Obook is a Taobao Agent with a unique perspective. They themselves run a successful Taobao shop selling books and magazines (hence the name). With this insider’s knowledge of the Taobao market, they are uniquely qualified to help you buy stuff from Taobao – at the right price.

The Obook website doesn’t require registration or learning any new webforms. They cut out the automation and focus on personal attention. Just send them an email telling them what you want. The flexibility of this personal attention helps a lot when you have a special request. They are very fast and responsive, and will provide you a quick price quote for your consideration. With offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong, they can provide logistical flexibility to ensure that your order is handled as efficiently as possible. And now that Shanghai enjoys same-day delivery options, that means getting your order that much faster.

Obook loves positive feedback, and cultivates it on eBay as well as on Taobao. Running shops on both sites allows you to view their reliability from several perspectives. You can find their eBay shop here, and read the positive reviews given by happy customers of their Taobao Agent service.

If you have an eBay account, you will be able to pay a part of the transaction through eBay, and leave them some feedback of your own. Or if you don’t have one, you can still pay via Paypal, like with other Agents.

The Obook service fee is 15%, and includes:

• Quick and friendly response on all inquiries
• Easy and flexible email service
• Insider’s knowledge and negotiation with Taobao shops
• Complete product verification to make sure you receive the right stuff
• Efficient and safe packaging
• Discount international shipping (65% to 70% cheaper than list price)
• The option to leave eBay feedback

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A reader from Australia has written in to warn us of a bad experience he had shopping with Taobao Agent yoybuy.com. Before we detail the complaint, let us say that to our knowledge yoybuy does a mostly decent job serving their customers (thanks for the reports from two satisfied yoybuy customers in the comments).

The complaint says that yoybuy took the buyer’s order and sent him a cheaper version of the product. The buyer had found a good vendor for his products on Taobao, and had been satisfied with previous orders, and even though he requested that yoybuy use that vendor, they did not, and the result was inferior products.

If you have worked with Taobao agents before, let us know about your experiences!