Where to buy cheap and reasonable quality stuff in China through the internet? Check out the following online shopping websites recommended by Rong.
Taobao
Everyone in China knows Taobao and it sells everything.
"Chinese eBay" Set up in 2003, Taobao is the biggest online shopping platform in China, accounting for over 80% of domestic online business. Most shop owners are individuals, however, more and more big-brands are opening their official shops on Taobao Mall (Tmall).
The nasty part is everything is in Chinese and most of the owners can't chat with you in other language than Chinese. Maybe this could be a motivation for some of you to learn Chinese .Or you can view online shopping taobao english-Agreetao.
How to use taobao?
1. Set up an account. An email address would be required.
2. Search items. Type in things you want to buy in the searching bar either in characters or pinyin (yes, you can use pinyin as well!!!).
You can set some search requirements as well, such as arrange the items bases on price or popularity, choose the places where the shop is located ( this affects the delivery time)
3. Purchase. You don't have to bargain over Taobao. Once you see something you want, just click the "buy" button.Then you need to fill in your address and contacts.
4. Pay. The payment part is the most complicated: you need to have a Chinese bank account and make sure it has the online payment service. Then you need to set up an Alipay account (like "paypal", but completely FREE!!! So much better). The fascinating part is almost all the online shopping websites can be paid through Alipay afterwards.
If u want to buy books...
1. Dangdang is "Chinese version of Amazon" .You can find almost every book published within 30 years in Mainland China on Dangdang and with a discount. The best part is no delivery fee is charged once your purchase is over 29 RMB(4.75USD) and also you can choose to pay when goods are delivered.
2. Kongfuzi
As the biggest second-hand Chinese book online platform, it's the best place for you to find an ancient or limited-edition book. Most of the bookstores are owned by private owners, therefore sometimes the delivery fee can be a bit expensive.
3. Taobao
You can find a lot of Ebooks (especially English ones or acedemic ones ) on Taobao for about 5 RMB (82cents) per one. I don't think they have the digital copyrights, but it is so cheap that it's hard not to be tempted. And sometime it's the only fast way you can get a book for your thesis.
2016年2月17日星期三
2015年11月9日星期一
Online shopping in China
Everything is social these days—we play games with strangers online, we post vacation photos on social media platform under the sun so that our friends can comment, and we check forums and reviews before splurging on a particular smartphone model. Even activities that used to be solitary—jogging for instance—have been given a social layer; now apps let us compare our mileage with other runners.
The power of social media is even more pervasive in online shopping. For example: Online Shopping Taobao English agent. How many times have we bought something just because we saw it featured in a blog somewhere last week, or overheard friends discussing about it on Facebook? We may not be aware of it, but a big deal of our purchases (whether online or from physical retail stores) are influenced by the social media we frequent.
Now, social wouldn't be where it is if it wasn't for the instant gratification we get from our mobiles. Whether it is posting pictures of your dinner or a new outfit on WeChat moments or being social through mobile apps, social and mobile are more connected than ever!
Just ask the Chinese—social media plays a big part on how they spend their money and mobile has increasingly become the "how" when it comes to online purchases.
What's So Special About E-commerce in China?
It's a different crowd in China, far different from Western shoppers. This can easily be concluded from an observation made early on by Jack Ma, former English teacher now mogul of China's most popular online retailer Alibaba which he started in 1999. Last May saw the company preparing to release its IPO, which analysts estimated would raise approximately $20 billion. At that rate, it might even beat Facebook's own IPO from back in 2012.
And to think that Alibaba began as a simple B2B website, facilitating transactions between Chinese manufacturers and small businesses.
So what were those observations about Chinese shoppers? Two things:
First is that many Chinese don't use credit cards, which naturally poses a problem for e-commerce sites. Ma's simple workaround was to create Alipay—a service which allows customers to deposit money in a bank account, after which the money is kept in escrow and released to the seller only after the customer has received the goods. The escrow system has cultivated a sense of protection among vendors and buyers, which has encouraged them to do more business.
The second observation is that Chinese are part of a culture that encourages and places a high value on savings. How do you convince shoppers to let go of money then? Again, Ma's simple solution was to offer the basic services of his website free for both buyers and sellers. Once customers realized the value they were getting from Alibaba, transactions came flowing in. And so did profit. In a 2009 interview, Ma was quoted saying:
"A lot of people thought I was stupid and crazy when I said customers are No. 1, employees are No. 2, and shareholders are No. 3, but that's our philosophy," he says. "Shareholders, I respect them, but they're No. 3."
