Registration Takes Less than a Minute

If you have ever signed up for anything online, the Taobao registration process will be very familiar. All you need is a username, a password and an e-mail address. Start by going to the Taobao registration page.

Enter your information as indicated by my green hints:

This screenshot should be enough to sort you out, but if you need more hints, here is a detailed walkthrough of the Taobao sign up screen.

A couple quick tips:

Choose a good password, with a number and a symbol. Otherwise Taobao will nag you about having a crappy password every time you log in. Also, when choosing which email address to use, keep in mind that Taobao will send you some emails whenever you buy something. When you are done, hit the grey button.

The next screen tells you to check your email for a confirmation message.

Time to Check Your Email

If you don’t see it right away, check the junk message folder. That’s where I found mine! Open the newly received e-mail and click the big fat grey “Confirm” button in the middle of the message.

Success!

You will be taken to a page confirming your successful registration. Congratulations! You are now the newest member of Taobao!

Mac Users: More info for you here~

Next Step

But before you can start buying things, you will need to add money to your account. That means a trip to your local China Post Office to buy a Taobao Recharge Card.

The easy way to add money

Adding money to your Taobao account is easiest by going to the China Post Office. When you go to the Post Office, you can buy a recharge slip with a pin number. It is a lot like adding money to your mobile phone account.

Why not go through the bank?

You can also connect your Alipay account to your Chinese bank account, which should be even more convenient, right? Not exactly. China bank’s online security measures are in constant motion, with new passwords, digital certificates and other chaos forcing you to relearn the procedures. Overall, I have found the Post Office method to be much smoother.  One caveat, though: if you need any kind of refund for whatever reason, you will need to have a Chinese bank account. All the more reason to chat with the Taobao shop first!

How much to recharge?

You can recharge in any amount, but start off with a modest amount so you can get the hang of it. Let’s say 50 or 100rmb.  The post office charges a small commission of 0.5%, with a minimum of 2rmb per transaction.  So you will have to add 2rmb for a 100rmb recharge.  Or 5rmb on a 1,000rmb recharge.

At the Post Office

When you get to the Post Office, head towards the window called Postal Business Service.

What to ask for

I have always gotten by with a very straightforward request to “chongzhi taobao” (充值淘宝). But we have Reports from the Field that a more specific and accurate request is “wang hui E”  (网汇E) Thanks Taobao Newbie

Filling out the paper

They will give you a slip of paper that looks like this:

Let’s zoom in on that.

You only need to fill out a few things in the green highlighted area.

The Amount

The amount shown here is 100rmb.

Your Name in Chinese

The postal worker needs to put a name into the computer to process the transaction, but neither this, nor the address have any real purpose whatsoever. Feel free to make up any name you like. Can’t think of one? Let’s call you 巴比 (Barbie).

Your Address in Chinese

Again, this is not needed for any official purpose. Feel free to copy an address off any business card you may have. They just need something to put into the computer. Then write a zip code into those tiny boxes. They might want you to write your Chinese name a couple more times. If they ask, just copy again it where they point.

Your Pin Number – Remember It!

The Post Office attendant will type your info into the system and give you a keypad to enter a six-digit pin number. Then you will be asked to enter it again on the keypad, to confirm. Choose any number. And remember it! You will need it later.

Your Receipt

When that is done, you will receive a small slip of paper. Don’t lose it! The next step is back on the Taobao website to add the money to your account. You will need to the number highlighted here in green, as well as the six-digit pin number that you typed.

Next Step

Enter your recharge numbers online.

Back from the Post Office, Recharge Slip in Hand

So you have already signed up for a Taobao account, and then you bought a recharge slip. Now you will use that recharge slip to add money to your Taobao account.  First click on this link. It will open up the recharge screen on Taobao.  You will have to sign in with your username and password. Click There It’s called 网点充值

 

Now choose this one called 用网汇e充值      

 

Now you will enter in the two numbers. The first one is the top number on the post office receipt. The second one is the six-digit number that you typed in at the Post Office. 

 

Success!

Now your account is charged with money! Take a look by clicking on the link circled here. Or you can find out your account balance by checking your Alipay Transaction Control Panel.

You’re ready to buy stuff now!

 When you add money to your Taobao account, it will stay in your account until you spend it. Before you take those first steps out into the world of Taobao, you might want to take a short primer on buying stuff, and then look around at all the cool stuff there is to buy.