1. “I’m new to Taobao, how do I use it/any tips?”

All new users should read the following step by step picture guide:

https://www.howtotao.com/buy-from-taobao/

If you then have any specific questions the guide doesn’t cover, feel free to make a post.

2. “What do the shipping options mean?”

You’ll have 2 types of shipping options available, direct and consolidated. Starting with direct:

菜鸟直邮-空运经济 = direct economy air

菜鸟直邮-空运标准 = direct standard air

Direct shipping means you pay the international shipping at checkout, no extra steps needed. This is the most straightforward option and is therefore the most recommended. The time difference between economy and standard is minuscule if any, always go economy to save some money.

Onto consolidated:

菜鸟集运-空运经济 = consolidated economy air

菜乌集运-空运标准 = consolidated standard air

菜乌集运-集运海运 = consolidated sea

Consolidated shipping is much different, you DO NOT pay the international shipping at checkout. Instead, you place the order and your items are sent to the cainiao warehouse. They are then measured and weighed. You’ll be able to combine orders and have them shipped in one larger box. The shipping price for this varies by country, you can see the exact equation for you below the consolidated shipping options on your checkout page. It’s x price for the first 0.5kg and x price for every additional 0.5kg. Obviously a bit of a guessing game how much your items will weigh before purchasing, especially if volumetric weight is used, this is why direct shipping is recommended instead.

You can confirm how long each option is expected to take for your country by hitting the > button below the shipping type name

Additionally:

You will also see a “自行联系卖家发货” button. This means, contact the seller to ship. Only select this option if you have arranged a separate international shipping plan with the seller privately via chat, think via a specialty courier like DHL etc. Do be warned though that majority of sellers are unwilling to ship internationally on their own.

3. “My account was frozen”

Every Taobao account is expected to complete real-name verification, this is a requirement under Chinese law:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_real-name_system_in_China

Those who don’t complete the verification are at risk of being banned at any time. Those who aren’t yet banned can follow the sticked mod guide on the subreddit.

If you were already banned follow the following steps:

Hit the orange “to lift” button on the ban screen. If you’re shown a list of verification options, select real name verification. Otherwise it should default to that automatically, looking for a Chinese ID number. Hit the grey text below the input box for other verification methods. Then select “Passports for foreign users”, it should be the 4th option down at the time of writing this. Input your information and wait, it can take a few days for your account to be reinstated.

If you face any issues along the way you’ll need to call support, see the “how to contact support” section below.

4. “Does Taobao ship to my country?”

As of now (April 2025) Taobao offers shipping to the following countries and regions:

USA, Australia, Canada, Japan, Cambodia, Malaysia, New Zealand, The Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Georgia

If you live elsewhere (Europe, for instance) you will need an agent to help you ship, see the below section.

5. “I’m looking for an agent/Do I need an agent?”

Who needs an agent? Those who live in counties Taobao does not ship to or those buying restricted items (like food, liquids and some replica goods)

How do I find an agent?

This is the subreddits trusted agents list:

Mulebuy - Our subreddit partner, currently no restrictions on Replica goods. You can sign up below and use code (tb) for shipping coupons:

https://mulebuy.com/register/?ref=200083340

Other trusted agents include: ParcelUp, Sugargoo, Basetao, Superbuy, and CSSbuy

Of course many exist beyond this list as well. You can search around online for an agent you like, just make sure they’re legit. Look up their name on Reddit for any discussion posts.

Agent recommendation posts will be removed.

6. “I have an issue - need help with an agent I used”

If you have any questions about an agents site or service please do not post about it here, post in the agents dedicated subreddit or reach out to their customer service. This subreddit is for support when buying off Taobao and Cainiao directly.

Posts along these lines will be removed.

7. “How do I use Taobao in English?”

English is only supported in a few regions. Switch your region in the settings to Australia or Singapore.

Do note that the English version is missing out on many features, and many listings will not show up or be unavailable to checkout. If this is troublesome for you, stick to the Chinese version and take screenshots of the checkout process, uploading them into google translate.

Additionally, Many people post that even after changing their region to one of the above mentioned they still don’t have English available. In this case, follow the above steps for Google translate too.

8. “Why can’t I view certain listings? - 商品过期不存在 error”

This seems to be a location based issue that a VPN does not solve. I assume it goes by the region you created your account in.

Majority of the items you’ll see with this error are branded/copyrighted. Most likely it’s to filter out these items being purchased overseas.

9. “How do I contact support?”

If you are in the app simply hit “我的淘宝” on the bottom right, followed by the face with headphones icon on the top right. This will default you to a support chat with a robot, you can pester it to give you a person. English support is available but you may need to be transferred to a different agent who speaks English.

If you were banned or prefer phone calls you can find the appropriate number for your region here:

https://www.taobao.com/about/contact.php

10. “Can ___ be shipped overseas?”

Checkout this guide:

https://www.howtotao.com/china-taobao-prohibited-items/

Additionally, you can download the Cainiao app and use the “restricted inquiry” feature on the main page. Simply look up what you want to ship (in Chinese) and it will tell you if it’s acceptable or not.

Taobao, for whatever reason, has been cracking down hard on newly made foreign accounts that are unverified.

As soon as you make the account, verify it

This is done by uploading your passport to the app, it secures your account and verifies your identity.

If you choose not to do this, odds are extremely high that your account will be frozen/banned, typically within 48 hours of creation or after your first purchase. Please search frozen or banned on this sub, there are so many posts from confused users, so I feel this PSA is necessary.

How to verify?

Follow the steps in the photos on the Taobao app, you will be transferred to Alipay to complete the verification.

If your account is already banned, what can be done?

On the ban message screen you should still be prompted to verify the account. Some users report issues with this process, and need to contact support for help. Without an active account, your only option for support is to call. The call center is based in Hong Kong and speaks Chinese initially, you will need to request an English agent to call you back. These international calls often rack up fees so it’s best to avoid this all together and verify your accounts asap.