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So, I finally got my Alipay (Zhifubao) working! Woo! Now I’m seeing how fast I can spend all my money online!
Share your favorite Taobao stores or purchases (here’s a link to a similar discussion on Reddit). Or, if there are good or useful services that I can connect Alipay to, I’d love to hear which ones are worth using.
Congrats! You are probably about to be spending a lot more money.
- Taobao just has an endless supply of cheap/interesting things for sale. A few of my favorite things are listed below
- JD.com is great, and works with Zhifubao. Same-day delivery is nice, you don’t have to worry about fake products, and their official app is good
- Mtime (时光网) is a good app for buying movie theater tickets. Takes seconds to buy tickets through the app with Zhifubao and you can save favorite (local) theaters. The new Jurassic Park just came out.
Some of my favorite things on Taobao. These are all either not available locally or are much cheaper on Taobao:
- Breakfast cereal like this
- Wide selection of shoes in whatever size you need (I can never find 46 locally)
- Coffee grounds or beans. This is my favorite seller on Taobao
- Clothes, hats, and other apparel items are much cheaper on Taobao but quality can be iffy. Find sellers you trust and stick with those. This is a good one that I’ve bought from and here’s another
- Bacon
After weeks of using the post-office top-up for Alipay, my biggest discovery was to connect Alipay to my bank account. In any case, the post office people often did not know what I wanted, anyway.
Ha ha buying a Black Flag t-shirt on taobao. Thinking “This is China. XXL is really like an L back home”. Ordering it. T-shirt arrives. It’s HUGE, like a dress. Contacting the seller, he responds “Yes, it’s for overseas markets. XXL is really XXL!” Nice guy, he said “Send it back, no problem”. Never did return it. That thing is BIG…
Ha ha buying a Black Flag t-shirt on taobao. Thinking “This is China. XXL is really like an L back home”. Ordering it. T-shirt arrives. It’s HUGE, like a dress. Contacting the seller, he responds “Yes, it’s for overseas markets. XXL is really XXL!” Nice guy, he said “Send it back, no problem”. Never did return it. That thing is BIG…
I would have done exactly the same thing as you, expecting to get a shirt that’s too small. I hope I see you wearing that sometime though. A Black Flag mumu sounds hilarious.
Bacon
I get the same 2 kg of bacon in person at the 2nd floor market where I buy my steaks, for I think it’s 68rmb.. it used to be 60, I think it went up. That being said, there’s value to having it delivered…………..BUT, there’s also value to being able to pick thru the stacks to find the 2KG that has a preferred fat/meat ratio or cut. 😀
Another great shopping website 唯品会，which mainly sells shoes and clothes at attractive bargain price,works with Alipay,but be aware with the size issues.
Good thread. Some of my best finds on Taobao are:
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09.2.9.37.yP091i&id=16410014741&_u=em70j7cd30e
Best laptop stand I’ve ever used. It’s compact, robust, cheap, works really well.http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z0d.6639537.1997196601.718.9lrsxb&id=15452263612
Solar-powered garden lights. These work surprisingly well.http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09.2.9.239.BQMssM&id=7985504301&_u=em70j7c8254
Taobao is so great for buying board games in general. For example I bought Dixit.http://shop115105429.taobao.com/index.htm?spm=2013.1.w5002-9397421417.2.PJ6Mko
LEGO parts! Seem fake to me, not sure. But good quality and cheap.After weeks of using the post-office top-up for Alipay, my biggest discovery was to connect Alipay to my bank account.
Did you connect through your bank card? Or directly to your bank account somehow? I’ve tried connecting my bank card but can’t as Alipay ask for my Chinese id number which I don’t have. Those small yellow banking machines used to let you top up Alipay, but they removed this functionality some months ago.
I have online banking at ICBC. When my Alipay wallet was empty one day, I noticed the buttons for payment through the bank. It asked me to setup this functionality and somehow I managed to get through the screens, don’t ask me how. Now, if I pay something, it gives me both my wallet or my bank account as option for payment. Very convenient!
I have online banking at ICBC. When my Alipay wallet was empty one day, I noticed the buttons for payment through the bank. It asked me to setup this functionality and somehow I managed to get through the screens, don’t ask me how. Now, if I pay something, it gives me both my wallet or my bank account as option for payment.
That’s really convenient. Today I managed to top up Alipay using my card, the trick was to do it through Alipay.com and not the mobile app because the app requires me to validate my identity first. I should do that though, maybe then I can also connect my bank account. Anyways really convenient to top up on alipay.com. Didn’t require me to use the banking device which I don’t know where it is.
Some other items which I’ve purchased on Taobao and can recommend:
- Nite Ize smartphone bicycle bracket – I’ve found it pretty difficult to find a good bicycle bracket for my iPhone. This is the best one I’ve tried, works great and very durable. Works with basically any type of smartphone.
- Yeelight smart lightbulb – I have four of these in my house and they are excellent. Use your phone to set timers, dim lights, or change colors. I might go into greater detail with a review of these at some point, if there’s interest.
- Super-powered blender – I was deliberating the purchase of a Vitamix blender (which costs a lot) but decided to spend a fraction of that on a Chinese clone (that’s what this is). However, it works great. The only downside is that it’s loud. That might be an understatement, actually. It sounds like firing up a lawn mower in my kitchen. Not a big problem for me but something to note. This thing is crazy powerful.
- Bluetooth speaker transmitter – Hook this up to a stereo and you can stream music via Bluetooth to your speaker system. I recently bought a new home theater amp and there was a Bluetooth add-on available which was $100 extra. Instead I bought this for 30 rmb and it does basically the same thing. Great for using my phone to play music on the living room, especially in the morning when I’m getting ready to go to work.
- Sriracha hot sauce – No explanation needed
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z0d.6639537.1997196601.718.9lrsxb&id=15452263612 Solar-powered garden lights. These work surprisingly well.
These look great, I just ordered some.
@Niklas; those solar lights, are they bright enough to light up a garden, or just kinda decorative? I need to replace my garden lights…
Looking for cheaper razors and deodorant than one would find at Carrefour or Trustmart. Now I’m starting to think I just just invest in a straight razor and whetstone. Best deal I found was this pack of 30 2-blade razors for less than 30 kuai. Stick deodorant I’m having less luck with.
@Niklas; those solar lights, are they bright enough to light up a garden, or just kinda decorative? I need to replace my garden lights…
I’d say they’re more decorative
Awesome recommendations, all!
What are my options for paying bills with Alipay? I recharged my phone with it (sweet), but what about internet, utilities, etc? Transportation card?
Awesome recommendations, all! What are my options for paying bills with Alipay? I recharged my phone with it (sweet), but what about internet, utilities, etc? Transportation card?
I don’t know about utilities (that would be really convenient), but internet bill (I use China Telecom) can be paid with Alipay. You can probably pay on their website somehow, but I have noticed that when my internet bill is due and service is cut, there’s a default China Telecom page which displays the amount owed and has a link to pay the bill online.
I’ve paid my Chengdu gas bill via taobao/alipay, just click on the water drop icon (bottom row, 3rd from the left) in the panel on the front page (see below), then click on the blue flame for gas, select the province and city from the drop down menus and enter your gas account number.
After weeks of using the post-office top-up for Alipay, my biggest discovery was to connect Alipay to my bank account. In any case, the post office people often did not know what I wanted, anyway.
Hi,i am chinese.Give you the suggest.You can buy the foreign trade Clothes.Cuz those will sales abroad.For us,those always too big.Its yours size.
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