller... 

As I have yet to receive the items, I can't really comment on how efficient they are with shipping...


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## mleok (Feb 16, 2010)

I have to say that the TBN interface is very nice, since your order form automatically includes a photo of the item you're ordering. Let me know how it goes, I'm waiting on my TBD order at the moment as well.


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## Quebecone (Mar 25, 2010)

I'm trying to order a Beijin watch Zhufeng through Taobaodirect and I must say that for a first try on taobao it's not a wonderfull experience...

Took them more then a week to review my order, paid immidiately after receiving the invoice and now it's been more than a week that the status is ''processing''.

Not sure I'll try again an agent on taobao since everything seem to take alot of time versus other ''auction-online shop''.

ps: I must admit I'm the impatient type when I fall for a timepiece: I WANT MY WATCH NOW!!!


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## mleok (Feb 16, 2010)

Hmm... Beijing Zhufeng. I was contemplating getting that as well, it really has a wonderful looking movement. See Martin_B's photos:

https://www.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=399379

I figured I would purchase something more modest first, just to get used to the TaoBao process. I really should resist... I already have too many white faced dress watches. I might get that next, after getting the Seagull 1963 reissue from watchunique.

I know what you mean about everything taking a long time on Taobao, if something is available on eBay, and the price premium is not too substantial, I tend to purchase it there instead, since it is difficult to get those rare deals on TaoBao while putting together a sufficiently large order to justify the fees and shipping expenses.


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## Martin_B (Apr 11, 2008)

Quebecone said:


> I'm trying to order a Beijin watch Zhufeng through Taobaodirect and I must say that for a first try on taobao it's not a wonderfull experience...
> 
> Took them more then a week to review my order, paid immidiately after receiving the invoice and now it's been more than a week that the status is ''processing''.
> 
> ...


I used TaoBaoNow.com to order the same watch. They were quite responsive and quick. Because of MayDay holidays and ashclouds it took a bit longer, but between ordering and receiving the watch were a little over three weeks :-!

Regards,

Martin


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## rich5665 (Feb 25, 2010)

Quebecone said:


> I'm trying to order a Beijin watch Zhufeng through Taobaodirect and I must say that for a first try on taobao it's not a wonderfull experience...
> 
> Took them more then a week to review my order, paid immidiately after receiving the invoice and now it's been more than a week that the status is ''processing''.
> 
> ...


What happens during the first payment is TaoBao Direct Contacts the seller to insure that the items is available. If the items are still available, they then purchase the items. At this point you are waiting for the seller to send the item to TaoBao Direct. After TaoBao Direct inspects the items they repackage them and ship the items out. On my second order, one watch had been sold immediately after I made my first payment. TaoBao Direct applied the difference to my shipping costs. The fees in my opinion are the same as TaoBaoNow 10% of the order or a minimum of 50 RMB. Im going to give TaoBaoNow just as a comparison. I will say this much about TaoBao Direct. After receiving a notification of shipping I had the item within a week.


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## Guest (Oct 4, 2010)

Hey all, wish you could try Taobao Tube - Taobao Agent shopping service - Buy from Taobao
you can check their testimonials.


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## ModernTimes (Jul 10, 2010)

I have used Obook for one transaction and another quotation: they reply immediately, and the whole process was very smooth and quick. Not sure how costs compare to others - I presume they are fairly standard acrross agents?

http://obook.taobao.com


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## gullei (Jan 4, 2011)

Gullei Taobao Agent offers languages for different countries customers. Service commission is only 8 -10%. and 40% discount on RegisteredAirmail and EMS.
*http://gulleitaobaoagent.com/*

You can register on *http://gulleitaobaoagent.com/register/*and you get a discount of 1 USD. Gullei also takes pictures of all products before shipping, to show quality of items you purchased.


