It’s quite common nowadays to hear people, and even your newfound pengyou, saying their recent purchases are bought on either Taobao or JD – or other popular online marketplace apps in China. Even if those apps are fully in Chinese, you can actually get over the language barrier by remembering several steps or using clever strategies just like what other well-versed expats do.

Online shopping in China is truly distinct, and most of the times a learning experience. But a word of caution: it can be addicting and a real cash drain once you learn the how-tos.

So first, let’s have a quick rundown of the top three online marketplaces you should know.

Shop Like a Local

Excluding Baopals, shopping on Taobao and JD involves a learning curve and some tricks. Forget the difficulty of Chinese interfaces and characters; instead, embrace them like a local to get that unique shopping experience.

– When buying or searching for an item, better use keywords and translate them first into Chinese using Baidu Translate. Usually, English-named items cost much more.

– Items bought in Beijing can be delivered within two days; those from other Chinese cities take three to five days. Sellers show where the item will come from.

– Use picture search. Look for the picture icons on Taobao (left) and JD.com (right). But remember, this function doesn’t work all the time.

– There are review features but they’re entirely in Chinese. Alternatively, you can refer to the ratings or photo comments to see how your item of choice looks like. Just look for this word: 有图 (youtu or with photo) or 晒图 (shaitu or blueprint).

But Here’s the Catch…

Success! Your item will be delivered but you think you’ll be in the office by the time the courier arrives at your home.
– Remember that just add your office address as your second shipping address so that your item will be directly sent there. Remember to select that before paying an item.

“The delivery of my item is taking too long!”
– It could be because of the shipping location or other issues like public holidays, the famous November 11 sales day, and severe pollution (yes, because it affects air freights). You can also track the courier, but remember everything is in Chinese so you need to translate it using an app or asking help from a Chinese pengyou.

Okay, you bought a cheap quality item and it’s ready for shipping … but you changed your mind and want to replace it with a different colored one, if not, get a refund.
– That’s tough because you need to talk to a seller’s customer service representatives (CSRs) or fill up a form. Only a few of these CSRs can speak a limited amount of English. What you can do is to use your translator app… or when they call you, just tell them the following phrases:
• Sorry, I don’t speak Chinese. Can you send me a message instead so that I can translate it?
对不起，我不会说中文。 你可以给我一个消息，以便我可以翻译吗？Duìbùqǐ, wǒ bù huì shuō zhōngwén. Nǐ kěyǐ gěi wǒ yīgè xiāoxi, yǐbiàn wǒ kěyǐ fānyì ma?
• Hold on, here’s a friend to talk with you.
等一下。 这是一个朋友跟你说话。Děng yīxià. Zhè shì yīgè péngyǒu gēn nǐ shuōhuà.

“Wow, the delivery was fast…” only to find out the item has defects or different from what you ordered. Worse, you found the item was fake!
– Again, this is a tricky part because you need to contact the vendor. Try sending them a message telling:
• The item I bought was [fake / has defects]. Can I replace it [or have a refund]?
我买的物品是[假/有缺陷]。 可否更换[或退款]？Wǒ mǎi de wùpǐn shì [jiǎ/yǒu quēxiàn]. Kěfǒu gēnghuàn [huò tuì kuǎn]?

This article appeared on p48-49 of the beijingkids July 2018 Home & Relocation Guide issue.

WeChat has launched a new shopping function that lets people shop on JD.com with just a few taps. Now simply by entering consumer product related keywords into the search box at the top of the WeChat homepage or the search function in the “Discover” tab, top search results popping up are product pages JD.com.

We tried entering different keywords like “mobile phone,” “shoes,” and “napkins,” and the results all linked to JD.com shopping site. Through WeChat shopping entry point, users can win “random cashback on purchases.” Under each product results, there is a disclaimer that reads “JD.com Genuine Product Guarantee.”

Products on JD.com are showing up on WeChat’s search results

The shopping function, however, works on clear and unambiguous keywords and but not queries or more complex phrases. According to a PingWest report, the shopping results didn’t appear when entering the query “which one is better, Mentholatum or NIVEA?” or the keywords “book on artificial intelligence.”

