Well, you've probably heard of Taobao.com, the largest online shopping site in China, and you know it's cost-effective to order from there directly. But the question is, how to search for the item on taobao.com if you don't understand Chinese Mandarin? In this series of articles, we'll be discussing several ways of searching for products on taobao.com.
How to search items on Taobao.com - part one: find the item
Below is the homepage that you see when you arrive on Taobao.com:
The "search field" and "search button" are located on top of Taobao homepage. If you understand Chinese characters, you can simply type keywords into that search field and click the search button, and a long list of items containing the keywords are displayed. This is similar to other shopping sites, such as eBay and Amazon.
If Chinese language is completely new to you, here are several methods of finding the item you're looking for:
1) Enter English keywords into the search field. For example, type "handbag" into the search field if you're searching for a handbag; enter "t shirt" or "girl t shirt" if you want a T-shirt. One thing to remember: never make your keywords too specific. Most English words on taobao listings are general ones.
2) Use a translation software to translate your keywords into Chinese characters, and copy & paste the Chinese characters into Taobao's search field and then click the search button. We recommend Google Translate:
Always remember to translate from your language to "Chinese (Simplified)".
3) Shop by Taobao category and use Google Translate to translate the whole category list into your language. Here is how:
- Go to Google Translate, and set the translating from "Chinese" to your language, e.g. English, French, etc.
- Copy and paste the following Taobao category URL into Google Translate's left window, and then click "Translate".
URL: http://list.taobao.com/browse/cat-0.htm?ad_id=&am_id=&cm_id=&pm_id=
- In a few seconds, the whole category list will be displayed in your language. Scroll down the page to find the category that your item belongs to.
4) Contact us (email: taobaoassistant@live.cn) for Chinese keywords ideas. You can describe the item you're looking for, send us photos, videos, etc, and we'll work out the most relevant keywords for you to search on Taobao.com, or we'll search for the item directly on Taobao.com and send you the URLs of the most relevant & cost-effective items.
With the above ways, it's generally not a problem for you to browse Taobao.com for the item you want, unless you're looking for a really specific product.
Any other methods, comments or questions are welcome!
How to search items on Taobao.com - part one: find the item
Below is the homepage that you see when you arrive on Taobao.com:
* Click on the image to enlarge
The "search field" and "search button" are located on top of Taobao homepage. If you understand Chinese characters, you can simply type keywords into that search field and click the search button, and a long list of items containing the keywords are displayed. This is similar to other shopping sites, such as eBay and Amazon.
If Chinese language is completely new to you, here are several methods of finding the item you're looking for:
1) Enter English keywords into the search field. For example, type "handbag" into the search field if you're searching for a handbag; enter "t shirt" or "girl t shirt" if you want a T-shirt. One thing to remember: never make your keywords too specific. Most English words on taobao listings are general ones.
2) Use a translation software to translate your keywords into Chinese characters, and copy & paste the Chinese characters into Taobao's search field and then click the search button. We recommend Google Translate:
* Click on the image to enlarge
Always remember to translate from your language to "Chinese (Simplified)".
3) Shop by Taobao category and use Google Translate to translate the whole category list into your language. Here is how:
- Go to Google Translate, and set the translating from "Chinese" to your language, e.g. English, French, etc.
- Copy and paste the following Taobao category URL into Google Translate's left window, and then click "Translate".
URL: http://list.taobao.com/browse/cat-0.htm?ad_id=&am_id=&cm_id=&pm_id=
* Click on the image to enlarge
- In a few seconds, the whole category list will be displayed in your language. Scroll down the page to find the category that your item belongs to.
* Click on the image to enlarge
The great thing of this method is that, if you click a specific category and enter a shop, you'll find that a lot of other information (e.g. item description) has also been translated into your language!
With the above ways, it's generally not a problem for you to browse Taobao.com for the item you want, unless you're looking for a really specific product.
Any other methods, comments or questions are welcome!
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