Online Shopping Reviews

Compiling Work: Coupon Codes from Chinese Stores for February 2013

As a Chinese I have been busy with the preparation work for the Chinese New Year recently and this post comes a little late. Anyway, for those who are interested in shopping with Chinese sites, you can still check out the list below to see if any coupon code can help you save more. After all, February has passed only one third and you have plenty of time to redeem the coupons if you like.

Lightinthebox.com:

Specialized in offering wedding dresses & accessories, special occasion addresses and other fashion and accessories, electronics, faucets, oil paintings, home & garden, health & beauty, cosplay & costumes and much more.

Coupon Code:

VLT8OFFL

Discount Description: Get $8 OFF $80 on Any Product Sitewide
Valid through: Feb. 28, 2013

Discount Code:

VLT18OFFL

Discount Description: Get $20 OFF $190 on Any Product Sitewide
Valid through: Feb. 28, 2013

Promo Code:

VLT32OFFL

Discount Description: Get $32 OFF $300 on Any Product Sitewide
Valid through: Feb. 28, 2013

Miniinthebox.com:

Specialized in offering all kinds of small electronic gadgets and accessories with free shipping; belonging to Lightinthebox.com.

Coupon:

VLT2OFFM

Discount Description: Get $2 OFF $20 on Any Electronic Gadgets or Accessories Sitewide
Valid through: Feb. 28, 2013

Continue reading Compiling Work: Coupon Codes from Chinese Stores for February 2013

Overseas Warehouses of Chinese Sites: About Focalprice UK Warehouse

I often see comments left at my site questioning with anxiety why the addresses the Chinese sites use to send their orders are different from their office addresses introduced at my site. They were wondering if they had encountered a scammer and asking for my help to confirm on the real facts. Actually many China-based international shopping sites have their own warehouses in the destination countries or regions – the most common places are the United States, the UK and Hong Kong.

Focalprice.com, the online electronics store whose office is in Shenzhen, China, have a warehouse based in Manchester, the United Kingdom. Their UK warehouse has a rather independent shopping system with an exclusive domain name Mixwall.co.uk. You can find the access to the UK shopping site at the left navigation area of their main site homepage. If you want to shop with their UK warehouse, you need to create an account at the Mixwall.co.uk first. It seems you can’t use your Focalprice account to place an order at the UK site. I don’t understand why. Maybe they are doing this for better management. But honestly, I personally don’t think it good for user experience, how about you?

The UK channel of Focalprice.com do not carry as many categories as the main site do. Anyway, it does have quite a wide range of products across Apple accessories, cell phones, home & outdoor, toys & hobbies and electronics. Free shipping is available sitewide so you don’t have to worry about the shipping fee. Besides UK, Mixwall.co.uk also ship to other countries or regions of the whole Europe including Russia. This means US customers or buyers from other continents are not allowed to order with the site.

As all the products are already stocked in the UK warehouse, it takes only 2-5 business days for the orders to arrive at the destinations based on the shipping method you choose. For Royal mail & Register Royal mail, the site guarantee that the orders will arrive within 3 working days including Saturday; for Next Day Delivery, they promise the package will be delivered to your door before 10 p.m. on the next working day.

Continue reading Overseas Warehouses of Chinese Sites: About Focalprice UK Warehouse

Tips on Shopping 2013 Chinese New Year Deals

Chinese New Year, traditionally called Spring Festival, is the biggest festival of the year for the Chinese people. Like Christmas Eve, the Chinese New Year Eve means a lot to the country. No matter how far away is from our homes, we will try our best to go back home in order to catch up with the dinner at the eve of the Chinese New Year, which we call “get-together dinner”.

This year, the eve lands on Feb. 9, 2013 and the official holiday for the Chinese Spring Festival will last from Feb. 9 to Feb. 15. People from all walks of a life will enjoy a 7-day national holiday. Anyway, as for people who are working for the foreign trade arena, the holiday can be much longer. My sister is currently working for an international trade company and their holiday will start on Feb. 3 and end on Feb. 17 – two weeks in total! At the same time, I notice that some China-based online shopping sites have already posted a notice informing their customers that they are going on a holiday from Feb. 1 to Feb. 15.

Most sites will run their business as usual with on-duty staff to handle orders. As the number of people work during the period is extremely limited, they tend to be much less responsive in terms of service. Also, as the international shipping will stop taking orders, the delivery can be delayed by one week or longer. If you need to buy something in a hurry, it is probably not a good idea to place an order before the Chinese New Year holiday ends. Some stores even completely close their offices and warehouses during the holiday and won’t provide any service, e.g. Eforchina.com. A few sites have clearly indicated that orders placed during Feb. 1 to Feb. 15 will be handled after the holiday ends.

Anyway, a number of sites with overseas warehouses will be working partially as usual during the period. Orders related to their China-based warehouses may not be handled in time but if you order a product in stock at their overseas warehouse, it can be processed and shipped like before. Tmart.com is a typical example. Their US warehouse will handle orders as usual. They claim that for their international warehouse, if there is an “Available” product (that displays “ships in 24 hours” on the page), they will ship it within 24 hours and for other products, they will ship them in 15~30 days.