JD.com and WeChat strong ties can be traced back to March of 2014 when Tencent invested USD 215 million in JD.com for a 15 percent stake. The marriage between social channels and e-commerce has been going strong. JD Kepler Mini Program Solution, launched last year, offers brands the resources they need to operate WeChat Mini Program stores. Earlier this year, the messaging app teamed up with JD.com and Meili and launched WeShop (our translation; 微选 in Chinese), a mobile marketplace embedded in WeChat powered by mini-programs, for public beta. The WeShop platform allows JD.com to leverage huge volume of traffic coming through the WeChat shopping entry point.

Relative Card feature on WeChat

On top of the new shopping function, WeChat also quietly rolled out another new Red Packet feature called “Relative Card” (亲属卡 in Chinese) in anticipation for Father’s Day. The Relative Card that lets users send a Red Packet to their parents or children a that automatically charge the purchases on the user’s account. Users can set up to four dedicated Relative Card accounts for their loved ones and set a monthly limit to the gift card.

Images courtesy of TechNode

The smartphone has transformed expat life, giving us access to information and services wherever we go. Here are a few of the most useful apps to help you survive and thrive in Beijing.

WeChat

Forget Facebook, Twitter, and Whatsapp – in China, WeChat is king. Beijingers use it for networking, sharing and gossip, and even pay their bills on it. Get used to the idea of scanning QR codes instead of exchanging phone numbers. It also has WeChat Wallet (click here for a set-up guide), a portable payment system where you can top up your phone, pay utility bills, order a taxi, or book a table for dinner.

Alipay

WeChat may dominate social media, but when it comes to website payments, the competition is Alipay. It’s more than just a Paypal equivalent — you’ll see more locals paying for their shopping and dining with their smartphones than with cards. Go to pg 43 for details on how to set up Alipay.

Pleco

Whether you’re serious about learning Mandarin or just want to get by, Pleco is an outstanding language app for Chinese. The basic package is free, but you can buy and download other added functions. Particularly useful is its feature to read characters with your phone’s camera. Pleco even indicates the tones for characters, with a crafty color coding system.

Baidu Translate

Need to translate short words or long paragraphs? Baidu Translate is a must have for that. Its handy camera function can help you decode daily things in a world full of Mandarin, from operating your washing machine to replying to messages sent by your Chinese contacts.

Air Matters

Brace yourself for polluted days in Beijing. If you want to know how dirty the air you breathe is, Air Matters is the harbinger of bad news. You can opt to put the current air quality index reading as an app notification.

Apple Maps

From simple searches to transport options, Apple Maps is a viable tool to help you survive daily commuting and traveling in the city. Just don’t forget to close the app after using it, or else your mobile data might be drained by the app’s real-time use of Global Positioning System (GPS) location services

MetroMan Beijing

This handy subway app includes a search function and will tell you which stations are close to you, as well as a map of the whole subway system. It also gives users estimates about travel time and distance, number of transfers, and prices.

Three apps we wish were in English

Baidu Maps

Even if Google Maps can bypass the Great Firewall, it just isn’t accurate in Beijing. GPS location is “offset,” meaning that it’s out often by hundreds of yards. Baidu Maps is an up-to-date counterpart of Apple Maps, and offers 3D searching, traffic information, street view, and more – as long as you can read Chinese.

Taobao

Taobao, its upmarket sister site Tmall and wholesaler Alibaba are at the heart of the Chinese obsession with e-commerce (though newcomer JD.com is taking them on in the cities at least.) But while the Taobao app is less intimidatingly busy and complex than the website, it’s still for the fluent and/or determined only.

Didi

Just a year ago, we had Uber cars circulating the city. But after a mega merger between Uber and Didi, the car-hailing game in Beijing has changed, making taxi hailing a much more difficult way of traveling compared to just riding a bus or taking the subway.

This  article originally appeared on p 32-33 of beijingkids May 2017 Home & Relocation Guide.
Download the digital copy here.

It’s quite common nowadays to hear people, and even your newfound pengyou, saying their recent purchases are bought on either Taobao or JD – or the most popular online marketplace apps in China. Even if those apps are fully in Chinese, you can actually get over the language barrier by remembering several steps or using clever strategies just like what other well versed expats do.