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## cameronma (May 7, 2010)

Why you all want use agent? through them away,save commission and time. ;-)


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## ej0rge (Jan 13, 2011)

Someone pointed out BuyFromTaobao: We buy and ship items from taobao.com to you to me today. I haven't used it, just relaying information.


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## chrisbo28 (Jan 11, 2011)

The only thing I don't like about taobaogle is their very slow responding time.:-| They prefer EMS and if you prefer a diffrent method, it is like pain in the ass to get at least a quotation.:-(


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## sharkfin (Dec 3, 2009)

Quebecone said:


> Took them more then a week to review my order, paid immidiately after receiving the invoice and now it's been more than a week that the status is ''processing''.
> 
> Not sure I'll try again an agent on taobao since everything seem to take alot of time versus other ''auction-online shop''.
> 
> ps: I must admit I'm the impatient type when I fall for a timepiece: I WANT MY WATCH NOW!!!


+1

Took forever, I'm not patient. Its a painful struggle to wait, but thats just me. haha.
I've used and in the process of my first experience with Taobaonow.

So still waiting. Hopeful for a great outcome. ;-)


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## Chascomm (Feb 13, 2006)

*To all visitors to this forum*, please understand that the question raised in the original post is directed to members to recommend Taobao agents with whom they have done successful business.

It is _not_ an invitation for unknown Taobao agents to advertise their own businesses! :-|


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## Strongwind (Sep 20, 2011)

Well, it seems that Taobaodirect was talked a lot here. I am going to have a look at this agent. Question: is it convenient and helpful for purchasing from taobao? :roll:


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## Citizen V (Jun 29, 2011)

Martin_B said:


> I have worked with TaoBaoNow.com twice now, and everything worked very smooth.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> martin


Ditto with TaoBaoNow.
Ordered the TianJin Jun Shi diver through them. Worked out great. Second watch is being shipped out now. This one seemed to take a bit longer to process; it took couple days between "checked once" and "checked twice" (they check items twice once they receive it from the TaoBao seller), although it probably was because of the holiday. I didn't pay much attention since I'm not in a hurry to receive this second watch.


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## exiLe (Sep 26, 2011)

How did everyone pay through the TaoBaoNow site if they don't mind sharing? I was able to locate a M177S and would love to continue with the purchase but want to make sure everything is done in a secure manner.


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## Xill (Mar 21, 2012)

Hello guys,

I like TaobaoMaster (www.taobaomaster.com)

Fees : 10%
Rate : 1 RMB = 0.16 USD
1st : You place your order on the website, with any question you want / You don't pay
2nd : They ask the seller if he still have the product, they ask your questions / Answers by email
3rd : When everything is OK, they ask you to pay on the website (paypal = 4% fee). You don't pay for the international shipping
4th : When they receive the products, they check (you can ask them to check particular points, if you explain exactly what to do).
5th : When they have all the items (from different sellers), they confirm and you pay the international shipping fees (EMS or other, but it's more expensive).

Of course, you can pay several international shipping fees, if you want your items ASAP...

To be complete :

If you buy several things from the same buyer, the website doesn't know, but before you pay, they change the national shippment fees (one shippment, in one article).
If you make a mistake while placing an order on the website, you can't modify directly => Send an email
If you really, really wan't a watch to be well checked, you can ask them to ask the seller a lot of questions (it depend on the seller's answers), and ask them to go to a watchsmith to check if everything is OK (I don't know the cost : Watchsmith + Commission, but it should be use only for high values). Ie : Is it a real rolex brand at 2 500 USD ??

Informations are sometimes hard to understand (maybe because of my poor english level...), but I'm sure they do their best to help. When you buy from several sellers, it is harder, because they don't answer at the same time...

Ie : emails this morning :



> Payment received! thank you!
> 
> the watches will be ordered now. we didn't send so many wathces to France before, will you have them sent in one shippment? how do you want to declare to customs in your country? and what shipping method will you use? sorry for so many questions, all are to make sure you can receive your order smoothly.





