track down specific items because many of the familiar stores aren't
here. Instead of hunting, I turn to Taobao, which is a Chinese eBay.
With the help of google translate, I can find what I need. The real
problem now, I've discovered, is that returning items is too daunting
when the seller sends the wrong crap. Darn, I knew that was too easy.
Damn, that reminds me... did you use my extra Taobao money yet?
ReplyDeleteYep, used it promptly... got it down to mere pennies. Umm, I guess that would be fen.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of stuff are you talking about? Toothpaste? Bike tires? Beers? How is the Chinese postal efficiency? In Germany things would take literally 1 day to get to our door from within Germany. Is it cheap to send stuff to another address in China? Curious.
ReplyDeleteNick-b, I think it is clear from the size of the package that it's a ream of paper.
ReplyDeleteThere's all sorts of stuff I've gotten on Taobao that I couldn't find elsewhere. For example, our bikes have skinny tires, and when Sierra got a flat I just needed a new tube with a presta valve. It's totally standard in the US, and despite all the bikes on the road here, I struck out at all 5 shops I visited. It can be frustrating when routine things are impossible to track down.
ReplyDeleteI was also looking for shoes here, and my size 11 are rare. When I walked into shops, they'd have a couple size 11s, but rarely in a style I want. It's mildly amusing when I'm looking for a work appropriate shoe and they bring purple basketball high tops because that's what they have in 11. So, Taobao for shoes too.
Shipping is way fast, often about a buck and stuff will arrive in a day. My challenge with returning things is on the communication end. I need to contact the seller via chat to arrange the return, and Google Translate confuses translations pretty badly from English to Chinese. Then I'd need to arrange for a courier to pick up my package, at which time I fill out a form in Chinese. I basically need help with all of that. :(
That package in the photo is shoes I bought for Sierra (because she's too stubborn to go buy shoes herself). The seller sent shoes that are way too big. We had a friend help exchange them, and now our replacement shoes are also too big. Ugh.