Using taobao

source from :http://asia.cnet.com/blogs/sinobytes/post.htm?id=63013693

Navigating the bamboo scaffolding of China's rapid-rising tower of technology by Steven Millward, China


The 10 main tabs across the Taobao front page reveal the core sections of the site, which include "mall", "global", "second-hand", and "plane tickets". Much of what is sold, however, are brand-new products from its legion of hobbyist shopkeepers.

The search box is prominent just above the tabs and allows you to search across the site or within certain categories. Upon searching for anything, you get a list with thumbnails and descriptions, from a variety of sellers across the country. It doesn't really matter where the seller is, as regular- and express-mail options cover the country.

Taobao's payment method is Alipay, created by its parent company Alibaba, the business-to-business e-commerce site which also runs Yahoo's China operations. Alipay has been vital to their victory over eBay and its unfamiliar Paypal. For regular users, Alipay (Chinese name: 支付宝--Zhīfùbǎo) is the payment method and safety intermediary. It accepts payment on a wide variety of bank-issued debit cards and Visa.

The buyer first pays money--using an Internet shopping-enabled bank card--to Alipay, which then holds the money until the buyer has received the goods. If satisfied with the items, the buyer logs back into Taobao, and with a few clicks, can allow Alipay to pass on the payment to the seller. This eliminates the possibility of card fraud and items that don't get sent. Though for the shopkeepers, there's still the possibility of some wantonly dishonest customers damaging the goods themselves and sending them back.