Online shopping in China is truly distinct, and most of the time a learning experience. But a word of caution: it can be addicting and a real cash drain once you learn the how-to’s.

So first, let’s have a quick rundown of the top three online marketplaces you should know:

But Here’s the Catch…

Success! Your item will be delivered but you think you’ll be in the office by the time the courier arrives at your home. 

Just add your office address as your second shipping address so that your item will be directly sent there. Remember to select that before paying an item.

“The delivery of my item is taking too long!”

It could be because of the shipping location or other issues like public holidays, the famous November 11 sales day, and severe pollution (yes, because it affects air freights). You can also track the courier, but remember everything is in Chinese so you need to translate it using an app or asking help from a Chinese pengyou.

Okay, you bought a cheap quality item and it’s ready for shipping … but you changed your mind and want to replace it with a different colored one, if not, get a refund.

That’s tough because you need to talk to a seller’s customer service representatives (CSRs) or fill up a form. Only a few of these CSRs can speak a limited amount of English. What you can do is to use your translator app… or when they call you, just tell them the following phrases:

• Sorry, I don’t speak Chinese. Can you send me a message instead so that I can translate it? (对不起，我不会说中文。 你可以给我一个消息，以便我可以翻译吗？Duìbùqǐ, wǒ bù huì shuō zhōngwén. Nǐ kěyǐ gěi wǒ yīgè xiāoxi, yǐbiàn wǒ kěyǐ fānyì ma?)
• Hold on, here’s a friend to talk with you. (等一下。 这是一个朋友跟你说话。Děng yīxià. Zhè shì yīgè péngyǒu gēn nǐ shuōhuà.)

“Wow, the delivery was fast…” only to find out the item has defects or different from what you ordered. Worse, you found the item was fake!

Again, this is a tricky part because you need to contact the vendor. Try sending them a message telling:

• • The item I bought was [fake / has defects]. Can I replace it [or have a refund]? (我买的物品是[假/有缺陷]。 可否更换[或退款]？Wǒ mǎi de wùpǐn shì [jiǎ/yǒu quēxiàn]. Kěfǒu gēnghuàn [huò tuì kuǎn]?)

Baopals Around

So when every effort you exerted in using Taobao and JD fails, or if you lose patience, Baopals is another option. On Baopals, most items are priced slightly higher compared to their Taobao counterparts, so if price is not an issue, then you might want to go with Baopals.

Getting your Baopals account is pretty straightforward. In addition, it has a WeChat account where you can do online shopping. You can also find in the account a blog, that contains its famous “The Cool, the Cheap, & the Crazy,” items. Since Baopals is integrated into WeChat, you can for pay items using WeChat Wallet. Baopals also has customer service that responds promptly, so you can direct your instructions like item quantity and shipping location.

Food in a Box

You can also buy food from these Taobao, Jingdong, and Baopals, but beware, there are fakes, and freshness may not be guaranteed.

Other thrift options to set up your home

If online shopping on Taobao or JD.com proves to be too much and you feel Baopals is too pricey for small kitchenware, fret not and remember to use your WeChat. There are several groups like Old & New Deals – Beijing and 2nd Hand Beijing Bargains where you can buy (or sell) items at a much lower price. Below are also some groups you can follow to buy, donate, or sell items. Following these groups will open a lot of possibilities for networking and volunteering too!

This article originally appeared on p 44-47 of beijingkids May 2017 Home & Relocation Guide.
Download the digital copy here.

Photos: Photo-Mix via Pixabay and Yew Chung International School Beijing, (YCIS, Beijing),
Shiyuan Lin, Year 13, Hong Kong

China has over 150 online shopping retailers, some we’ve written about before, and others we will be writing about later (shopping for kids, groceries, etc.). When you’re tired of browsing Taobao, here’s nine legit websites that sell a wide variety of items for you to choose from. Don’t forget, if you get their apps, you’ll instantly save money!

ETAO.COM 一淘

Etao is actually not an online shopping site, but an online-shopping search engine run by Alibaba.  For those unfamiliar with the service, an online-shopping search engine is basically a price and availability comparison tool. Etao includes items from foreign shopping websites as well as brick-and-mortar stores. It also finds you “special offers” on groupon type websites.

