Hi all,
Has anyone had any luck purchasing tools from TaoBao? For those who don't know it's a Chinese only version of Ali express and they have amazing tools. However the site is only in Chinese and website translators make a poor job of translating.
L
I order nearly everything from Taobao as I'm living in China. Most of it from Wuta. https://wutadiy.taobao.com/
It can be challenging to find the exact item you are looking for, but when you use the taobao app on your phone, you can use picture search to find the products you need (either take a picture with the camera or use a picture from your gallery). The picture search works really well. Then just place your items in your cart and go back to computer with google translate.
Been thinking to buy one of these strap cutters.
https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z0d.6639537.1997196601.2.72c37484NSfWpo&id=547377832853
It has been some time now and I can report I have been very happy with Wuta stuff. I may do a small review on the Japanese style knives and make a video. It is guaranteed to be sloppy :-)
I recently made a large order (well, it was large for me) from Wuta on TaoBao. They have shops at eBay and Aliexpress but on TaoBao they have stuff they did not have elsewhere at the moment, like new threads, mallet with adjustable extra weights, Japanese knives, etc. Since I have purchased from them before I knew they would ship to me without problems, I also asked via Instagram.
The process was not easy, struggling with translating Chinese via Google, but at the end it all went fine, my order arrived yesterday.
Be very careful with weight and shape of the items you order. As long as the items can fit in an envelope it will be treated as letter up to 2 kg and the shipping will be much, much cheaper.
I ordered a set of Wuta chisels separately, arrived in a plain yellow bubble envelope. Paid 77 USD with free shipping and 0 customs.
For my main order I had over 3 kg including A3 cutting mat, my order was about 150 USD, shipping was around 60 USD and I paid 45 USD for customs (I live in Europe).
I use http://yoybuy.com as an intermediary!
Hi Lydie,
I've successfully purchased leathercraft tools and other items from TaoBao a few times. There are some great and sometimes unique tools there.
Just to add to what Phil said, another thing to look out for, is that there is more than 1 third party 'warehouse' you can ship to. Not all are supported by all sellers.
I was thought to ship as many different purchases from the warehouse as possible to save on shipping (consolidated) so I was unpleasantly surprised one day to find that 1 of my purchases had ended up in a different warehouse!
Thank you Phil. That process is a little convoluted :(. I will keep an eye out on Ali express. For broguing a tool like that would be indispensable.
I haven't no. Apparently you have to get goods that you order sent to a third party company in China, once they receive the goods you ordered they then calculate shipping and send you the invoice. Although you may have to wait for the latest tools, most of their gear ends up on Aliexpress but with a slightly higher price, yet overall about the same after shipping.
This was the case with the Chinese Regad fileteuse copies.
I don't tend to order a lot of Chinese tools, but sometimes there are some really great tools to be had! You just have to know what you're looking for.
Phil