> seller of item no.8942 just gave more information about this watch.
> 
> the watch is working, but the seller doesn't assure it tells time accurately. what's more, one bracelet's head is missing. i tried to know what it is, but failed. it's the part which can connect watch with bracelet, i guess you know it. shall we proceed to buy this watch?
> 
> the other seller gave discount, it's 5% off, equivalent 105.3yuan off. so, i changed price of 8938 to 150yuan, and 8939 to 62.7yuan. overypaid money will be used as part of international shipping, is it ok?


My answer :


> overypaid money will be used as part of international shipping, is it ok?
> 
> Yes, it is. Thanks for the discount.
> 
> ...


And at least :

Once, I asked for a tourbillon at 1.700 RMB only... They asked the seller if the item was still available. I paid. The same day, they tried to buy, but the seller explain them that 1.700 RMB were only the "Down payment" (real price : 9500 RMB)... I didn't notice what was on the seller's description :

"The link is no problem for a prepaid deposit table clients not to the table, then the depositis non-refundable fixed prices for 9500" (google translate)
"the translation reads not very good. it says 1700yuan and non-refundable if client will not proceed with the order after the down payment is done." (Taobao master)

They asked me what to do => Forgive.
I received the money back the same day, by Paypal, without any fees.

So, I have to say it is a good agent, as far as I know...

Xill


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## Reese (Apr 13, 2012)

en-taobao.com is a good Taobao agent. They have 10% service fee, and good, friendly and reliable service.


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## Xill (Mar 21, 2012)

Hi Reese,

I just look on en-taobao.com

What is nice, is that they accept EUR and not only USD (what can be a little less expensive for a european like me..).

They say that they check the items. Do they send photos ?

It seems that you have to pay before being sure you want to buy the item, and befor being sure the item is available. 

Is it true ?
Do you have any shopping experience with them ?
Can you post a (as complete as possible) review ?

Please, let us know.

Xill


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## miroman (Oct 29, 2010)

I have 8 transactions with TaoBaoNow.com and 6 with BHiner.com. My experiences are:

TaoBaoNow
*Positive:*
check if the received watch is the ordered one
check if the received watch is working
good packing
good and friendly communication
*Negative:*
10 % fee
Doesn't check availability before payment, and without PayPal refunding is practically impossible, You have to replace the ordered with something else.
As mentioned, doesn't accept PayPal (checkout is via some Asian equivalent - no problems till now, but keep in mind)
Doesn't ship via EMS (I use HongKong Post - no problems till now, but some parcels didn't pass customs and I had to pay taxes and VAT, while EMS as a rule deliver direct and avoid customs)

BHiner
*Positive:
*5 % fee
accept PayPal
check if the received watch is the ordered one
ship via EMS
good and friendly communication
*Negative:
*Don't check if the received watch is working.
Bad communication inside China - two of my orders, canceled because 'the seller doesn't respond', were successfully delivered by TaoBaoNow.
not so good packing

Both agents have their advantages and disadvantages.

Hope my info will be helpful.

Regards, Miro.


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## frailer5 (Jul 24, 2011)

ModernTimes said:


> I have used Obook for one transaction and another quotation: they reply immediately, and the whole process was very smooth and quick. Not sure how costs compare to others - I presume they are fairly standard acrross agents?
> 
> http://obook.taobao.com


Same experience here. Actually amazing email service. For the totals involved, I don't even think about a few extra $$ in fees. They have to have a margin somewhere. The main thing is, once the transaction is underway, be patient. Takes a while for your watch to find its way through the system. In fact I'd almost forgotten it, and it suddenly arrived. Nice surprise.


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## Reese (Apr 13, 2012)

Xill said:


> Hi Reese,
> 
> I just look on en-taobao.com
> 
> ...


Ok, here is a short review.

I think they confirm that the items are available before you pay.. but of course they wont buy them before you pay.
I do not know if they send photos, i have not asked them to do that.. but i have ordered stuff from them twice and it went like this..

