What's the average time for the tracking to move to the next step on here? I noticed a countdown clock start at 9 days so now I feel like I need to be checking this every day for an update.

 

Depends on when it gets picked up and how far it has to travel.
The count down isn't for transport, it is how long Taobao holds your money.
You see, the seller doesn't get the money straight away. Taobao holds it until you confirm it received, or the timer runs out.

 

What if shipping takes forever or the seller stalls out the timer before anything should reach me? Taobao still gives them the money anyway? The system seems kinda rigged towards the seller if that's the case.

 

You can request multiple extensions if you get in before it expires

 

This doesnt usually cover forwarder to you though. Theyre only concerned with domestic to freight company.

 

That's all I care about too since international shipping and USPS are far less likely to scam me than the seller. Waiting on an update any day now.

 

What's the typical total length of time from order placed to order received on an order shipping to southeastern US?

 

Good news, peeps! My package is now in the domestic shipping phase, leaving Beijing for a distribution center in Zhejiang Hangzhou. Hopefully it gets to the main center soon and on the next flight for the US!

 

Give it a day or two   Tracking will update a lot and look like this

• 2017-Apr-14Fri.10:37:51【CHINA】 Your order isprocessed
• 10:37:51【CHINA】 Your order will be delivered
• 10:43:55[Chinese] package is waiting Lanshou
• 19:03:00[China] [Shantou City] every day delivery Shantou company recipient has embraced
• 19:04:00[Chinese] [Shantou] shipment has arrived at Shantou Company
• 19:50:26[China] [Shantou City] Express has been issued from the Shantou company, ready to send to Jieyang
• 19:59:29[Chinese] [Shantou] express company issued from Shantou, Jieyang ready to be sent to distribution
• 21:45:19[Chinese] [Jieyang City] shipment has arrived Jieyang distribution
• 21:51:21[Chinese] [Jieyang City] express mail sent from Jieyang distribution, ready to be sent to a distribution center in Dongguan
• 2017-Apr-15Sat.04:21:22【China】 [Dongguan City] Express has been issued from the Dongguan transit center, ready to send to Dongguan Sha Tin Station
• 04:32:41【China】 [Dongguan City] Express has been issued from Dongguan transit center, ready to send to Dongguan Sha Tin Station
• 07:00:36【China】 [Dongguan City] Express has arrived in Dongguan Sha Tin Station
• 07:45:41【China】 [Dongguan City] Express has arrived in Dongguan Sha Tin Station
• 09:58:03【China】 [Dongguan City] Dongguan Sha Tin Station dispatched staff: Wang Liangming #XXXXXXXXXXXX is sending for you
• 11:59:41【Cargo】 Your package has beendelivered to theQuartet
• 15:01:23【Cargo】 Taobao order number XXXXXXXXXXXXX has been stored, please log in Taobao account to pay international transit fee

 

Wow, that is quite a bit of updating to happen all within the span of two days. I'm impressed! I'll be checking my taobao every chance I get just so I can pay the international transit fee as soon as it posts. Can't wait!  

 

Domestic shipping in china is pretty amazing. I have stuff arrive basically overnight from Shanghai to guangdong, which is like...Ok i dunno what's the US equivalent but it's impressive. And most of the time shipping is free, or at the most a couple of bucks.

 

AFAIK, you can only extend once for 3 days.

You get a slight discount for preorder. You have to choose the 'Contact seller for shipping' option. But it is better to avoid if you can't converse in Chinese. Some communication is usually needed when the item is ready.

(For the seller to actually get the deposit, he has to "ship" it, then you have to mark it as "received". You don't have to do it cos the system will auto-transfer after 10 days.)

The FansToys Dibots are prohibited for export in many stores. I asked a seller if he blocked it and he said no, so I think it is TaoBao that auto-prohibit due to some keyword -- it is illegal to export dinosaur fossil out of China.  

I like to buy from the same seller, so one criteria for me is his store selection. Does he carry stuff I want to buy in the future?

Buying from TaoBao is pretty smooth sailing... when everything goes well. When things go wrong... usually it can be sorted out. It just takes time and effort.

 

$22 for domestic shipping to the warehouse seems a bit high. I normally only pay a couple of bucks. Was that your overseas shipping cost maybe? There's a separate screen where you make that payment, once your package is received at the warehouse.

 

Woops, I read the wrong number on my order. I think I posted it in one of my earlier screenshots. Shipping to the warehouse was 26 yuan or roughly $3.78

 

A few more things to add.

As long as TaoBao has not released the funds to the seller, you should be able to get your money back. Just click the 'Refund' option.

This is useful if the order is stuck in 'Waiting for seller to ship' for a really long time. (The seller probably doesn't have stock.)

The seller can either dispute or agree. If he does neither, TaoBao will release your money back to you in 4 days.

You might not realize is that you can refund on a per-item basis. If you bought 5 items in one order but only 4 were delivered, you can refund one and pay for the other four. (Corollary: always check you received the correct number of items.)

Lastly, the seller might want to chat with you. In your Orders page, look out for the blue bubble at the bottom right of the page. If it is bouncing, it means you have a message.

 

Why is there a price range here instead of just 1 price as usual?

 

My package is now in the "arrived at warehouse" phase. Where am I supposed to check to pay the transit fee to get it shipped overseas? I checked Logistics Information and this is what it says:

Transshipment information


Current transshipment state: parcel is being sent to transit warehouse, to be transferred after the warehouse receipt, please pay the transfer fee
Tips: If the transit goods take a long time, please note that automatic time to play, you can extend the time of receipt.

 

Because there are 3 products listed. Arkose, and 2 Xtrans coinds. If you click the Arkose thumbnail in Color Classification the price will be 380RMB.

 

That can take anywhere from 5 mintues, to a few hours while someone physically catalogues the parcel. Also, once you pay forwarding fee's. It may not show up in your purchase list straight away. But it will, so dont worry  

 

You're right, I had to wait for one more [cargo] update before it told me to pay for freight. Finding the "settlement" button was rather confusing though, I will admit. International shipping ended up costing me 217 yuan which is roughly $31 USD. Ouch. x_x The final price for all this is getting reeeeal close to Baba's old $75/$75/$109 for Bigbite, Cyberjaw, and Ironshell respectively. These shipping fees are killer.