muyongshi Posted September 8, 2007 at 05:23 AM Report Posted September 8, 2007 at 05:23 AM There have been a few brief mentions of certain services in China (i.e. taobao, zol, joyo, etc) but no one has ever stated if they have used them or not. Most posts are in regards to buying cell phones and a few have said they were not brave enough to buy from these sellers so my question is has anyone done this? Specifically towards cell phones. What were your experiences? Or if you didn't for what reason was it? To much hassle, didn't trust service, payment was too hard, etc? The more detailed the better! Thanks! Quote
roddy Posted September 8, 2007 at 07:07 AM Report Posted September 8, 2007 at 07:07 AM Joyo, in Beijing at least, is extremely easy to use, and I think the same goes for Dangdang. Basically it's not an ebay type set up where you are put in touch with some random seller, you're dealing directly with the company. They take the order online, phone you up to confirm, deliver, you pay the delivery guy once you've checked everything is in order. I've ordered a water dispenser, SD card and DVD player with no problems. Zol.com.cn lets you submit orders online to a variety of merchants. I've ordered wireless cards and routers like this. It works in a very similar way to joyo, but you aren't dealing direct with Zol - the order will actually be fulfilled by whichever merchant you ended up clicking on (probably the one with the cheapest price). I haven't ventured as far as Taobao - this is where you get into Ebay territory, and you can't really be sure who you are dealing with. I think things are probably a lot trickier if you are outwith the sites' delivery network. This might have some useful info, but again it's Beijing-focused. You might want to look at trying to find local alternatives? Quote
muyongshi Posted September 8, 2007 at 07:13 AM Author Report Posted September 8, 2007 at 07:13 AM Zol.com.cn lets you submit orders online to a variety of merchants. I've ordered wireless cards and routers like this. It works in a very similar way to joyo, but you aren't dealing direct with Zol - the order will actually be fulfilled by whichever merchant you ended up clicking on (probably the one with the cheapest price). It seemed like their was huge price variances with the merchants and that made me wonder. It seemed like their was no way to guarantee the product was new and what not. You might want to look at trying to find local alternatives? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Sorry...that was funny. Nothing like that in small town Mianyang. Closest would be Chengdu but but that still is 2 hours away. Thanks though that does help. Quote
roddy Posted September 8, 2007 at 10:39 AM Report Posted September 8, 2007 at 10:39 AM Well like I say if you're in Beijing and getting stuff delivered you generally can check it before actually handing over the money. This page from Joyo lists Mianyang as one of the 货到付款 cities. Quote
Battosai Posted September 9, 2007 at 03:51 AM Report Posted September 9, 2007 at 03:51 AM My wife buys shoes and clothes through Taobao all the time, never had a problem. Having said that, my friend just bought a Motorola cell phone through Taobao, it seemed new (came wrapped in what looked like the original box) but is extremely slow and keeps deleting files from the memory card. The guy who sold it refused to change it claiming an upgrade will fix everything (it didn't) Quote
Socks Posted September 9, 2007 at 05:10 AM Report Posted September 9, 2007 at 05:10 AM I've bought things from the Chinese eBay site, joyo and taobao... I love taobao, because I can't find very many comforts here in Xinjiang, so I can buy English novels, DVDs, food and other things. I bought my cell phone here (Sony Erricsson), and got a great deal (and a great phone). I guess Joyo is also good, but I tend to buy things on taobao instead, because it takes so long for Joyo's things to get delivered. They take forever to acknowledge that you wired them the money, and then take their sweet time shipping it... However, they have a flat rate for shipping and handling, so I tend to buy heavy things from them! Hope this helps! Quote
muyongshi Posted September 9, 2007 at 07:29 AM Author Report Posted September 9, 2007 at 07:29 AM Well like I say if you're in Beijing and getting stuff delivered you generally can check it before actually handing over the money. This page from Joyo lists Mianyang as one of the 货到付款 cities. Well if I'll be....Put a stick up my but and call me 烧烤. Mianyang isn't as 落后 as I thought. Thanks for finding that. Too bad they don't have what I want right now Quick question on the taobao: how did you guys pay for it? Did you use paypal, the 邮局, or I can't remember their other options....??? Quote
