Now that you have learnt how to buy from Taobao, it's time for a shopping spree! Below is a list of items you can buy cheaply from Taobao, as compared to your own country :
These items can be shipped by air or by sea from Taobao :
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Clothes | All manner of clothings, from hats to shoes |
| Mobile Devices Accessories | Phone cases, screen protectors, straps, iRings, headphones, cables etc |
| Cheap Jewellery and Accessories | Bracelets, necklaces, hair accessories etc |
| Stationery and Art materials | Pens, pencils, erasers, Post-it notes etc |
| Toys | Figurines, soft toys, plushies, cushions, stickers etc |
| Books | Picture books, chinese story books, comics, notebooks etc |
| Computer Accessories and Parts | SSDs, GPUs, mouse, keyboard etc |
| General use | Cups, combs, bags, wallets, water bottles etc |
Many people buy products from Taobao, and created businesses reselling these products on an online store, or a physical shop. These online shops include blogshops, Qoo10, Shopee, Lazada, and many others.
Important : Please DO NOT attempt to ship bluetooth accessories, wireless accessories such as wireless headsets, power banks, and magnets by air. These are prohibited to be shipped via air due to safety regulations, and will be rejected by the Taobao forwarder if you attempt to ship them by air. However, these items can be shipped by sea. Sea shipping can take up to 3 weeks, compared to 5 days to 7 days for air shipping. Sea shipping also incurs a compulsory tax, unlike air shipping, which only incurs tax after hitting a certain price limit.
There is a limit on the size and weight of Taobao forwarders, 1m by 1m by 1m and 30kg.
Items such as CDs, DVDs, tapes and CD/DVD players are considered prohibited items, and cannot be shipped by air or sea.
Below is a list of items that cannot be shipped from Taobao, due to China's export regulations :
| Category | Example of Items |
|---|---|
| Poisonous and Biohazard Goods | Pathogens, Medical wastes, Fertilizer, Insecticide, Pesticide, DDT, Tear Gas, Goods in the form of white crystals, Goods in the form of powder, Goods in the form of liquid or paste etc |
| Drugs, Anesthetic and Hallucinogens | Illegal drugs : such as Heroin, Marijuana, Ecstasy, Cocaine etc
Opium, including all parts of the plant |
| Antiques, Artifacts and Weapons | Antiques and Ancient Artifacts : coins, bank notes etc
Certificates : such as Identity Certificates, Identity Cards, Work Permits etc Weapons : such as bombs, guns, swords, knives, spears etc Imitation Weapons : such as toy guns, toy bombs etc |
| Goods with ability to compromise China's politics, security, finances and morals | CDs, tapes, DVDs, records, CD-players, DVD-players, tape-players etc |
| Goods that can hinder public safety and hygiene | Cadavars, carcasses, coffins, untreated animal leather, untreated animal bones, soil, animal and plant pathogens and poisons |
| Organic Animal and plant or parts Goods | Animal and animal parts : such as live animals, rhinoceros horns, elephant tusks, tiger hides, furs, musk etc
Plant and plant parts : such as live plants, peat, moss, charcoal, seeds etc Rocks and Minerals : such as Quartz, Pyrite etc |
| Explosive, dangerous and radioactive Goods | Detonators, explosives, gunpowder, fuse, nuclear-powered goods etc |
| Medical and chemical waste Goods | Needles, syringes etc |
| Gaseous Goods | Dry ice, fire extinguisher, AED equipment, inert gas, UV/LED lights etc |
| Flammable and explosive Goods | Flammable Liquids : such as printing ink, nail polish, diesel, gasoline, goods containing ethanol, Turpentine, glue, perfume, air freshener, cosmestics etc
Explosive Goods : such as firecrackers, fireworks, dry ice, lighters, stoves, firearms etc Flammable Goods : such as coal, rosin, matches, paraffin wax, activated carbon, castor bean goods, candles etc |
| Chemicals, Laboratory and Medical Goods | Sulfuric acid, blood plasma, raw plasma, vaccines etc |
| Oxidizing agents | Hydrogen peroxide, sodium peroxide, calcium hypochlorite, potassium chlorate, unknown chemical compounds etc |
| Currency | Currency of any sort, including coins, bank notes etc |
| Food from animal and plant origins | Honey, eggs, wine, spirits, sugar etc |
| Commodities | Corn, rice, coal, cotton, petroleum, wheat, maize, corn powder, wheat powder, Tin and tin-derived goods, tunsten and tunsten-derived goods, zinc and zinc-derived goods, rare minerals etc |
| Controlled goods | Citric acid, Chinese liquorice and Chinese liquorice derived products, vehicles, Vitamin C etc |
| Precious metals and other valuable goods | Gold, silver, platinum, gemstones, pearls, elephant tusks etc |
| Wireless transmitter goods | Radars, radio receivers etc |
| Batteries | Alkaline batteries, rechargable batteries etc |
| Liquids | Alcohol, lotions, eye drops, insect repellent, thermometers, liquid cooling bag, liquids of unknown components etc |
| Meats | All frozen and fresh meats, including frozen chicken, fresh chicken, frozen fish, fresh fish etc |
| Cigarettes | Cigarettes and other tobacco goods |
| Electronic equipment | Electronic equipment : such as pulse-monitor equipment, heart-rate monitor equipment etc |
| Raw metals | Raw metals : such as copper, aluminium, steel etc |
| Food | All food and beverage products |
| Medicine | All medicine products |
Below is a list of items that can only be shipped from Taobao by sea, due to concerns of explosions or might cause problems on planes:
| Category | Example of Items |
|---|---|
| Items which contain Lithium/Lithium-ion battery | Electronic items like power banks, laptops, cameras |
| Magnets/Items containing magnets | Fridge magnets, magnet bars etc |
Below is a list of items are prohibited for export due to each country's laws:
| Country | Type of Items |
|---|---|
| Singapore | Chewing gum |
| Malaysia | Pens, pencils which look like syringes
Clothes/cloths with 'Quran' printed |