Today, I am going to talk about my experience with Chinese online retailers, specifically Romwe, Choies and Alibaba.
As some of you guys already know, these websites have become relatively popular over the past couple of years, especially hyped by fashion bloggers and YouTubers. Although they ship worldwide, my impression is that they are designed primarily for American customers with USD pricing. These websites are very attractive for many of us who live in the west because the price is 'unbeatable'. In the UK, we have a store called Primark and they have one of the cheapest clothes and fashion accessories ever. I don't mind shopping there (and any other high street stores) but I am really conscious of the fact that I might come across someone on the street who is wearing exactly the same outfit: awkward, I know.
I follow many fashion bloggers online for inspiration and for some reason, it's often 'impossible' to find things that I want anywhere. Frustrating... The Chinese online retailers come really handy on these occasions; they literally have everything and anything that you want. The price is, of course, very competitive, thus making it hard for me to resist the temptation. For the last 2 years, I have used Alibaba.com, Choies.com and Romwe.com only a couple of times. Whilst my review is based on relatively small experiences with each site, I feel like I have enough thoughts about Chinese online retailers. I am not going to go into too much detail about what I've bought and what not. Instead, I am going to focus on general things that you should keep in mind before/when making a purchase on these websites.
Most importantly, it takes a relatively long time for items to arrive at your door. At least, this is the case when you live in the UK like myself. The reviews that you find on YouTube or other well-known fashion bloggers are a totally different story; their experience is usually quite quick and accurate delivery time. For us, i.e. normal people, even if the website promises you a fast (1-2day) shipping policy, this isn't true at all. And even if it is, it takes ages to receive the item(s) you ordered. I find this very frustrating and indeed unfair, especially given the fact that those YouTubers and fashion bloggers don't even pay for the things they receive. My impression is that they send stuff to these people to attract us and we bleed (literally). Then, is it worth waiting?
It depends.
In 'general', the stuff that I got were quite good BUT they aren't exactly as I expected because the pictures I saw on the website are NEVER their own. All too often, you will see the same pictures on all these three (and many other) websites; sometimes, pictures are imported from other websites of other legitimate retailers such as Style Nanda (S.Korean) and online articles on fashion shows, etc. So in essence, you are buying dupes or worse, dupes of dupes (if it makes sense).
Additionally, I'd also like to point out customs clearance/charges (i.e. customs duty) issue. The actual significance of actual damage will depend on which country you currently live in. I reside in the UK which means standard VAT rate 20%. Personally I have NOT been charged customs duty by purchasing goods from the three Chinese retailers that I am talking about in this post, but all of my parcels had been stopped and examined by the UK customs. Therefore, I would advise you to make sure that the total value of your purchase (items + shipping) is no more than £135 (as of 2015). Just in case you are curious, this is the current rules regarding the customs duty in the UK.
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| See https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty |
Nevertheless, I found these websites quite useful on a number of occasions because of the unique items they offer which I can't never get hands on in the UK. Plus with a competitive pricing and a very cheap shipping policy (a lot of times, it's for free!), it's hard to resist. I know, I've been there too.
In conclusion, I guess my review has mixed opinions. Do I recommend these websites?
It depends.
I think if you really can't find things nearby or UK-based online retailers, yes, give it a go. If you have a specific date in your mind to wear the item (and it's quite nearby, like anytime within the next 2 months), I say pass it because the chances of you receiving the item on time is very slim.
Have you ever used Chinese online retailers? Which one? What are your thoughts?
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