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Shop Taobao in English

Shanghai Expat Forum Index » City Living Forums » Lifestyle Recommendations

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thickchick

Barker

Joined: Dec 19, 2008
Posts: 196
Location: Shanghai and NC, USA
Status: Offline

Posted: May 31, 2009 - 06:40 PM
Post subject: Shop Taobao in English

I've read several posts lately from folks wishing to shop online at the all-Chinese site taobao.com. I have been shopping taobao (I actually browse prices to gauge what I should be paying at local markets) in English with really decent results using the firefox browser and a firefox translator add-on.

First, if you aren't using mozilla firefox browser you'll need to download it:

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/personal.html (scroll to bottom of page for download)

Once you've downloaded the browser, you'll need to download the translator add-on:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3361

***

Following is a graphic tutorial assuming you already have firefox browser in place:

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Trailing TaiTai

littlelion

Ranter

Joined: Apr 15, 2009
Posts: 500

Status: Offline

Posted: May 31, 2009 - 10:46 PM

Prices on taobao cant be a measure of the prices in stores.They are undependable and unbelieveablely low.

thickchick

Barker

Joined: Dec 19, 2008
Posts: 196
Location: Shanghai and NC, USA
Status: Offline

Posted: May 31, 2009 - 11:23 PM

Well, prices on taobao are certainly debatable, I'm comparing "fake" handbags and luggage, lamps, oriental rugs, and "antiques" I have purchased. I've found taobao prices to be marginally MORE expensive than what I actually paid for items at markets (not to be confused with mall stores).

But, the real purpose of the post was to give folks a way to view sites in English - the translator is also helpful in negotiating local Realtor sites, and other useful Chinese websites.

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ocryan

Talker

Joined: Nov 09, 2004
Posts: 95

Status: Offline

Posted: June 20, 2009 - 06:40 PM

Good call, thickchick. There's also this website I like that has has a megaguide on how to shop taobao in English. It has a ton of tools for this purpose.

ansavnukr

Seeker

Joined: June 05, 2009
Posts: 50
Location: Shanghai
Status: Offline

Posted: June 20, 2009 - 09:34 PM

you shopped there? and how're the goods? are they okey? 'coz i've seen many sites like that but not sure if they're reliable Confused

hendybear

Lurker

Joined: Dec 19, 2008
Posts: 31
Location: Shanghai
Status: Offline

Posted: Oct 30, 2009 - 01:15 PM

The add on does not work with the latest versions of Firefox Sad

thickchick

Barker

Joined: Dec 19, 2008
Posts: 196
Location: Shanghai and NC, USA
Status: Offline

Posted: Oct 30, 2009 - 03:59 PM

Firefox started acting "funky" for me a few months back, so I switched to chrome (and the translate works fabulous in chrome). But the easiest thing to do now is bookmark http://translate.google.com/# and then select the url you wish to read, open the google bookmark and paste the url you wish to translate in the text box. The site will translate.

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Trailing TaiTai

wingman2

Lurker

Joined: Mar 05, 2005
Posts: 39

Status: Offline

Posted: Nov 01, 2009 - 07:48 PM

A female friend of mine has a TaoBao link selling female clothing & down-jackets. The site has ENGLISH descriptions as well.

The shop sells surplus stock from export orders. It may interest some of you ladies out there. Very Happy

Click on the item you're interested in. The Chinese description will then pop up. Scroll down pass the pictures and you have the English translation.

See link of shop below:
http://shop59316491.taobao.com/

Wingman

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aloha99

Reacher

Joined: Nov 20, 2003
Posts: 317

Status: Offline

Posted: Nov 11, 2009 - 08:15 PM

Thanks to the amazing guys at Taobao field guide (and google translator) I managed to suceesfully order a few times on Taobao. They explain every step from browsing to checking the vendor's background to the payment process. Really easy.And if you encounter any problem they are more than happy to help you.
http://taobaofieldguide.com/

karab123

Seeker

Joined: Feb 20, 2009
Posts: 58
Location: french concession
Status: Offline

Posted: Nov 14, 2009 - 01:32 AM

i love taobao field guide too. the best thing though is to have a trustworthy chinese friend help you set up the taobao chinese bank account link

aloha99

Reacher

Joined: Nov 20, 2003
Posts: 317

Status: Offline

Posted: Nov 17, 2009 - 10:59 PM

no real need for a chinese bank account. You can just go to the Post office and deposit whatever amount of money you want onto an "electronic wallet" that you will use to pay for your taobao stuff. Takes 5 minutes. Found it more reliable that the bank link. It's explained clearly on the Taobao Field Guide site.