Taobao’s All-purpose GIFTOTRON Helps Choose the Right Gift
Can I ever trust Taobao’s gift suggestions?
I have been lamenting Taobao’s poor gift suggestions recently, as Valentine’s Day approaches. Trusting Taobao’s keen awareness of Chinese preferences, I considered the bread pen. But I was quickly informed that that was not a good gift. Under any circumstances. And especially not for a girlfriend on Valentine’s.
Well, Taobao has appearantly heeded my concern, and set about a feverish all-night development session of their latest, greatest invention:
The All-purpose GIFTOTRON™.

How does it work?
Just enter in the lucky gift recipient’s gender, age, relationship to you and the purpose of the gift, and it comes up with ideas. For my search, a romantic gift for a female significant other between the ages of 20 and 35, it came up with some interesting suggestions. Nearly 300,000 interesting suggestions.
What did Taobao suggest?
Face cream
Cosmetics and face creams made up a large proportion of the suggested items. While these may be just the type of things that she would want, I’m pretty sure she would not want them from me. “Happy Valentines! Here, fix your face.”

His and Hers Shirts
I actually think that this is a goofy and sweet idea. Under the right circumstances – on vacation, on a deserted island, in a drunken hula hoop contest – I could be persuaded to wear matching shirts. But as a surprise gift, this could put your partner in an uncomfortable position.
The Winner – an Overwhelmingly Large Stuffed Bear
At 1.6 meters tall, the sheer size of this thing is sure to get a reaction. Probably somewhere between “oh-you’re-so-sweet!” tears of joy and “where-the-hell-am-I-going-to-put-that?” confusion. You come walking in with a bear as big as she is, and she’ll be a happy girl.
Huge stuffed bear - 280rmb

Finally a good suggestion from Taobao! Do you have a romantic gift idea that is even more proper than these bears? Let me know in the comments~


The huge bear is taller than my girlfriend, 我要退货!
http://www.portablegadget.com/digital-camera/return-to-cute-hello-kitty-5-megapixel-digital-camera
Possibly not suitable for the over 12s, but there you go.
@Fredo – Maybe you better stick with the his and her’s T-shirts, Fredo. It’s a sensational spring fashion.
@Swiss James – Hello Kitty always delights. Taobao is chock-full of Hello Kitty cameras.
Loving two things: Hello Kitty video camera
and this site.
got you on my RSS feed and linked you on my site.
Where’s the contact information for this website? I can’t find it anywhere, and the whois data is suspiciously concealed.
Howdy, Henry! Thanks for reminding me about the contact info. You can reach me anytime at laoban at taobaofieldguide dot com
I have added a contact form under ‘About TGF’ as well. Can’t wait to hear from you! It seems like you probably have a delightful message for me…
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