By identifying the wants, needs, and special circumstances of its customers—both the vendors and the public—Alibaba has made itself an indispensable and trustworthy service, the default go-to for everyone who wants to buy or sell anything.
Through diversifying its customer base to cater to other segments in society, Alibaba has spread into other highly successful ventures—Tmall (B2C), and Taobao (C2C)—which have become the biggest players in the Chinese e-commerce market. Although not quite a worldwide household name yet, when Alibaba does achieve that status, Amazon and eBay are going to face some pretty intense competition.
The power of social media is even more pervasive in online shopping. For example: Online Shopping Taobao English agent. How many times have we bought something just because we saw it featured in a blog somewhere last week, or overheard friends discussing about it on Facebook? We may not be aware of it, but a big deal of our purchases (whether online or from physical retail stores) are influenced by the social media we frequent.
Now, social wouldn't be where it is if it wasn't for the instant gratification we get from our mobiles. Whether it is posting pictures of your dinner or a new outfit on WeChat moments or being social through mobile apps, social and mobile are more connected than ever!
Just ask the Chinese—social media plays a big part on how they spend their money and mobile has increasingly become the "how" when it comes to online purchases.
What's So Special About E-commerce in China?
It's a different crowd in China, far different from Western shoppers. This can easily be concluded from an observation made early on by Jack Ma, former English teacher now mogul of China's most popular online retailer Alibaba which he started in 1999. Last May saw the company preparing to release its IPO, which analysts estimated would raise approximately $20 billion. At that rate, it might even beat Facebook's own IPO from back in 2012.
And to think that Alibaba began as a simple B2B website, facilitating transactions between Chinese manufacturers and small businesses.
So what were those observations about Chinese shoppers? Two things:
First is that many Chinese don't use credit cards, which naturally poses a problem for e-commerce sites. Ma's simple workaround was to create Alipay—a service which allows customers to deposit money in a bank account, after which the money is kept in escrow and released to the seller only after the customer has received the goods. The escrow system has cultivated a sense of protection among vendors and buyers, which has encouraged them to do more business.
The second observation is that Chinese are part of a culture that encourages and places a high value on savings. How do you convince shoppers to let go of money then? Again, Ma's simple solution was to offer the basic services of his website free for both buyers and sellers. Once customers realized the value they were getting from Alibaba, transactions came flowing in. And so did profit. In a 2009 interview, Ma was quoted saying:
"A lot of people thought I was stupid and crazy when I said customers are No. 1, employees are No. 2, and shareholders are No. 3, but that's our philosophy," he says. "Shareholders, I respect them, but they're No. 3."
By identifying the wants, needs, and special circumstances of its customers—both the vendors and the public—Alibaba has made itself an indispensable and trustworthy service, the default go-to for everyone who wants to buy or sell anything.
Through diversifying its customer base to cater to other segments in society, Alibaba has spread into other highly successful ventures—Tmall (B2C), and Taobao (C2C)—which have become the biggest players in the Chinese e-commerce market. Although not quite a worldwide household name yet, when Alibaba does achieve that status, Amazon and eBay are going to face some pretty intense competition.
2015年10月13日星期二
Online shopping in China
Everything is social these days—we play games with strangers online, we post vacation photos on social media platform under the sun so that our friends can comment, and we check forums and reviews before splurging on a particular smartphone model. Even activities that used to be solitary—jogging for instance—have been given a social layer; now apps let us compare our mileage with other runners.
The power of social media is even more pervasive in online shopping. For example: Online Shopping Taobao English agent. How many times have we bought something just because we saw it featured in a blog somewhere last week, or overheard friends discussing about it on Facebook? We may not be aware of it, but a big deal of our purchases (whether online or from physical retail stores) are influenced by the social media we frequent.
Now, social wouldn't be where it is if it wasn't for the instant gratification we get from our mobiles. Whether it is posting pictures of your dinner or a new outfit on WeChat moments or being social through mobile apps, social and mobile are more connected than ever!
Just ask the Chinese—social media plays a big part on how they spend their money and mobile has increasingly become the "how" when it comes to online purchases.
What's So Special About E-commerce in China?
