Hi all: I've already had a couple inquiries as to the nuts and bolts of ordering through an agent off of Taobao, so here's a synopsis of how it works with Obook:
1. Look at Taobao and see what you want - there is a search line towards the top of their home page. The Google translation feature works pretty well. Items are either new or used - I went for an item that showed the new packaging just to make sure. As a rule of thumb, divide the price in Yuan by 5, and that is the approximate amount it will be, with all shipping and fees, delivered to your door by Obook. 2. Send Obook an email, giving them the link to each Taobao item you want. Specify color if necessary. 3. Obook will contact the Chinese seller(s) and verify stock, get ordering information, etc. 4. Obook will send you an email, usually with an Excel spreadsheet form, showing the items and all possible shipping options. It details their fee, and estimated shipping charges, both to them and then to you. 5. If all looks good, pick the shipping scheme and associated total that you want, and send Obook a Paypal payment for that amount. 6. Obook will put up a dummy Ebay item for the amount of their fee. You bid on the Ebay item, but never actually pay for the Ebay item, since Obook will quickly mark it "paid". It is simply a way for Obook to receive feedback. 7. Obook orders your stuff, and it is sent to Obook by the Chinese Taobao seller(s). When it arrives at Obook's offices, Obook will send you an email to that effect and let you know that they have in turn shipped it to you. If you order from more than one seller, Obook will collect it all and make one shipment to you, saving shipping fees. 8. Shipping generally takes up to a week for it to get from the seller to Obook, and then another 9-15 days from China to your door. My first transaction took a total of 16 days. Kevin S Bainbridge Island, WA _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: [email protected]
