This includes everything from expensive Western brands such as Adidas and Nike to cheap, locally made products. However, it\u2019s worth noting that Taobao is primarily used by customers who belong to the low to medium-price consumers category.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taobao has many product categories to chose from and it’s the go-to online store for the majority of Chinese internet users, with over 800 million monthly active users and more than 8 million stores<\/strong>. It’s one of the most popular online shopping platforms in the world, accounting for almost 60% of the total e-commerce sales<\/strong> in Mainland China. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Having your products on Alibaba\u2019s Taobao platform will provide you access to hundreds of millions of potential customers at the tip of your fingers. Because China has one of the highest ratios of digital payment and e-Commerce users in the whole world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Those who have a company that\u2019s registered in China or those who have the chance to work with a Chinese-registered company can operate and sell their products on Taobao. These requirements are a bit more loose compared to the more high-end websites such as Tmall Global and JD Worldwide.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although most foreign brands don’t consider to sell products on Taobao, it’s actually a great marketplace to access the biggest amount of online shoppers with the smallest investment (in comparison to Tmall and JD, which are usually the first choice). Why is it worth to sell your products on Taobao? Here are some of the main reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taobao is a very simple-to-use platform<\/strong> and the go-to online marketplace for the majority of online shoppers in China. It won the hearts of the Chinese by providing a platform with all categories of products, a secure payment system, and fast deliveries, with products arriving sometimes even in just a few hours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To get started with your own Taobao store, here are a few steps to take: <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are various reasons why sellers are happy to sell on Taobao. However, there are also cons to selling on this platform. Below are just a few examples of both. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Taobao has relatively low prices, at least we can say it is far less expensive than selling on its sister app Tmall. Indeed, everyone can sell on Taobao by depositing thousands of dollars to just register a store online in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because there\u2019s no inventory pressure, management risk, or space limitation when starting a business on Taobao, it makes for a great platform choice for all kinds of products. Selling on this platform eliminates the various risks associated with storage, rent, logistics, and personnel management. This significant advantage will naturally attract a large number of consumers quickly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n China doesn\u2019t just have the biggest online shopping market in the world, but it is also one of the fastest-growing and most sophisticated today. As a result, Chinese consumers are looking for more services and products from outside of China, and Taobao will continue to provide them with these needs, all at a fraction of the cost compared to international offerings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taobao has earned the reputation of being called \u201cthe everything store\u201d because you can find essentially anything you need within this shopping platform also meaning you can sell anything, and thanks to the huge user base, even niche categories will have enough material to work with. Taobao carries the biggest assortment of all kinds of products, including:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter what your needs are, you can count on Taobao to have it and you can expect them to have great prices for you to promote your brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A great way to attract more customers<\/strong><\/a> to your Taobao store is to offer them all kinds of Taobao sales, deals, and events, where your shop can offer great prices. There are also huge discounts to be offered along with vouchers. Here are the top events and sales in Taobao:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you plan to sell via Taobao, a good thing about this platform is that it\u2019s free to register and start your shop here. However, those without a Chinese ID or who are using a foreign passport will find the authentication process lacking in the ability to verify foreign identification numbers. As a result, only Chinese and Hong Kong IDs are accepted for registration.\u00a0<\/strong>Because of that, the majority of products available on the platform are domestically produced apparel and items. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another stumbling block that beginners may run into is the fact that Taobao doesn\u2019t have an English website, so you\u2019ll need to conduct every part of your business in Chinese<\/strong>. As such, your Chinese partner will need to be reliable and easily accessible, or you may need to have a few staff members who can respond to customers using the Ali Wang Wang chat support system that comes with Taobao. This system plays a vital role in the success of your Taobao store, helping you to fully understand the needs of your customers and to improve their shopping experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rather an inconvenience than a disadvantage but still can be an incredibly high barrier for some companies. While any Chinese individual could sell on Taobao, your company will need to have a business license<\/strong><\/a> (meaning the company is registered in China), be a joint venture with a Chinese company, or have a Chinese partner that will be the legal owner of the shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately for international sellers, Taobao can pose a bit of a challenge because the website is in Chinese. However, online transaction tools such as Google Translate can help out in this regard. But this also applies when it comes to payment since you’ll need to be integrated into Alipay which is itself connected to a Chinese bank account. (having a Chinese bank account is not an option when selling on Taobao).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being able to speak the local language<\/strong> is important when it comes to your pricing and localization strategy but also for customer services. You’ll definitely need Chinese when your buyers have issues such as defective products, exchanges, returns, and other item needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, you can\u2019t open your own Taobao store if you\u2019re a non-Chinese company. You can, however, open an online store in a few product categories provided that you registered a company in China (It is one of the major differences between Taobao and Tmall, check out this post<\/strong><\/a> to learn more).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The commission fees of Taobao are not fixed and will mainly depend on your industry. This will be negotiated during the initial registration and every year after. A trend we have been observing is the tendency Taobao has to inflate its commission fees every year for successful shops. We suspect it is to push successful Taobao merchants to move on to Tmall where initial fees are way higher than Taobao.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Alibaba partners and other agencies offering eCommerce services for China<\/strong><\/a>, setting up and opening a store in Taobao is now easier than ever, where you can avoid time resource-consuming processes to sell goods as quickly as possible in China. By having a Taobao store, you\u2019ll have access to millions of potential shoppers online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/seoagencychina.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/TAOBAO-STATISTICS-2.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nBenefits of selling on Taobao<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHere are just a few things you need to do to start selling on Taobao:\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat is the Process to Open a Store on Taobao<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The Pros and Cons of Selling on Taobao<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What are the Advantages of Selling through a Taobao Store?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
It’s affordable to open a Taobao store<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Low Operating Risk<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Enormous Users Base\u00a0<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Plenty of Marketing tools, Deals, Events, and Sales <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Disadvantages of Taobao Selling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nYou need a local presence to open a Taobao Store<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The Language Barrier <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
No Cross-Border on Taobao<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Taobao commission fees<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Want to open a Taobao Store?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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