Last week we struggled with mislabeled and faulty breakout boards from Taobao. Fortunately purchases from Shenzhen sellers usually arrive the next day, so we’ve already got a bunch of replacement boards to test. HMC5883L/QMC5883 digital compass Last week our HMC5883L breakout turned out to have a non-compatible QMC5883 chip. We need the genuine part to do […]
Tag Archives: TaoBao
Breakout boards from Taobao are a mess
For the last few days I’ve been playing with breakout boards purchased from Taobao. So far it’s been a nightmare. GY-271 is advertised as a Honeywell HMC5883L 3 axis digital compass. A Bus Pirate address search turned up 0x1A and 0x1B, instead of the HMC5883L’s 0x3C and 0x3D. The chip is actually a “Q”MC5883L, a […]
On the first day of Taobao Christmas
Taobao, the Chinese shopping site that combines eBay, Amazon, and Alibaba, recently got a lot easier for foreigners to use. As Sjaak documented in his Taobao buying adventures a few years ago, most foreigners use an agency that takes payment via Paypal, purchases your babies, and forwards them to you via DHL or airmail. Even […]
TaoBao shopping service Bhiner review
In relation to the previously posted Sourcing cheap parts on TaoBao, China’s eBay, Sleemanj did a review of the TaoBao shopping service Bhiner: It’s a real shame that those shipping fees are SO much higher than some other agents, because otherwise I was impressed with Bhiner’s efficiency and speed (paypal delay accepted), with their website (even with […]
Shopping TaoBao: Our first steps
Some time ago a forum member brought up Taobao as a cheap alternative to eBay. Since we like to shop on a budget, we decided to give it a go. Shopping on Taobao is not as easy as shopping on eBay, and consists of more steps between ordering, and receiving the item.
Sourcing cheap parts on TaoBao, China’s eBay
Matseng wrote about the Chinese eBay equivalent TaoBao as a great source for cheap electronics components. While the pricing is cheap, the downside is that most sellers only sell locally, so using an agent is a must. Read his full report below.