For example, if I want to find a pair of Adidas Los Angeles sneakers, I can type in the search box, narrow down my price range, and then I can even see how the price has changed over the past few weeks (to decide if I should wait longer before purchasing). From my search, I see that the price has dropped from RMB 550 to RMB 349 in less than a month!  All in all, a service worth testing out

DANGDANG.COM 当当

Dangdang started out in 1999 as the largest online bookstore in China, providing over 600,000 Chinese books.  As with most online retailers, DangDang has also branched out to sell other products, such as home appliances, clothing, tech, and anything a mother might want to buy (e.g. baby and kid stuff).

It should be noted that DangDang was in the news in 2014 for poor seller requirements, having been discovered by CCTV news.  A Beijinger had purchased all his Estee Lauder, Calvin Klein, and other cosmetics from the local Beijing wholesale market, Tianzhaotian and made a small fortune.  Of course, DangDang took precautions and removed quite a few of its stores following the scandal, but perhaps the store is better suited for buying what it was originally meant to sell: books.

Specialties:

Books, audio (music) and visual (DVD) products

Payment methods:

Cash on delivery, money transfer, online payments (Union Pay online payment, 99bill, Alipay, WeChat Pay, Pay Ease, net banking), and gift cards

NEWEGG.CN

Newegg, the second-largest online-only retailer in the US, launched its Chinese e-commerce website in 2010. It advertises itself as “foreign direct purchase”, which means that goods are directly shipped from “foreign” warehouses. Newegg also advertises a superior shopping experience for consumers, rapid delivery, and stellar customer service.

Newegg is typically known for its “geeky” electronics in the US, selling PC components, hard-to-find PC, tech, and other gaming gear and accessories, and better-than-Best-Buy prices for electronics. In China, it also sells computer parts and accessories, electronics, cell phones, and other high-tech products. However, it has branched out to include more household appliances and baby gear.

Yes, baby gear, including products targeting mothers: baby clothes, children’s toys, car seats, strollers, and infant formula.

Specialties:

It features cell phones, computers, household appliance, and other high-tech products.

Payment methods:

Cash on delivery, online payment (bank payments, Unionpay, Alipay, Yeepay, Sumpay, Yingdian Life Card, Tenpay), quick payment, bank wire transfer.

YOU.163.COM 严选

Yan Xuan, which translates to “picks” or “selection”, is a NetEase lifestyle online retailer similar to its RMB1 groupon-like shopping platform.  It has a pleasant, clean design and only sells well-known foreign brands of a certain quality.  Certain products of a few well-known brands include: Carter’s (only the natural line), Muji, and Coach (only leather items). For said products, if they are available in China, they’re sold at a lower price.
Yan Xuan advertises itself as a filter that chooses high-quality products for the sake of the consumer. They select goods with high-quality raw materials, natural materials, low to no formaldehyde (toxic pollutant), made with imported technology (even if domestically made), and guaranteed authenticity. All the products sold on the site are approved by third-party testers: SGS, BV, ITS TOP.

Specialties:

Natural products under the categories of: home, clothing (including maternity), kids’ clothing, accessories (including pollution masks), and food (Muji-style snacks, teas, herbs).

Payment methods:

Credit cards, Alipay, WeChat Pay, Union Pay

YIHAODIAN.COM / SAM’S CLUB

Yihaodian (YHD) translates to “Number One Store”, and it truly strives to be the first with its comprehensive selection of, well, everything.  In addition to the typical items you might normally pick up at a grocery store, YHD also has mobile phones, cameras, computers, and other household electronics. Its selection is similar to Carrefour’s, just online, and ships free to your home with any purchase over RMB 68.

What makes YHD special is its cooperation with Sam’s Club (owned by Wal-Mart), the US wholesale/warehouse super store (similar to Costco).  For RMB 260 a year, you can buy a Sam’s Club Membership, which is valid in-store (Shijingshan, Yizhuang) and online. The YHD outlet for Sam’s Club has special offers for their 3,500 food import products, and is also accessible via the YHD app.

