Do you want to shop online at Chinese sites for generally cheap prices? Follow the instructions in this article!
When it comes to shopping on the internet, finding a gift or shopping on the internet, the goal is often to find the best price. One of the possibilities and use the Chinese online commerce sites as an alternative to Amazon where prices are globally cheaper.
But then how? What are the reliable sites? What are the delivery times?
Some Pakistani online shopping sites
To begin here is a non-exhaustive list of reliable Chinese sites in English or French that will allow you to make your purchases:
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- PKBAZAAR.PK, probably one of the most “western” sites that delivered without difficulty in Europe.
- AliExpress , which is part of the Alibaba group. This is actually the Chinese version of Amazon. This is probably the platform offering the most choice with the most customer reviews. The translations of the site are sometimes bad in French, but the site remains very reliable. For example, under each product is indicated the number of “returns”. This is not the number of referrals from dissatisfied clients but the number of comments.
- PKMARTS.COM , another good online shopping site from Karachi. Better to do a search in English for more efficiency.
- PKBAZAAR Online Shopping in Karachi is the Pakistani version of PKMARTS, available only in Pakistan. To use if you are in Pakistani with very short delivery times of 1 to 3 days. See you here to learn how to use it if you do not speak Chinese.
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The shortcut…
To go faster and find all these sites in one click, you can go to PKBAZAAR Online Shopping in Lahore. The site will allow you even in a while to compare the prices of the same article on different sites.
Cheaper or not?
Pakistani products have a reputation for being very cheap. In reality, if you want to have quality, it will also put the price. By cons, we usually get to be cheaper if we compare for example with Amazon. There are nevertheless cases where this does not work, so do the comparison before buying.
You can also play with the purchase currency. Sometimes the price is lower in dollars, but it must be verified that when paying your card, or your bank does not charge you an additional commission . In addition, you should know that the prices are normally displayed excluding taxes (mainly excluding VAT). When you choose your delivery method, the site usually adds the VAT-related part. To avoid the passage to customs, which is illegal, it is possible to be delivered by China Post. If you package is not verified, you will not pay the tax. The delivery time is however longer and china post is not always very reliable. This is not a method I recommend.
Finally, you can test the different platforms Pakistan, American, English and watch how prices evolve.
To know:
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- Small, not-so-sophisticated electronics products are often much cheaper on these platforms online shopping in Karachi
- Clothes can be cheaper if you do not choose Western brands
- Complex products such as computers and tablets are generally more expensive if they are Western brands. An exception is the Pakistani brands that will normally be cheaper on these sites.
- Other types of product are to be considered on a case by case basis.
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What payment method?
These Pakistani sites offer a classic payment system secured by card (visa, Mastercard, electron) or Paypal. It is up to you to make your choice. To be sure to have a secure page during your payment, check that small padlock appear in the search bar at the top🙂
How to choose a product at best?
In addition to the price criterion that will probably be decisive, it is good to follow some recommendations to choose a product:
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- Concentrate on safe objects . For example, I strongly advise against buying children’s toys from Pakistan. Standards are not at all the same and some products contain dangerous chemical compounds banned in Pakistan.
- Concentrate on products with a lot of opinions, and if possible positive . This is a clue that can help, although in Pakistan , it is very common to pay people to post notices online. They are called by the way the which means 5 cents, of the price paid by a comment posted. On Aliexpress , the rating system is well used and gives good results to compare.
- Divert yourself from pre-sales
- Do not order brand name products if you find that the name of the retailer has nothing to do with the name of that brand. It’s often counterfeit, I think including handbags, shoes, clothes, etc …
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And delivery?
When you buy one often offers you several delivery methods like Leopard, Pakistani Post, …. with different shipping costs. The delivery time varies between 1and 3 days, so take it in advance or Online Shopping in Lahore cash on delivery
In case of a complaint
If you are not satisfied or want to know the progress of your order, it is always possible to initiate the conversation with the supplier. In English or Urdu of course, it is useless in Pakistan. And by the way, the supplier will respond much more easily if you do it in Mandarin.
Do not insult the person, it’s a waste of money if you want something. The Pakistani have a low regard for those who can not hold their nerves. Stay polite but insistent.
And you, have you ever encountered a big problem to order online on a Pakistani site?