muyongshi Posted September 9, 2007 at 08:19 AM Author Report Posted September 9, 2007 at 08:19 AM Another quick question...Has anyone ever used the 网汇e offered by 中国邮政? And of course what is your thoughts of it? Thanks Quote
Socks Posted September 9, 2007 at 08:28 AM Report Posted September 9, 2007 at 08:28 AM From my research, the 网汇e option was only available in certain cities, but I don't know if it has been expanded. When I want to pay for something on Taobao, I just ask the seller for their bank account number and just wire the money... I haven't found any buyer who accepts Paypal... I don't think that it has really caught on in China. Quote
msittig Posted September 11, 2007 at 03:30 PM Report Posted September 11, 2007 at 03:30 PM My wife and I have been getting into buying stuff on Taobao recently, mostly baby clothes, and I located the Shanghai distributor for Texas Instruments through their Taobao shop. Every order we've made so far has been delivered with extreme quickness and so far no trouble on the payment, so nothing to contribute as far as payment conflict resolution. As far as method of payment, I got a little security USB dongle at my local ICBC that allows me to make online payments (Windows/IE only) through Alipay, Taobao's partner escrow service. Actually, the reason I applied for the USB dongle in the first place is that I can pay utility bills online at SFFT (http://www.shfft.com/), as well as recharge my phone online. I get the feeling some other banks have even more convenient online payment options, so it's worth checking out if you haven't done so. Quote
roddy Posted January 24, 2008 at 07:58 AM Report Posted January 24, 2008 at 07:58 AM Just to follow up on this - I've made a few purchases through Joyo since moving up to Dalian and have had no problems. Courier phones when they have the parcel to arrange delivery, they collect the money when they drop it off. Saves me wandering around the shops, or more likely just forgetting to buy whatever it is at all. Quote
gougou Posted January 24, 2008 at 08:08 AM Report Posted January 24, 2008 at 08:08 AM Courier phones when they have the parcel to arrange delivery, they collect the money when they drop it off.I wish mine had done that. Rather than call ahead (as I was used to from Dangdang), he rang me out of bed at 10am on a Saturday morning, asking why I didn't open the door... Quote
lilongyue Posted April 26, 2008 at 09:35 AM Report Posted April 26, 2008 at 09:35 AM Is this new? Quote
gougou Posted April 26, 2008 at 11:38 AM Report Posted April 26, 2008 at 11:38 AM Only the name. What's happening is that they're rebranding Joyo. Quote
roddy Posted June 2, 2008 at 01:25 PM Report Posted June 2, 2008 at 01:25 PM Joyo / Amazon.cn is impressing me with the range of products - I've currently got my cursor hovering over the order button for a spare battery for my mobile phone and a portable bluetooth keyboard, neither of which I expected to find and which I therefore must buy . . . Quote
eloper Posted July 17, 2008 at 05:20 AM Report Posted July 17, 2008 at 05:20 AM sorry to dig up an older thread - but does anyone have any problems paying with an "International Bank Card" service, such as Visa or Mastercard, on Joyo.com? I've been unsuccessful with both and am wondering if anyone has any experiance why it might be rejecting my (Australian based) master card. Im having things sent to Australia. Also, if anyone reads this for amazon.cn advice, you are not allowed to ship some dvd-9 movies internationally! this can be quite confusing to beginners but its made quite clear on the order screen. Quote
imron Posted July 17, 2008 at 06:23 AM Report Posted July 17, 2008 at 06:23 AM This page seems to suggest it's supported. Perhaps it's not as supported as they claim it to be. Quote
eloper Posted July 17, 2008 at 06:30 AM Report Posted July 17, 2008 at 06:30 AM Cheers Imron, unfortunately looks like I'm following the procedure correctly! My solution has been to sign up for a Bank of China International credit card. Its very easy to administer online and works great for my purposes. Easy to organise in Australia too. Cheers for the help again! Quote
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