From what I was reading online you can use a middleman to purchase stuff from taobao but you can also purchase directly if you can figure out how to navigate the site in Chinese. At least the process of creating an account on taobao is available in English.
Yeah, I was looking at this post from a forum member about cssbuy. I think I may try to order the items myself though.
I contacted some of the taobao agents and some of them do accept paypal payments but I found that their fees combined with their shipping choices made the purchase less “budget” friendly.
I was only charged 6 yuan for shipping, which was the cheapest shipping choice. I think that equals a little less than a $1. Looking at my credit card summary online, I was charged a total of $23.47 for 2 of the CountryMan T10 flashlights plus shipping.
I was only charged 6 yuan for shipping, which was the cheapest shipping choice. I think that equals a little less than a $1. Looking at my credit card summary online, I was charged a total of $23.47 for 2 of the CountryMan T10 flashlights plus shipping.
Will you be charged more for the second stage of shipping?
Seems to take you to an english navigable version of taobao, but just started looking through it so I don’t know how reliable it is. If you’re wondering, the flashlight section is a subset of the “shirts“category. Who knew.
I was only charged 6 yuan for shipping, which was the cheapest shipping choice. I think that equals a little less than a $1. Looking at my credit card summary online, I was charged a total of $23.47 for 2 of the CountryMan T10 flashlights plus shipping.
Will you be charged more for the second stage of shipping?
No, that was the complete total. If I remember correctly, I chose EMS as my shipper choice.
What I did was to highlight the word I wanted translated and copied and pasted onto google translate for the screens that didn’t translate fully. Through that process I was able to fill in all the fields. The screen that you posed is where you fill in your name, shipping address, phone number, and etc.
i did that method but the drop down menu got me stuck there as i cant copy the text.
i might ask my chinese friend to assist
The drop down menus I think you’re referring to are for domestic/internstional shipping and destination country. You can refer to this guide: http://www.howtotao.com/buy-from-taobao/ for reference for the parts that don’t translate as well. When I’m in front of my computer again, I can point out the part in the guide that specifically explains that window if you need (hard to do on the phone).
I ordered and received lights from Taobao last summer. I used Bhiner as an agent and bought a few pop-lite brands lights. The experience was pretty straight forward, you copy and paste the taobao url into the Bhiner search box, add the item to your cart, and pay Bhiner the cost to purchase the items and bring them to their warehouse. They actually unpackaged and photographed the lights with battery installed and running to show it worked. They then consolidate the items into one shipment, weigh, and then invoice you for the shipping fee to your final destination. Once I paid that, the lights promptly shipped and were received just like any other overseas package. I do agree that the shipping fee can eat into the budget, but sometimes its more about collecting budget lights than it is about collecting lights on a budget… Buying from Taobao is fun for me because I can get my hands on a light that is very rare in North America, so I forgive the slight premium.
I’m really interested in that Mateminco light posted a page back. I had some trouble with the mobile link, this works better:
Plugging Mateminco into the search box on Taobao leads to most of Astrolux’s catalogue, but with Mateminco branding printed on the lights. The one posted a page back looks to come from the same OEM as the rest of Astrolux’s lights.
I ordered and received lights from Taobao last summer. I used Bhiner as an agent and bought a few pop-lite brands lights. The experience was pretty straight forward, you copy and paste the taobao url into the Bhiner search box, add the item to your cart, and pay Bhiner the cost to purchase the items and bring them to their warehouse. They actually unpackaged and photographed the lights with battery installed and running to show it worked. They then consolidate the items into one shipment, weigh, and then invoice you for the shipping fee to your final destination. Once I paid that, the lights promptly shipped and were received just like any other overseas package. I do agree that the shipping fee can eat into the budget, but sometimes its more about collecting budget lights than it is about collecting lights on a budget… Buying from Taobao is fun for me because I can get my hands on a light that is very rare in North America, so I forgive the slight premium.
I’m really interested in that Mateminco light posted a page back. I had some trouble with the mobile link, this works better:
Plugging Mateminco into the search box on Taobao leads to most of Astrolux’s catalogue, but with Mateminco branding printed on the lights. The one posted a page back looks to come from the same OEM as the rest of Astrolux’s lights.