First I placed an order, by doing a "quickorder" where I put the URLs to the items I wanted from some Chinese online stores.
Then i I got an email confirming that they received the order.
A while later I got another email and invoice attachment saying that they had contacted the sellers and that the items were available.
Then I payed for the items by Paypal.
Then I got a message saying that the items where ordered.
I ordered a bunch of stuff, so they sent a bunch of emails and kept me updated on when items arrived to their office.
When everything had arrived i got an invoice for the shipping.
After paying the shipping, i got a tracking number the next day, which was for EMS in my case.. it took about 5 days until they arrived.

So, pretty smooth imo. 
I also felt the service was very friendly, so yeah, i can recommend them.


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## wildfox (May 11, 2012)

I found some good taobao agent list and have tried taobao ring, amazing


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## wildfox (May 11, 2012)

flori78 said:


> Hello,
> 
> Apart of TaoBaoDirect, can we post our experiences with Taobao agents? We can make a list of reputable Taobao agents and everyone will benefit.
> 
> Thanks...


Yes, post experience on their feedback or blog, i see that taobao ring has a good feedback, many people have post there.


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## wildfox (May 11, 2012)

yes, mainly like this. some do not take photos, some do. i think those take photos do better. if you find problems, they will help you fix that.


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## Xill (Mar 21, 2012)

Reese said:


> Ok, here is a short review.
> 
> I think they confirm that the items are available before you pay.. but of course they wont buy them before you pay.
> I do not know if they send photos, i have not asked them to do that.. but i have ordered stuff from them twice and it went like this..
> ...


Hi Reese,

Thank you for your review, it helps.

Xill


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## Zarmark.com (May 21, 2012)

My friend used Zarmark to buy from taobao, though not only watches. The good thing is that they accept *PayPal* and pay transaction fee by themselves, they have *EMS 50%* discount, their *commission is 8%*. and as I know they work a lot with western countries, mainly wholesale.
One thing is that they are Chinese, so communicating in English is sometimes a bit tiresome, although they reply fast.
Oh, yes, they have ****y website, yet it works fine.

In case one of you guys want to check them out: Buy from TaoBao,China Shopping Agent,Purchase from China 
Leave your comments as I personally didn't buy anything from them.
I don't need though, haha, as I'm already in China 8)

By the way, check out my blog about life in China: Yuriy Palamarchuk (??)


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## wildfox (May 11, 2012)

i think sydney's website is good, nice service


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## wildfox (May 11, 2012)

there are many taobao agents, more than hundreds of, but hard to find reliable ones. you can compare them, from taobao agents list.


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## CheapThrills (May 16, 2012)

Reese said:


> Ok, here is a short review.
> 
> I think they confirm that the items are available before you pay.. but of course they wont buy them before you pay.
> I do not know if they send photos, i have not asked them to do that.. but i have ordered stuff from them twice and it went like this..
> ...


I did my first purchase also with them
Email was answered promptly and on a friendly tone. I decided to make a direct bank transfer, since they happened to have account in FI.
Money takes a couple of days to get on their account, but there was an option to include screencap in the mail to get things going straight away.

Order is not yet sent to me but so far, seems like I'm getting serviced very well.
Will report later more!


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## Defiant4Ever (Dec 28, 2011)

I think that posters should declare their conflict of interests.

Something like: "I am pretending to be a satisfied customer.":-d

If you post in this thread and have not contributed to other threads it's a bit obvious.


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## wildfox (May 11, 2012)

you can vissit taobao ring's blog, they have collected many agents there.


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## wildfox (May 11, 2012)

does anyone ever use taobao ring 's Aramex shipping, is it good? i want to have a try, as it's cheaper than DHL to my country.


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## lemon712 (Jun 17, 2012)

I think you can try frigirls.com next time. They can refund money to your paypal. Also service is fully good.


