[Taobao] Trying a new shopping service

So this new shopping service I'm using is called Bhiner. I chose to try them out as they only charge a 5% fee and I've heard a few people talk good about them. I usually used Taobaospree but decided to give a different service a try this time around (TBS also charges a 10% fee).

I've come to find a few good and bad points about Bhiner:

• BAD: I -have- to choose my shipping method before they start buying my items. The bad side to this is that I don't fully know just HOW much my order is going to weigh! My shipping option I choose could end up being vastly more expensive than planned/hoped! Also they say they will charge you a small fee if you decide to use a different shipping method after you make your order.
• BAD: They don't offer SAL as a shipping method. Also the cheapest method's price is raising on FEB 22nd (2013). The method that will then become cheapest takes 15-30 days to arrive as opposed to the current time of 7-14 days. Lame.
• BAD: There's a 4% fee to move money from your Paypal into your "Bhiner account". The whole idea of have a separate account weirds me out as well. However the other Paypal option is to send them money as a personal gift and Paypal charges MORE for that than the 4% (at least it did with my order.) I also don't feel very secure sending them money as a gift.
• GOOD: Items arrived SUPER quick! I paid for them on Thursday (China's Friday) and everything was with Bhiner by Tuesday. I ordered roughly 10 things though they were only from maybe 3 or 4 shops.
• GOOD: The cheap fee. They also say they have a 44% discount for EMS shipping (which I intend to try the next time around if I do use them again)
• GOOD: The cart system is super easy to use and all the items will get confirmed for stock within' a days time :)
• GOOD: Bhiner automatically takes pictures of the items as they arrive and uploads them online.
• GOOD: Website has a shipping calculator that shows you the price for each method or shipping and will automatically highlight the cheapest method. Very helpful!

Overall it seems to be a decent service to use. I've been thinking about trying another service for my next order but I will say that I have yet to find a cart system that is as stream-lined as Bhiner's is. I like how they have things set up and the shipping calculator is helpful. I suppose I will give them another shot.

New Taobao Shopping Service

I'm finally ordering some super cute lolita bags off of Taobao and decided to try a new shopping service this time around. I haven't even MADE the order but so far I'm finding this service to be frustrating >:/

The shopping cart style is great but what is putting me off so quickly about it is the fact that I have to choose my final shipping service already when I haven't even paid for the items. I feel like this could have been done a bit better. Why not make it a 2-step format where I choose later? They'll already have to notify me when I need to pay the shipping and that's essentially a 2-step process already... so why not just lump the "choose shipping option" there? That way I know the actual weight, and therefore shipping cost, of said items?

I did end up deciding against some shoes I wanted though. Just adding the 2 pairs in raised the price of my order by nearly $100!! I've been eyeing these shoes for over a year now and ,while I'm surprised they haven't sold out yet, I'm still really paranoid about spending so much on some shoes that I don't know if I'll like the look of on my actual feet.

I hate buying shoes online! But I love shoes and there are so many cute shoes online!

One giant conundrum my friends >:(  lol