Continue reading Tips on Shopping 2013 Chinese New Year Deals

Priceangels Coupon Code for 2013 Valentine’s Day

I noticed that Priceangels.com had launched their 2013 Valentine’s Day sale by offering a 10% off coupon on select Valentine’s Day gifts, including cell phones, tablet PCs, intimate stuff, watches & jewelry, consumer electronics, home living products and gift & lifestyle gadgets. The promotional collection has 32 items in total – not a wide collection, but every item looks attractive for gifting.

To enjoy the discount, you just need to input the coupon code “VAL10OFF” at checkout and then you will get 10% off the original price instantly. The sale will last from Feb. 3 through Feb. 14. Note that the Chinese international shipping cab be delayed as the Chinese Spring Festival is approaching so you may need to confirm on the exact delivery time with their service people if you do need the gift for the Valentine’s. Otherwise your plan for a romantic Valentine’s may be ruined because of the delayed gift.

Continue reading Priceangels Coupon Code for 2013 Valentine’s Day

Compiling Work: 2013 Valentine’s Day Deals Released by Chinese Stores

The 2013 Valentine’s Day is only two weeks ahead. Are you still scratching about for an amazing Valentine’s Day gift for your beloved? If you haven’t got any good idea yet, why not try checking out the shopping sites for inspiration? This is how I usually do. When I am not sure about what to gift people I love for a particular holiday or a special day, I browse the gift collections of popular online shops to get myself inspired and the point is: it always does work!

Image courtesy of Dinodirect.com

Since we are a review website targeting the Chinese international wholesale and retail markets, below I will share the information on 2013 Valentine’s Day deals offered by Chinese stores only. For those looking for decent gifts for the loving holiday at low prices, shopping with a Chinese online store directly may be a smart idea, especially if you take advantage of their promotions for the Valentine’s Day. Here are the deals I’ve found from Chinese sites:

Dinodirect.com: Up to 60% Off plus an Extra 5%-20% Coupon. Check it out here >>
Lightinthebox.com: Deep Discounts on TS® Clothing and Free Expedited Shipping on Orders of Over $85. Check it out here >>
Focalprice.com: Up to 31% Off Jewelry, Electronic Gadgets, Toys, Novelty Gifts and more. Ends Feb. 15. Check it out here >>
Tmart.com: Slashed-down Prices on Electronic Gadgets, Game Tools, Makeup Tools, Jewelry & Watches and more. Check it out here >>
Lightake.com: Great Discounts and Free Shipping on Select Jewelry & Watches. Check it out here >>
Ahappydeal.com: Great Discounts on Jewelry. Check it out here >>
Eforchina.com: 8% Off for Jewelry & Watches category with code “VDAY”. Check it out here >>
Fancyladies.com: Up to 40% Off Lingerie, Sexy Costumes, Corsets, Clubwear and Dancing Boots. Check it out here >>
Milanoo.com: $20 Off Orders of $99 or More; $30 Off Orders of $150 or More. Ends Feb. 17. Check it out here >>

Continue reading Compiling Work: 2013 Valentine’s Day Deals Released by Chinese Stores

Are There Any Reliable Chinese Sites Offering Home and Garden Supplies?

When I was questioned if I am familiar with any reliable Chinese sites that are famous for their home and garden supplies, I suddenly realized that I had not paid much attention to this field then. Although I created this blog with a mission to introduce the best China-based international shopping sites, I am just talking about too much about fashion and accessories and electronics, which are in practice the biggest product lines in the Chinese foreign trade arena.

Thanks for the reader who asked me the question. This reminds me that I really should broaden the topics which are closely related Chinese wholesale and retail business here. This post will focus on sharing my findings about Chinese online stores where you can find made-in-China home and garden supplies, including furniture, oil paintings, bedding, faucets and much more.

After spending days doing the research, I was a little shocked that I could not find any big name in the Chinese international home and garden supply foreign trade arena. Yes, I meant the type of shopping websites which are specialized in offering home and garden products or are particularly famous for the product line. Anyway, I did find some popular sites where you can buy some sorts of home and garden supplies, usually with quite limited subcategories in terms of quantity and variety.

It is interesting to note that while there are rare home and garden professional shopping websites based in China, almost every legitimate Chinese site with an impressive customer base has a Home and Garden category. It can be a comprehensive site like Dinodirect.com or Aliexpress.com, an electronics store like Focalprice.com or Ahappydeal.com, a fashion shop like Lightinthebox.com or Milanoo.com or any other type of cross-border e-commerce sites. In particular, some of them are quite famous for a certain product. For instance, Lightinthebox.com have been well known for their quality faucets, especially LED faucets for kitchen and washroom and for their modern lighting products, especially chandeliers and pendant lights. Also,
Milanoo.com are often mentioned about their fashionable bedding supplies, pet supplies and curtains.

Below list the home and garden subcategories carried by some popular Chinese global shopping websites. If you are interested in, you can click the links which will direct you straight to their Home and Garden pages. Continue reading Are There Any Reliable Chinese Sites Offering Home and Garden Supplies?