Taobao has a wide variety of items and is very diverse, and many people like to shop online at Taobao. But for Malaysian consumers, the biggest hassle with Taobao online shopping is the shipping cost. If you are not careful with the shipping cost, it is often higher than the price of the item.
Generally there are several logistics options for online shopping on Taobao, namely direct mail (ocean), direct mail (air), consolidation (ocean) and consolidation (air), and there is also the option for consumers to use a third party shipping service.
Before Taobao launched its direct mail service, consumers in Malaysia could only choose either consolidation or third-party forwarding, so until now, many people would still choose consolidation as their first instinct when shopping on Taobao. In fact, under certain conditions, direct mail can be more cost effective than consolidation.
If the item you are buying is a small item, such as a cell phone protective film, cell phone case, hair ornament, small charm, etc., then direct mail (air freight) will often be worth more than other logistics options. If your purchase is for a large, light item, then direct mail (ocean freight) may also be more worthwhile than consolidation. However, if your purchase is a heavy item (about 5 to 10 kg), then consolidation will definitely be more worthwhile.
As for how to choose direct mail or consolidation? First, you try direct shipping first when choosing logistics and see what the system shows as the cost of direct shipping. If you think the cost is affordable, you can just choose direct shipping, so you can avoid the more expensive shipping costs when shipping collectively.
Here’s an example of buying a set of curtains from Taobao. If you choose the official direct mail (shipping), the cost is $40 (equivalent to RM27). If you choose official shipping (ocean freight), the shipping cost will be as high as $150.60 (RM91). The difference in cost between the two is huge.
If you have already chosen ocean freight, you will have to think twice about paying the shipping cost. Here’s an example of commodity A and B. If you pay for the consolidation of goods A and B separately, the cost of consolidation will be $46 and $150 respectively. If you choose to combine items A and B and pay for shipping all at once, then the shipping cost will become $525.
