if you don’t know about taobao, you really ought to. much more than “china’s ebay” – the range of goods available is much wider. my colleagues often buy from taobao – the amount of food items, clothing, toys and other sundries which are sent to our office on a daily basis is astounding.
one of my cubemates recently just bought a bunch of medieval and roman era figurines and arranged a battle on his desk.
so, you say, “i wanna get in on this taobao stuff, but i don’t read chinese.” no worries, check out taobaofieldguide.com. or do what i do – search yourself and get your chinese colleagues to buy on your behalf.
Yeah TB is awesome. The question isn’t what can you buy on TB it’s what CAN’T you buy. And Taobao has now become a verb in Chinese as in “I’m going to Taobao it”.
Is your cubemate single and in his 30s by any chance?
actually my cubemate is married and barely 30. but his wife is both a willing participant and also an enabler – she is partially to blame in this matter.
Well I suppose it’s good to have hobbies. I myself like drinking and eating. A bit like yourself without the drinking.
eating, basketball and well, I suppose that’s it for me. And lusting over expensive bicycles which I shouldn’t buy.