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## Defiant4Ever (Dec 28, 2011)

lemon712 said:


> I think you can try frigirls.com next time. They can refund money to your paypal. Also service is fully good.


How many more companies are going to spam this thread?

We're not stupid, you know?

Hide it by doing a review of a watch and then tell us how you used the excellent TaoBao agent, ABC123, to procure the watch ;-) - will somebody use some imagination.:-(

BTW, this is a Chinese watch forum, so none of that Swiss rubbish I know the Chinese usually buy.:-d


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## breeder (May 30, 2012)

Once I used the service taobaofocus.com. no problem


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## LCheapo (Jul 14, 2010)

xiaoxiaotu said:


> i cannot read chinese.


That's really cruel of the parents, first naming the kid Xiao but then not letting it learn Chinese.


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## pinkits (Jul 8, 2012)

LCheapo said:


> That's really cruel of the parents, first naming the kid Xiao but then not letting it learn Chinese.


Also someone putting a suprise in my boxers sounds quite painful.


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## Ric Capucho (Oct 5, 2012)

pinkits said:


> Also someone putting a suprise in my boxers sounds quite painful.


Only the first time. After that it starts to feel quite nice.

Ric


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## LCheapo (Jul 14, 2010)

After (as usual...) clicking the 'report' button on yet another spam post it occurs to me that maybe we want to collect the taobao agent self advertising in this thread, just to have it all in one place?


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## AlbertaTime (Dec 27, 2008)

LCheapo said:


> After (as usual...) clicking the 'report' button on yet another spam post it occurs to me that maybe we want to collect the taobao agent self advertising in this thread, just to have it all in one place?


Using a Taobao agent is always caveat emptor, although I have had great results from taobaonow.

But my real point is that dealing with sellers in China from outisde China is very different from dealing with sellers elsewhere in the world: it's just more difficult to deal directly...and consequently Taobao agents provide a service Chinese watch collectors find useful.

That's why I don't have a big problem with _one_ post from any Taobao agent _in_this_thread_only_. Exactly like you say: it allows us to "collect the taobao agent self advertising in this thread, just to have it all in one place". I'm going to do some thinking on this one to see if we can't figure a way to have the posts just here without the Agents spamming every other forum.


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## sgtiger (Feb 13, 2007)

AlbertaTime said:


> Using a Taobao agent is always caveat emptor, although I have had great results from taobaonow.
> 
> But my real point is that dealing with sellers in China from outisde China is very different from dealing with sellers elsewhere in the world: it's just more difficult to deal directly...and consequently Taobao agents provide a service Chinese watch collectors find useful.
> 
> That's why I don't have a big problem with _one_ post from any Taobao agent _in_this_thread_only_. Exactly like you say: it allows us to "collect the taobao agent self advertising in this thread, just to have it all in one place". I'm going to do some thinking on this one to see if we can't figure a way to have the posts just here without the Agents spamming every other forum.


I actually saw this thread and was disappointed to see it's almost all 1-3 years old. I'd like as much info on finding useful and reliable taobao agents as possible to protect myself.


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## LCheapo (Jul 14, 2010)

There are some other threads, not three years old, where people have reported their experience with different agents. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, try Google site:watchuseek.com with the search terms you are looking for.


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## mifinfo (Jun 8, 2013)

In my opinion, I think buying items from overseas really need an agent, at least it can check the quality and some defective items. And because the watches has batteries and export by air has a strict limit to it. the quantity of every time to delivery is a few.


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## SCourt (Apr 23, 2013)

I just completed my first ever Taobao transaction with Taobaonow. Happy to report that there was good communication and the deal was completed without complications. I found that I had to be patient because it does take longer than even other international buy/trade transactions in my experience, but one I got over that impatience there were no issues at all.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## spacetimefabric (Mar 19, 2012)

I'm in the process of making my first order through Taobaonow. Not sure how often I'll use them, as aside from very occasional watches, if any, am uncertain what else I'd buy from Taobao.
Do other people use Taobao and agents for things other than watches?


