Holiday shopping

Happy New Year, everyone!

The boys have been home the past two weeks and I find little time for sitting down to write. Finally, some time alone.

One of the things I eventually got down to recently was shopping, from home. I was in fact quite amazed by Taobao (淘宝), the biggest online shopping platform in China today. For those of you who have never been on it, here's the link: www.taobao.com.cn. It offers a huge array of stuff ranging from bags, shoes, clothes to household appliances, furniture and sports equipment. The list goes on.

Unlike back home where I've done some online shopping on an ad hoc basis, this is a marketplace that has payment and ratings systems quite unique to its own.

There is an intermediary (支付宝) which holds the buyer's money in escrow and the buyer has to authorise release of the cash to the seller only on receipt of the product. Quite essential in China, where direct online payment is still not highly trusted.

Also, you are prompted to rate the seller/buyer after each transaction, and these ratings are transparent to all. That is, I suppose, one way to check on each other's credibility. In fact, it's sort of a custom in online shopping here to chat online (阿里旺旺) with your seller and casually ask for discounts or waiver in delivery fees before you place your orders. I did the reverse at first...and learnt along the way.

Well, to the big question: what did I buy? Probably the most I have in such a short period of time. Shoes, clothes, cuff links (for Teo), baby clothes (for a relative...ahem, not me ok), scarf, oh and I am now helping my brother-in-law search for a good luggage bag.

I think this type of shopping appeals only to people like me, who hate entering shop after shop to look for a specific product. It also helps that delivery charges are typically minimal like 5-15 rmb. And the feeling of having your goods delivered to you is nice, especially since the winter is getting to be rather cold and wet nowadays.

Before anyone plunge into it, however, I would strongly advise scouring through more suppliers and starting small with lower value purchases. It's fun (if you don't mind taking a chance since you don't get to feel or try the stuff physically before buying) and it links you to suppliers from all over China.

Well, whatever form shopping takes for you, hope you find some good bargains.