How to Buy From Taobao: Set Up Your Account

Taobao, to some, is considered the eBay of China. While this is fairly close to the truth — random people can sell new and used items — I think of it as more as Amazon’s private dealer platform since the auction function isn’t overly popular at this time. Either way, if you are in China, you should be using TaoBao to get items that aren’t readily found at a reasonable price in China.

Buying from Taobao is a simple process…once you know the process. This guide will take you through the process of setting up your Taobao account in English and will be the first part of a multi-part series on how to buy from Taobao. After you are done here, read my article on how to TaoBao in English: How to Buy where you follow me every step in the way of my purchase. Before you go forward, I recommend three things:

1) Download Google’s Toolbar here. Then, read my guide on setting up a Chinese Translator for the Internet.

2) Use Internet Explorer. For some reason, I have trouble registering for Taobao through Firefox. I’m not sure what the issue is (maybe you can try), but I had no problems with IE.

3) Read my Secret to Save 50% on TaoBao. This guide alone will be priceless as you begin making TaoBao purchases. You will need to be a member of my site (sign up to the right or below), but this is completely free and will give you access to other valuable guides.

Now onto registering…

Step 1: Go to TaoBao. Translate the site clicking the “Translate” tool on your Google toolbar (if it doesn’t translate automatically). Then, click on the “Free Registration” link at the top left of the Taobao website as seen below circled in green.

Step 2: Click on the envelope registration button on the right side of the screen (since we are taking the easiest path and not dealing with phone registration). See below.

Step 3: Fill out the form. Make sure the green checkmarks show. As an aside, I couldn’t get past this page using Firefox. However, it worked fine for me with Internet Explorer.

Step 4:You’ll get to the page below asking you to confirm by e-mail. Check your e-mail at this time. Look for an e-mail with all Chinese characters in the header. It will be pretty hard to miss.

Step 5: Click on the confirm button or link in your e-mail.

Conclusion on Registering for TaoBao:

Now that you know the first step on how to buy from Taobao, you are ready to read my guide on TaoBao in English: How to Buy from Taobao. Getting this skill down will be a valuable tool for anyone living in China and will save you quite a bit of money and time. Again, please make sure that you read my Secret to Save 50% on Taobao. You will hate yourself for wasting money if you don’t read this guide prior to making any purchases. Any suggestions or thoughts? Please leave a comment.

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