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## pinkits (Jul 8, 2012)

Just wanted to put on record my recommendation for taobaotrends.com,i have used them a few times and they are always reliable,this time i ordered a watch from Beijing's T-mall store in the 11th november sale but i accidentally ordered the wrong colour,the store refused to exchange as it was a sale item but taobaotrends would not take no for an answer and eventually persuaded them ,the exchange was done with no fuss and i have received my watch very quickly.

Their communication is excellent,always get a quick answer,they are very polite and their english is excellent,i would highly recommend them.

Taobao Agent | buy from taobao with taobao english version shopping guide


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## mike70sk (Dec 15, 2013)

hi never have bought from them before, do they take paypal and do you really get 50percent off the ems ?


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## mike70sk (Dec 15, 2013)

Hi i never bought from Taobao before, do the agents take paypal and do you really get the 50 percent of ems ?
Will any agents accept pre-orders questions ? I'm looking for a watch that comes in 4 colors, i would like 2 but its not clear to me if there are for sale or some colors are sold out.
If i wanted to contact seller about that would be in mandrin. Would an agent do that for me, i assume they just do what they need to do after you purchase.
With Ems/or regular are we looking at couple month ordeal ?


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## GuessWho (Jan 16, 2012)

mike70sk said:


> Hi i never bought from Taobao before, do the agents take paypal and do you really get the 50 percent of ems ?
> Will any agents accept pre-orders questions ? I'm looking for a watch that comes in 4 colors, i would like 2 but its not clear to me if there are for sale or some colors are sold out.
> If i wanted to contact seller about that would be in mandrin. Would an agent do that for me, i assume they just do what they need to do after you purchase.
> With Ems/or regular are we looking at couple month ordeal ?


I just made my first purchase on TaoBao via TaoBaoNow, they speak English and handle the sale/seller for you. Their pre-sales is responsive (when they are awake) and helpful. The fee is a little higher than other agents out there, but their customer service seems top-notch so far. They will even check the watch when it arrives at their office for you, and deal with the seller if there is a problem. TBN offers 40% off EMS shipping, the calculator is estimating 144 CYN or $23 USD, estimated shipping time is 3-7 days.

Yes they take PayPal, they charged me in HKD.


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## Ric Capucho (Oct 5, 2012)

Yup, go with taobaonow as a starting point and all should be well. You can experiment with other TaoBao agents once you've found your feet.

Ric


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## jamesvivian (Oct 29, 2013)

Pabbos.com, used it for several times. Fast shipping and lower cost.


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## Casertano69 (Sep 22, 2012)

And what about this Yoybuy TaoBao Agent?btw,some questions
1.if the pack is lost in transit?
2.the buyer can choose different ways of shipping?(dhl-ems-Fedex...)
3.if the watch is not working or with flaws?


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## aron (Feb 26, 2009)

Another good word for taobaonow. I've bought a few VCMs and also other miscellaneous stuff through them and were always very responsive and courteous. 

When I tried to buy a xiaomi battery, the shipment was bounced back to them as customs wouldn't allow it on a flight for whatever reason. 

Without any additional payments, they tried several more times, and ultimately shipped it to my address in Hk via ground mail. 

Thumbs up for excellent service. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## DJH584 (Jun 28, 2014)

rsmimi said:


> Friend great news! you can buy your chose able thing from Buy from Taobao in English? Rorbuy.com is your Taobao Agent for USA UK CA & AU. taobao inEnglish if you want to buy easily you can do it just cliclk in taobao buying agent , this it can help you to buy you watch is in site


Thank you for providing that link. My computer security software threw a hissy fit when I tried to open the page and refused to let me do so.
If you are going to provide a link, would you PLEASE ensure that the site content doesn't contain some nasties that are 
going to give people's computers security software a heart attack.

Thank you

David


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## secdwatch (Aug 14, 2013)

This is a shopping mall site?


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