It's a different crowd in China, far different from Western shoppers. This can easily be concluded from an observation made early on by Jack Ma, former English teacher now mogul of China's most popular online retailer Alibaba which he started in 1999. Last May saw the company preparing to release its IPO, which analysts estimated would raise approximately $20 billion. At that rate, it might even beat Facebook's own IPO from back in 2012.
And to think that Alibaba began as a simple B2B website, facilitating transactions between Chinese manufacturers and small businesses.
So what were those observations about Chinese shoppers? Two things:
First is that many Chinese don't use credit cards, which naturally poses a problem for e-commerce sites. Ma's simple workaround was to create Alipay—a service which allows customers to deposit money in a bank account, after which the money is kept in escrow and released to the seller only after the customer has received the goods. The escrow system has cultivated a sense of protection among vendors and buyers, which has encouraged them to do more business.
The second observation is that Chinese are part of a culture that encourages and places a high value on savings. How do you convince shoppers to let go of money then? Again, Ma's simple solution was to offer the basic services of his website free for both buyers and sellers. Once customers realized the value they were getting from Alibaba, transactions came flowing in. And so did profit. In a 2009 interview, Ma was quoted saying:
"A lot of people thought I was stupid and crazy when I said customers are No. 1, employees are No. 2, and shareholders are No. 3, but that's our philosophy," he says. "Shareholders, I respect them, but they're No. 3."
By identifying the wants, needs, and special circumstances of its customers—both the vendors and the public—Alibaba has made itself an indispensable and trustworthy service, the default go-to for everyone who wants to buy or sell anything.
Through diversifying its customer base to cater to other segments in society, Alibaba has spread into other highly successful ventures—Tmall (B2C), and Taobao (C2C)—which have become the biggest players in the Chinese e-commerce market. Although not quite a worldwide household name yet, when Alibaba does achieve that status, Amazon and eBay are going to face some pretty intense competition.
The power of social media is even more pervasive in online shopping. For example: Online Shopping Taobao English agent. How many times have we bought something just because we saw it featured in a blog somewhere last week, or overheard friends discussing about it on Facebook? We may not be aware of it, but a big deal of our purchases (whether online or from physical retail stores) are influenced by the social media we frequent.
Now, social wouldn't be where it is if it wasn't for the instant gratification we get from our mobiles. Whether it is posting pictures of your dinner or a new outfit on WeChat moments or being social through mobile apps, social and mobile are more connected than ever!
Just ask the Chinese—social media plays a big part on how they spend their money and mobile has increasingly become the "how" when it comes to online purchases.
What's So Special About E-commerce in China?
It's a different crowd in China, far different from Western shoppers. This can easily be concluded from an observation made early on by Jack Ma, former English teacher now mogul of China's most popular online retailer Alibaba which he started in 1999. Last May saw the company preparing to release its IPO, which analysts estimated would raise approximately $20 billion. At that rate, it might even beat Facebook's own IPO from back in 2012.
And to think that Alibaba began as a simple B2B website, facilitating transactions between Chinese manufacturers and small businesses.
So what were those observations about Chinese shoppers? Two things:
First is that many Chinese don't use credit cards, which naturally poses a problem for e-commerce sites. Ma's simple workaround was to create Alipay—a service which allows customers to deposit money in a bank account, after which the money is kept in escrow and released to the seller only after the customer has received the goods. The escrow system has cultivated a sense of protection among vendors and buyers, which has encouraged them to do more business.
The second observation is that Chinese are part of a culture that encourages and places a high value on savings. How do you convince shoppers to let go of money then? Again, Ma's simple solution was to offer the basic services of his website free for both buyers and sellers. Once customers realized the value they were getting from Alibaba, transactions came flowing in. And so did profit. In a 2009 interview, Ma was quoted saying:
"A lot of people thought I was stupid and crazy when I said customers are No. 1, employees are No. 2, and shareholders are No. 3, but that's our philosophy," he says. "Shareholders, I respect them, but they're No. 3."
By identifying the wants, needs, and special circumstances of its customers—both the vendors and the public—Alibaba has made itself an indispensable and trustworthy service, the default go-to for everyone who wants to buy or sell anything.
Through diversifying its customer base to cater to other segments in society, Alibaba has spread into other highly successful ventures—Tmall (B2C), and Taobao (C2C)—which have become the biggest players in the Chinese e-commerce market. Although not quite a worldwide household name yet, when Alibaba does achieve that status, Amazon and eBay are going to face some pretty intense competition.
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