Anyone used taobao before?

[wenhailin]

I've been looking to buy an electronic dictionary (in particular Besta's 翻译王9988) and went to 苏宁 where they quoted me 3400 yuan. I also checked on taobao (淘宝网) and i can get it from a store for about 2400 or from private sellers for 2000 or so. But having not used not taobao before I'm not sure how safe it is.

Has anyone here used taobao before, if so could you offer me some advice? What is the best way to purchase products, is there some sort of paypal equivalent? I asked my teacher today and she said that there is some sort of try before you buy option, does anyone have any experience with this? Finally, has anyone used the electronic dictionary I am looking at getting and can tell me if it is actually any good?

Thanks in advance!

[flameproof]

I would rather buy in a shop. eBay/Tabao etc. is full of Chinese cheats.

[Socks]

I live in Xinjiang, so finding a lot of things is nearly impossible here... I've used Taobao, ebay.cn, and joyo and never had a problem... With taobao and ebay.cn, I've always checked their feedback first, contacted them before buying and its worked out pretty well... I wouldn't use a new seller on a big purchase...

I am the exact opposite of the previous buyer... I think the shops are full of people who want to make a buck... They see me coming and the price doubles. Plus, I hate bargaining, and lose my patience.

I hope this helps!

Socks

[badr]

I always use taobao as a price check place when I am ready to make a purchase!

Yesterday was the first time I actually took the plunge and ordered something form there that I just could not find in Beijing. I had a co-worker contact the seller and she used her Alipay account to pay for it. It should get here on monday.

just like with ebay back home, gotta make sure they have good feedback and they've been doing it for a while

[Prodigal Son]

I've used taobao many times, most recently for a 1,600元 midi controller. I've never had a problem, I use it often to get the best prices on electronics which are normally difficult to find at good prices in normal shops. Also there is no negotiation, but precautions must be taken and common sense applied when selecting items and sellers on the site.

[Battosai]

My wife is addicted to Taobao. We had to open a special bank account just for it !

[Xiao Kui]

I've been looking to buy an electronic dictionary (in particular Besta's 翻译王998 and went to 苏宁 where they quoted me 3400 yuan.

If you have a palm i suggest you just buy plecodict. if you don't have a palm you can get a TX for abt 2000 RMB and buy the plecodict software for $100 us for the better dictionaries. That would come out less than 3400, and you can use the palm for a lot of other things. Since the Besta model you are getting is the King of Translation though, maybe it is indeed superior to Pleco, but Pleco is way better than my old electronic dictionary, which was a high end Bubugao. Then again maybe you are looking for sth with korean or japanese as well, which I understand Besta has.