How to buy from Taobao & 1688 without speaking Chinese

Taobao, 1688 and Weidian sell almost everything made in China, often at a fraction of what the same object costs once it has been relabelled and shipped to a shop near you. The catch: they are built for buyers inside China. Most sellers don't ship abroad, the pages are in Chinese, and checkout expects a Chinese phone number. A shopping agent solves all three. This guide covers the part before the agent: finding the right listing and reading it properly.

The three marketplaces

• Taobao is the everyday marketplace: millions of small shops, single items, retail prices. Start here for clothing, home goods and small gadgets.
• 1688 is the wholesale side, where factories and trading companies sell to Chinese shops. Prices are often the lowest you will find, but some listings have a minimum order (look for 起批, "minimum to start an order") or price tiers by quantity.
• Weidian is a mobile storefront used by small independent sellers, often the same people who post on Chinese social media. Shops are smaller and listings shorter.

Read a listing in five checks

You don't need to read Chinese, but you do need to know where to look. A browser's page translation handles most of it; these are the parts it tends to get wrong.

1. The price you see first is the cheapest option. A listing usually holds several variants (颜色, colour; 尺码, size) and each has its own price. Pick the exact variant before you compare.
2. Stock and timing. 现货 means in stock and ships now. 预售 means pre-sale: it may ship weeks later, and your agent will hold the rest of your order until it arrives.
3. Domestic shipping. 包邮 means free shipping inside China, to your agent's warehouse. Without it, expect ¥5 to ¥15 extra.
4. The size chart. Chinese sizes run small. Ignore the letter on the label and compare the chart's centimetres with a piece you already own.
5. The shop. Older shops with many sales and recent photo reviews from buyers are the safer bet. A brand-new shop with one listing at half the usual price is not.

From link to parcel: the six steps

1. Find the item. Search in English through your agent's search box, use the marketplace's image search with a photo, or start from a find on this site.
2. Copy the link of the exact listing and paste it into your agent's site. The agent shows the listing translated, with the variants to choose from.
3. Pay for the item. You pay the item price, any domestic shipping and the agent's service fee. Nothing for international shipping yet.
4. Wait for the warehouse. The seller ships to the agent in China, usually within 2 to 5 days.
5. Check the QC photos. The agent photographs what arrived. Compare it with the listing: colour, size, damage, the right variant. Ask for a measurement if in doubt.
6. Ship it home. Once everything you ordered is in the warehouse, choose a shipping line and pay by weight. The guide on shopping agents covers fees and lines in detail.

Words worth knowing

• 颜色 (yánsè): colour
• 尺码 (chǐmǎ): size
• 现货 (xiànhuò): in stock
• 预售 (yùshòu): pre-sale, ships later
• 包邮 (bāoyóu): free shipping inside China
• 起批 (qǐpī): minimum order on 1688

Weight is the number that decides your shipping cost. Every find on this site lists it, so you can estimate the total before you order anything.

Next: shopping agents explained, or what shipping to the EU really costs.