I too am interested. Was waiting for someone to jump on it before getting one. And btw, i posted that link LOL
Reporting back, I got the light today. The quality is really nice, the same that you get from Convoy lights. It took about 11 days after the light shipped to get to me, there was a very long delay due to CNY. The metal switch is exactly the same as the metal switch in a Convoy S2+. The light has 4 modes, with last mode memory, and double click goes to strobe. The light also comes with an a/r lens which was a nice surprise. The light was also easy to take apart. Here are some pictures of the actual light.
No, I don’t have a MI. I can do a X6 if that will help. I would recommend the light, I should’ve bought more than the 2 I ordered with the expensive shipping and all. For those of you who are interested in buying directly without an agent (it’s. not as hard as it seems, I used an online guide, google translate, and chrome translate), just remember that you have to pay for both domestic shipping (shipping within China from seller to the taobao warehouse and then international shipping). I didn’t know about the second shipping cost (I should’ve read the online guide all the way through first).
If you have the time could you please measure the reflector diameter and outside bezel diameter. Looks like this might make a great edc light for those who work in cargo pants.
Now to convince Simon to sell it. Hey J-Dub, get in here
I just don’t have enough time these days to keep up with things like the “Micro-defect handling farmer T10 light flashlight XML2 U2 charge long-range outdoor waterproof riding 18650” though it looks like a decent quality light. It’s a Frankenstein mash-up of several Convoy and other lights but if the quality is good that’s cool… I guess…
I don’t have the time or energy to comment on all the rest. It’s a bit overwhelming at times dealing with a country that puts no value on intellectual property. Simon is one of the few who do respect intellectual property and we are working on cool stuff together…I’ll keep it at that.
If you want to go through all the second party/third party stuff to get a light from taobao then I suppose you deserve any discount or advantage you get. Personally, I’ll pass simply on the “Ain’t nobody got time fo dat” thinking. I have no desire to dig deeper or get into conversation about it. I’m straight up tired of it. Makes my brain hurt, but if you want to/have the energy to jump through the hoops then enjoy the ride…
I just don’t have enough time these days to keep up with things like the “Micro-defect handling farmer T10 light flashlight XML2 U2 charge long-range outdoor waterproof riding 18650” though it looks like a decent quality light. It’s a Frankenstein mash-up of several Convoy and other lights but if the quality is good that’s cool… I guess…
“Bad clown making like super American car racers, I would make them sweat. War! War!”
Yeah, I was looking at this post from a forum member about cssbuy. I think I may try to order the items myself though.
Wow…
That is cheap but shipping looks expensive?
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I contacted some of the taobao agents and some of them do accept paypal payments but I found that their fees combined with their shipping choices made the purchase less “budget” friendly.
I was only charged 6 yuan for shipping, which was the cheapest shipping choice. I think that equals a little less than a $1. Looking at my credit card summary online, I was charged a total of $23.47 for 2 of the CountryMan T10 flashlights plus shipping.
That’s good. When ever i see express shipping i assume its expensive lol.
Light Reviews
Cheap Flashlight Durability Test
Convoy S2+ Written review
Brinyte T16 Artemis tear down
YouTube Reviews
Sofirn D25S Review
Xmund XD-FL3 Review
World band shortwave radio review
Mods and Builds
6th Annual Old Lumens Scratch build entry
7th annual Old Lumens scratch build entry
As far as I can see it is available only for this countries :
Im keen to get one to test it out but Im stuck here and it doesn’t translate gggrrrrr lol
Can some one help me out
Nico -.-
Will you be charged more for the second stage of shipping?
http://mytaofocus.com/shop/in.php?p=category&cid=50014775
Seems to take you to an english navigable version of taobao, but just started looking through it so I don’t know how reliable it is. If you’re wondering, the flashlight section is a subset of the “shirts“category. Who knew.
No, that was the complete total. If I remember correctly, I chose EMS as my shipper choice.
What I did was to highlight the word I wanted translated and copied and pasted onto google translate for the screens that didn’t translate fully. Through that process I was able to fill in all the fields. The screen that you posed is where you fill in your name, shipping address, phone number, and etc.
hey vinte77
i did that method but the drop down menu got me stuck there as i cant copy the text.
i might ask my chinese friend to assist
Nico -.-
The drop down menus I think you’re referring to are for domestic/internstional shipping and destination country. You can refer to this guide: http://www.howtotao.com/buy-from-taobao/ for reference for the parts that don’t translate as well. When I’m in front of my computer again, I can point out the part in the guide that specifically explains that window if you need (hard to do on the phone).
Anyone place an order and receive a light?
