| Pros |
|---|
| No third-party agent fees, pay only for the item you are buying. |
| Taobao sellers usually include a free gift to incentivize you to buy from them, and you get to keep all the free gifts. |
| Get cheaper rates from Taobao forwarders, especially if you are shipping small items. |
| Able to choose different addresses to ship to, and create separate packages to ship to each address. |
| Can deal directly with Taobao sellers to request for better packing, and ask questions about their products |
| Get cheaper prices in Taobao using discount coupons from sellers |
| Ability to give seller feedback for their items |
| Cons |
|---|
| Can seem daunting for people who have never bought things from Taobao before, or for people who only bought from Taobao using third-party agents |
| Difficult to faciliate an exchange or refund if sending items back, if the seller required the goods to be sent back to them, since overseas shipping the goods back to the sellers can cost more than the item itself |
| Taobao forwarders do not provide item repacking service, unlike some agents which provide such service |