Reliable brands for home appliances?

[mungouk]

OK I've finally got my residency permit and just moved into my first apartment on Monday.

 

As I arrived in Beijing with just 3 suitcases, I'm having to start from scratch with some appliances... I've wandered around Walmart and Carrefour and I've been on JD.com so far, and I have no idea about most of the brands I'm seeing for things like electric kettles, toasters etc.

 

Does anyone have a take on which are the more reliable Chinese brands for things like this? 

 

I did take a punt on a kettle made by Joyoung 九阳 because I could examine the ones in Walmart to decide what seemed better made. 

 

Apart from IT-related local brands (Xiaomi, Huawai, TP-Link etc) all the brands I recognise are imported and way more expensive. 

 

 

[abcdefg]

55 minutes ago, mungouk said:

Does anyone have a take on which are the more reliable Chinese brands for things like this? 

 

You mentioned Joyoung 九阳。I have several small appliances by them that have been dependable and reliable. Haier 海尔 has also been just fine. Both cost about the same. MIdea 美的 is also usually OK, in my experience. If I had to guess, those might be the "big three." 

 

When you buy small appliances at Walmart 沃尔玛 or Carrefour 家乐福, be sure to get a 发票 so that if it's a lemon you can swap it out within the first month. Without that you have to fall back on the manufacturer's warranty, which can be a hassle.  

 

I'm old fashioned in that I like to buy this stuff hands-on in a store where I can look at it and maybe even try it out. Some of my friends disagree and buy everything on-line. They claim it's more convenient and more economical. 

[abcdefg]

When you get around to buying a wok, the forum has lots of discussion of how to select a good one and how to season it. 

 

https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/topic/51217-wok-and-chopsticks/?tab=comments#comment-392506

 

https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/topic/57246-selecting-a-wok-炒锅/?tab=comments#comment-443505

 

https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/topic/56214-seasoning-a-wok/?tab=comments#comment-434100

 

https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/topic/46953-how-to-season-my-wok-铁锅）/?tab=comments#comment-355544

[Publius]

Electric kettles: I recommend 苏泊乐 or 美的.

Toasters: sorry I don't use toasters...

 

[mungouk]

1 minute ago, abcdefg said:

buying a wok

 

 

Thanks @abcdefg but with an induction hob I'm not optimistic about woks. (No gas.)

 

 

[abcdefg]

34 minutes ago, Publius said:

Toasters: sorry I don't use toasters...

 

Nobody uses toasters! China is a country with many good qualities, but it lacks a love of toast. I finally learned how to make toast on a stovetop, but it was a struggle. 

 

32 minutes ago, mungouk said:

Thanks @abcdefg but with an induction hob I'm not optimistic about woks. (No gas.)

 

I understand. Doesn't rule out a wok, but it needs to have a flat bottom. 

[Jim]

The wife has a couple of Haier chest freezers for her tea (she runs a stall) that have been running well for years. We have a Little Swan washing machine that's been pretty trouble-free to date, think that was their speciality.

[Publius]

Though you didn't mention it, you'll need a lot of extension cords or 接线板 to plug your appliances in, for that I only trust 公牛 brand.

Yeah, I use 小天鹅 wash machine too. Their products are compact and economic.

And I use a 格兰仕 microwave oven. Inexpensive and pretty reliable.

[Jim]

4 minutes ago, Publius said:

Yeah, I use 小天鹅 too. Their products are compact and economic.

Yes, seems to have a good selection of wash programmes and a reasonably intuitive set of controls, which is more than I can say for some machines I've used in the past. Have a vague feeling I was warned off Little Swan years ago for some reason but can't for the life of me remember why and certainly not had any issues with last couple of appliances I've had from them.

[mungouk]

That's good to hear about Little Swan 小天鹅  — I've just realised the washing machine that came with the apartment is that brand.

 

An upcoming "authentic learning" experience is going to be sitting down with the Chinese-only manual to try and work out how to use it!  It has 2 buttons — on/off and start/pause — and everything else is on a screen...

 

 

[mackie1402]

Just a heads up that 618 (June 18th) is JDs mid-year shopping festival. Taobao does the same of course and has lots of good offers already advertised online now, but their official day is double 11. If you're looking at picking up some appliances you can probably get some really good deals online between June 16th and 18th. I've already got a full shopping trolley on Taobao ready to order in the next few days in preparation for the baby! 

 

Don't forget you can get most western brand appliances in China, too. We ended up buying Samsung and Bosch for a lot of things, but the prices are far much higher than domestic brands. We knew we'd be here long term, so made the investment. 

[abcdefg]

32 minutes ago, Publius said:

Though you didn't mention it, you'll need a lot of extension cords or 接线板 to plug your appliances in, for that I only trust 公牛 brand.

 

Good to know. 

[Publius]

11 hours ago, mackie1402 said:

you can probably get some really good deals online

Don't expect too much though. There are lots of shenanigans or '套路'. For example, doubling the price before giving you a 50% discount. It's hard to tell how good a deal is unless you're familiar with their usual prices.

 

But yeah, 618 is a big deal here in China. I've already spent 1000+ on books, usually at 1/3 to 1/4 the list price.

[ChTTay]

I like Xiaomi’s 插线板 a lot. All of mine are this brand.

 

ABCDEFG’s brand suggestions are spot on and I’ve got multiple things by all of them including blenders, rice cookers, vacuum cleaners, etc 

 

My small toaster from Taobao is Philips. 

[mungouk]

Thanks all — this is really helpful!

 

I got an air purifier by Xiaomi from JD.com which is on offer at the moment.  And yes I'm being bombarded with notifications now about 618...