I ordered and received lights from Taobao last summer. I used Bhiner as an agent and bought a few pop-lite brands lights. The experience was pretty straight forward, you copy and paste the taobao url into the Bhiner search box, add the item to your cart, and pay Bhiner the cost to purchase the items and bring them to their warehouse. They actually unpackaged and photographed the lights with battery installed and running to show it worked. They then consolidate the items into one shipment, weigh, and then invoice you for the shipping fee to your final destination. Once I paid that, the lights promptly shipped and were received just like any other overseas package. I do agree that the shipping fee can eat into the budget, but sometimes its more about collecting budget lights than it is about collecting lights on a budget… Buying from Taobao is fun for me because I can get my hands on a light that is very rare in North America, so I forgive the slight premium.
I’m really interested in that Mateminco light posted a page back. I had some trouble with the mobile link, this works better:
https://world.taobao.com/item/541039920781.htm#detail.
Plugging Mateminco into the search box on Taobao leads to most of Astrolux’s catalogue, but with Mateminco branding printed on the lights. The one posted a page back looks to come from the same OEM as the rest of Astrolux’s lights.
I too am interested. Was waiting for someone to jump on it before getting one. And btw, i posted that link LOL
Words can be broken,
so can bones.
Reporting back, I got the light today. The quality is really nice, the same that you get from Convoy lights. It took about 11 days after the light shipped to get to me, there was a very long delay due to CNY. The metal switch is exactly the same as the metal switch in a Convoy S2+. The light has 4 modes, with last mode memory, and double click goes to strobe. The light also comes with an a/r lens which was a nice surprise. The light was also easy to take apart. Here are some pictures of the actual light.
Very nice review. Thank you.
I’m really interested in one. Do you have a Convoy M1 for size comparison?
Reviews: Olight Seeker2 pro, Lumintop GlowI, Sofirn SP36, Convoy 4X18A, Convoy M21C, Brinyte SR8 Rescue Angel, Astrolux MF01 mini, Astrolux FT03S, YLP Sherp S15, Sofirn SP40, YLP Panda 3R and Unicorn, Armytek Prime C1 Pro, Acebeam M50, Imalent MS18, Convoy M3, Nitecore TIP2, Imalent RT70, Wuben T70, Sofirn SP32A, Thorfire VG15S, Thorfire VG10S, Thorfire TG06S
Mods: Imalent MS18 dedoming, Astrolux MF01-20K, Small sun T08 MT-G2, Eagle eye X6 triple XPL, Ultrafire F13 MT-G2, Convoy C8 XHP70, Solarstorm T3 triple XP-L HI
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No, I don’t have a MI. I can do a X6 if that will help. I would recommend the light, I should’ve bought more than the 2 I ordered with the expensive shipping and all. For those of you who are interested in buying directly without an agent (it’s. not as hard as it seems, I used an online guide, google translate, and chrome translate), just remember that you have to pay for both domestic shipping (shipping within China from seller to the taobao warehouse and then international shipping). I didn’t know about the second shipping cost (I should’ve read the online guide all the way through first).
Thanks for the pics vinte77.
If you have the time could you please measure the reflector diameter and outside bezel diameter. Looks like this might make a great edc light for those who work in cargo pants.
Now to convince Simon to sell it. Hey J-Dub, get in here
The reflector is about 32mm and the bezel is 36mm. I will say that the bezel has a nice weight to it.
I’m here raccoon man…
I just don’t have enough time these days to keep up with things like the “Micro-defect handling farmer T10 light flashlight XML2 U2 charge long-range outdoor waterproof riding 18650” though it looks like a decent quality light. It’s a Frankenstein mash-up of several Convoy and other lights but if the quality is good that’s cool… I guess…
I don’t have the time or energy to comment on all the rest. It’s a bit overwhelming at times dealing with a country that puts no value on intellectual property. Simon is one of the few who do respect intellectual property and we are working on cool stuff together…I’ll keep it at that.
If you want to go through all the second party/third party stuff to get a light from taobao then I suppose you deserve any discount or advantage you get. Personally, I’ll pass simply on the “Ain’t nobody got time fo dat” thinking. I have no desire to dig deeper or get into conversation about it. I’m straight up tired of it. Makes my brain hurt, but if you want to/have the energy to jump through the hoops then enjoy the ride…
Thanks, now to measure some of my lights.
Thanks for dropping by, um… light painting guy?
You are really missing out, the micro-defect handling farmer is a great light
“Bad clown making like super American car racers, I would make them sweat. War! War!”
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