Last year I have started to collaborate with a lot of Chinese websites and as I have been reviewing and promoting a lot of their items lately I thought it was a good idea to share with you some of my tips on how to shop on this kind of web stores because I know that there are a lot of doubts in regards to the quality and the sizes of the clothes.
So, in case you are considering shopping and giving Chinese websites a go, I would like to help you to get exactly what you want from the shop and give you my tips so that you don't get any surprises once the package arrives. Also, these tips would be very useful for shopping online in general, not only on Chinese websites, because as you are not trying the clothes you want to make sure that everything fits you and it's exactly what you are looking for.
So, let's get started with the tips! ;)
1- Check the size chart and all the measurements
This information is key for you to get the size that fits you perfectly! My advice would be to not follow your traditional size if you normally buy an S or an M that may not be the case here. So what you have to do is look at the size chart and then the Size Conversion Chart where you can see all the measurements for each size and for that specific piece of clothing. Do this with each item you would like to shop since not all of them are cut the same. Normally Asian sizes tend to be a little smaller than the regular sizes but that doesn't apply to all the items. I have bought some items in my normal size, which is S, but also I have bought some pieces in sizes M or even L, so it really depends on each particular piece. An extra tip would be to always have a centimeter handy when you are shopping to measure yourself and see how long or not that piece would be. Your centimeter is your best friend here!
For Example, you would like to buy the S, so you see that it corresponds to Size 4 (US)
Then you can see on the Size Conversion Chart, which are the measurements for size 4 (US) and the equivalent sizes.
2- Always read the description to check the information about materials and colors
I have read this a lot in different blogger reviews: "the color wasn't exactly as the one in the picture" and to avoid having this problem, the best solution is to read the description. There you will find which is the exact color of that piece you would like to buy. Because sometimes the pictures tend to be confusing in regards to the colors if they have some kind of filter the color may look a bit different from what it is like in real life.
In fact, this happened to me with a bomber jacket I have recently received, from the picture I thought it was brown and beige and I ordered it. The truth is I didn't read the description and then when the jacket arrived it was actually black and beige so I checked back on the website to see if I had mistaken and requested a different color but no, it was actually black just the picture looked different because it had some kind of filter.
This same rule applies to the materials, everything looks pretty on the pictures but if you are not sure about the fabric, the best is to read on the description to find out if it is all polyester or a mix of cotton and polyester, etc. By doing this you make sure you won't get any surprises when the package arrives, and you get exactly what you wanted.
3- Read the reviews
Last but not the least, I would advise you to look for the reviews of other people who have already bought that item. This would give you an idea of how the product worked for them. In most of the cases, customers even put a picture of them wearing the item so this is even better for you to see how the piece actually looks like!
This is something very positive I have seen on Chinese websites since most of the products have some kind of review, which includes pictures and I find this super helpful.
So, this is it!! I really hope this post was helpful to those of you who may be considering buying something from a Chinese website. In my personal experience, I have received exactly what I was expecting most of the times, just one time I received a necklace that was broken but all the rest of the items were perfect and I think these tips would help you to shop smartly if you want to get something from this type of shops.