Specialties:

Food, beverages, household products

Payment methods:

Cash on delivery, online payments (bank, union pay, 99bill, Alipay), bank transfer, gift cards, and other payments.

JUMEI.COM 聚美优品

Jumei literally translates to “super beauty” or “super beautiful”, and carries exactly what you would expect from its name. Primarily, Jumei is visited for its beauty products, including cosmetics and makeup. If you click on their beauty products drop down menu, you’ll find a really narrow categorization to help you instantly find what you’re looking for. For example, you can look under Skincare and click on “eyeliner pencil” without having to do a search or load any other pages.

In addition to beauty products, Jumei also features clothing, fitness products, shoes, bags, and accessories. Jumei also has a selection of men’s products.

Jumei trades publicly in the US market and is thus considered the most reliable online retailer for US beauty products.  They have a 30 day return policy, fast delivery (free if total purchase over RMB 159), and a guarantee that your order will leave its warehouse within 1.5 hours after order processing.

Specialties:

Foreign brands, such as: Lancome, Clarins, Clinique, Elizabeth Arden, Estee Lauder, L’oreal, Laneige, SK-II, Avene, Innisfree

Payment methods:

Online banking, payment upon arrival of goods, and Alipay

AMAZON.CN

Before Amazon came to China, there was a Chinese version of Amazon called Joyo. Basically, Amazon in China is the same as Amazon in the rest of the world, with its major categories being: imported goods, fashion, books, electronics, gifts, household products, children’s stuff, and kindles.

The best thing about the Amazon website is that you can change the interface to English, but unfortunately the product titles and descriptions, the majority of links, and the details will all still be in Chinese.

Specialties:

Import goods, kindles, lightning deals

Payment methods:

Amazon pay, pay on delivery, Amazon account (prepaid, Paypal, credit/debit cards, gift cards), online payments (Alipay, Tenpay, net banking)

TMALL.COM天猫

If you’ve heard of Taobao, you’ve probably heard of Tmall (called “sky cat” since 2012) as well. Tmall is the more “legit” version of Taobao under Alibaba.  What this means is that in order to register a flagship store on Tmall, a company has to have either a unique brand or be an official brand representative (with proper documentation), meet the minimum requirements, and have enough investment (let’s just say it’s a lot more than Taobao vendor requirements).  It’s probably one of the largest B2C platforms in China, with about 70,000 brands from over 50,000 vendors, including international brands such as Nike, Dell, Ray-Ban, Uniqlo.

Tmall also has a Hong Kong based international website for its foreign import goods that are stored in China’s free-trade zones. As expected, this site mostly features import cosmetics, beauty products, and baby items (e.g. baby formula).

Specialties:

International brand flagship stores, independent brand products

Payment methods:

Cash on delivery, Alipay, net banking, bank transfer, credit cards.

JD.COM

If you’ve been in China for a while, you’ll remember that Jing Dong (JD) used to be called 360buy with its own merchandise line.  JD operates with a similar model to Amazon in that it delivers goods directly from its warehouses to customers and doesn’t have a middle man.  JD is most often complimented for its incredibly fast delivery service (can be within hours) and its product reliability (genuine products).

What makes JD the most convenient shopping site in this list?  JD can also be found in your WeChat application under Me – Wallet – Scroll down to “Powered by third party operator” – Specials.

In addition, JD has a Hong Kong based website called JD Worldwide, which features international brands stored in a different set of warehouses located in China’s free-trade zones. For customers outside China and Hong Kong, JD has an all-English (and Russian) website called JoyBuy, which only accepts Paypal.

Specialties:

JD has categorized its website like a department store with a total of 11 floors, with the most notable being their electronics section:

1. Clothing, Shoes, Bags; 2. Toiletries, Cosmetics, Beauty products; 3. Mobile Phones; 4. Household Appliances; 5. Computer products; 6. Sports and Fitness; 7. Home Life; 8. Maternity, Children, Toys; 9. Health, Food; 10. Books, Music; 11. Car accessories and supplies

Payment methods:

Cash on delivery, online payment (WangYin, Union Pay, Alipay, WeChat Pay), installment, wire transfer, post office remittance

Photos: Jessica Suotmaa

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