Recently I made my very first order with Taobao. (If you've never heard of Taobao, it's basically a Chinese eBay.) Since us foreigners cannot order directly from Taobao (it is mandatory to have a Chinese bank account), I used
Pruany as my agent. I had a good experience with them, they seem to be a relatively cheap and reliable agent. I always thought it'd be a difficult and expensive process to order from Taobao, but I was surprised how easily it went! I used EMS, so the package arrived in under two weeks after I made the order.
My first order consisted of Liz Lisa copies - yes, I know I should support the brand and only buy authentic clothes, but it's super expensive to order from their Japanese online store. ;_; From what I've heard,
Makiko Online Shop sells fakes, too, so it'd be a waste of money to order from them.
I was pretty pleased with the items I received. The quality is pretty good - not excellent but not bad either. I ordered 3 x skirts, 1 x shorts and 1 x shirt, and the total cost including shipping and service charge was around $136 / 110€.
Here's what I bought (click the pictures to enlarge):
This skirt is so cute! It looks exactly the same as in the seller's pictures. The material is pretty good and the skirt has got shorts and lining underneath. Price: $17
This skirt is also very nice, the quality is pretty good and the material feels very soft and pleasant. Price: $20
I had read good reviews about these shorts, but I must say that I was quite disappointed in them. The material feels soooo unpleasant, I don't want to touch it at all :( But at least they LOOK ok and they're otherwise comfy. Price: $12
I love this shirt, it's so cute! >u< The quality is quite good. I'm currently wearing this shirt and it's very comfy and warm. Price: $16
This is the last of the bunch. The fabric is exactly the same as in the shirt, so I can combine these two to make them look like a dress. :D Price: $17
Overall, I was pretty much satisfied with my first shopping experience with Taobao. The quality is definitely much better than some of the clothes I've ordered from eBay and such. Also, the Taobao sellers usually have their own photos of the products, so you will know what you're going to get.