Reliable Taobao Agents?

[Candy Jelly Love]

I've seen many great lolita dresses from some Taobao shops and would like to order from them, but the thing is, I have no idea how. I've heard that I would need to buy through some kind of agent, but I don't know which ones are the most efficient and reliable (as well as not too expensive when it comes to shipping costs). For anyone who's ordered lolita (or other J-fashion) through any of the lolita taobao shops, what agent did you use and would you recommend it?

[Revolutionary Rhapsody]

Hello Lace has a Taobao section referencing several agents and their quality.

But ones I hear about all the time are TaobaoNow and TaobaoRing and TaobaoSpree but there are others referenced under the Lolita-Tips Shopping Service Tag. I have no personal experience to really give opinion.

The shipping prices will be what they'll be, for something like this and for how much you buy, you'd want to have tracking to make sure it didn't get lost. Also you never know if you'll get hit by customs.

You can discuss some shipping quotes with shopping services, however, before placing orders, but those will be guestimates as they need to get all your items together properly and then find out how much it will be to ship it to you, and which shipping method.

[Princess JessieKate]

I've ordered from Taobaospree and Chinabuyangency. Neither were awful, neither were perfect. I'm placing an order with Taobaospree right now because they're giving me half off seller fees, but I probably won't again because they charge extra for shipping insurance, (CBA doesn't) their ordering system is really annoying and requires a lot of work on the buyer's part, and they're much slower than CBA! Several of my friends say that CBA is the only agent they trust, so I would recommend them.

[Chaotic Wishes]

Here is a list of SS's. It lists things like forms of payment, English fluency, shipping, etc. so that you can choose what works best for you. Be sure to also check out the tabs on the bottom of the page, since it looks like there are pages for each individual SS, as well as a page recommending certain SS's depending in your needs (big order, small order, reservations, custom, etc.)

[Killing is Kawaii]

I usually use Pruany, they have 55% off EMS shipping and have a decent service fee.

The last time I used them I got two blouses, dress, shoes, cardigan, some tights, coathangers, accessories, petticoat, a couple of bags and some makeup.. (I got 19 different things all up, no idea what the actual weight was which is the most important part haha), I got charged $60 for shipping which was tracked and it arrived in 6 days.

I recently used Celestial Delinquent to order just.. one pair of tights from Taobao which cost me $10 + $20 shipping which I really didn't mind because I needed them in my life and I'm used to paying a bit for shipping from the US etc to NZ.

It works out better to buy a few things instead of just two or three items.

[Miss Mary Muffet]

I had a great experience using Celestial Delinquent for my first time ordering from Taobao. Angie is very friendly. Communicating with her is easy because speaks English fluently, and her fees are not very high. She has an Excel spreadsheet available for download where you can list your items, then input their costs, and it will calculate the total cost of your order. I would definitely recommend her shopping service.

[Satinique]

I've used Taobaonow, and they've been great smile You basically add everything you want into a shopping cart with a note (style, colour, size etc), and you can see the cost (in USD, HKD and CNY) at the bottom (minus shipping). They sent me an invoice in HKD, which ends up being 1-2 dollars away from the same price as USD usually.

Once you add the stuff, you hit "order" biggrin Then just wait til the next day (depending where you live/timezone etc). Once the order is in, I like to upload a pic to the "comment" section next to the items, of what colour/style/size/comments that I want them to know about the item. That way they can get the right one for you smile They also comment here when there's anything to say (like Ok ty, heres a photo if you requested it, sorry its not in stock, only 1 avaliable, is this acceptable etc smile )

They'll invoice you for the total (without shipping) and soon as you pay, they start ordering! ^^

You also have little icons above each item, so you'll know where its at. Ordering, on the way, paid for etc.

Once all the items are with them, they let you know the price for shipping. I always get EMS, because its 40% for members (make sure to make an account there biggrin ) and its always cheaper than airmail biggrin Plus quicker with tracking smile From China to Australia, 5 days exactly, every time (even from other countries in Asia).