Top 7 Cheapest Taobao Agent Compared (Based on Real data)

You want a cheap Taobao agent.

The problem is, you don’t know where to start.

We did the research for you and compared the least expensive Taobao agents out there.

It’s important to be aware that the cheapest might not be the best value for you. check out our picks for best Taobao agents, which emphasize value over having the absolute lowest cost.

we will cover the following topics in this post:

• which agent has the best exchange rate?
• all the costs of using a Taobao agent.
• 7 popular Taobao agent fees compared.

Which Taobao agent has the lowest shipping rate?

A large proportion of your Taobao shopping cost is from the international shipping fee. So finding the agent with the best shipping rate is an important part of successful Taobao shopping.

I put together shipping fee comparisons from popular Taobao agents.

It is an overview of what to expect from the major agents.

I hope it will help you find the cheapest ways and agents to ship packages from China.

Taobao agent USA shipping fee comparison

comparison for small, lightweight parcels(example weight: 1.3kg)

comparison for Medium parcels(example weight: 8.3kg)

comparison for Large, Heavy parcels(example weight: 30kg)

Conclusion for taobao agent USA shipping rate

Well,in general,the cheapest taobao agent for USA is Cssbuy.They offer a competitive price for most of the shipping methods.

for small parcels, you can use EUB(epacket),the rate is cheapest and you can usually receive your parcel within 2 weeks.

for medium parcels, SF-EXPRESS and China Post SAL are good options.

SF-EXPRESS is faster and China Post SAL does not charge the volumetric weight which is good for large but lightweight parcels.

for heavy parcels, SF-EXPRESS and DHL are both acceptable.

UK Taobao agent shipping fee compared

comparison for small, lightweight parcels(example weight: 1.3kg)

comparison for Medium parcels(example weight: 8.3kg)

comparison for Large, Heavy parcels(example weight: 30kg)

Conclusion for taobao agent UK shipping rate

the cheapest taobao agent for UK is Cssbuy and Taobaotrends.

Cssbuy is cheap for small parcels and Taobaotrends has a better rate for large parcels.

Tax-free line and E-express are two of the low-cost shipping method to the UK.

Canada Taobao agent shipping rate

comparison for small, lightweight parcels(example weight: 1.3kg)

comparison for Medium parcels(example weight: 8.3kg)

comparison for Large, Heavy parcels(example weight: 30kg)

Conclusion for taobao agent Canada shipping rate

Bhiner,Cssbuy and Taobaotrends have a good price for various shipping methods to Canada.

Bhiner is cheap for China post-SAL.

Cssbuy is cheap for EMS and DHL

Taobaotrends has a lower price for FedEx for large parcels.

Australia Taobao agent shipping rate

comparison for small, lightweight parcels(example weight: 1kg)

comparison for Medium parcels(example weight: 10kg)

comparison for Large, Heavy parcels(example weight: 30kg)

Conclusion for taobao agent Australia shipping rate

Superbuy offers the cheapest shipping rate for most of the shipping methods.

Ytaopal also has a good price for EUB and EMS.

Taobaotrends provides reasonable price for DHL for big parcels.

Philippines Taobao agent shipping rate

comparison for small, lightweight parcels(example weight: 1kg)

comparison for Medium parcels(example weight: 10kg)

comparison for Large, Heavy parcels(example weight: 30kg)

Conclusion for taobao agent Philippines shipping rate

Taobaotrends has lower shipping rate in general.

Cssbuy has a better price for small parcels.

and for big parcels, both Basetao and Bhiner offers a cheaper rate for FedEx and DHL.

Which taobao agent has the best exchange rate?

Currency conversion loss is a hidden fee that most customers ignore,

Currency conversion loss happens when you topup on an agent’s website using a fixed USD to CNY exchange rate set by agent themself.

their USD to CNY exchange rate is always lower than the real live one which means you need to speed more USD to buy CNY.

For example,the current exchange rate(as of Oct 24th) on xe.com is 1 USD = 7.06 CNY

let’s see which agent has the lowest exchange rate compared to the live one:

from this table,we can see that cssbuy has the best exchange rate with nearly 3% loss(still very high!)

and other agents charge you a 5%-8% currency exchange loss.

it is a big one, why?

Because this is a % based fee,it charges you on every of your topup.

Some agents claim that they have a low or zero service fee,but they impose you shitty fees here.

all the actual costs involved to use a taobao agent

International shipping fees and currency conversion loss are not the only costs you need to take.

let’s take a closer look at the various fees that can impact the cost of using a taobao agent.

Essential costs

The essential costs are the expenses that you can’t avoid.

Item fee

The item price is shown on the product page.

Domestic shipping fee:

The fees of items are transported from Taobao seller’s location to the agent’s warehouse.

Domestic shipping fee varies by courier, parcel weight and the distance between seller and agent’s locations.

But this fee won’t cost you a lot because shipping within China is cheap!

And from the feedbacks I’ve learned before with the customers, even big orders (10+ wigs/shoes/bags) were only 10yuan~20yuan for each seller, since 98% of Taobao sellers combine shipping.

Buying multiple items from the same seller will save you a lot on domestic shipping.

Some sellers may offer free shipping and if you find any sellers offer free shipping, you can notify the agent before making the first payment.

then they will remove the domestic shipping fee for you manually.

Service fee:

Service fee,some agents call it the commission, is the money you need to pay for using their service.

Usually, agents take a certain percentage of the total items cost and domestic shipping fee as the service fee,the rate is between 5%-10%.

Some agents offer VIP program, you can get points every time you order from them, get upgraded to VIP and the service fee will be discounted.

International shipping fee:

International shipping costs are based on a combination of the following:

• Weight and dimensions of the package.
• Method of shipment such as EMS or DHL.
• The location you are in(also called the destination country).

transaction fee:

Paypal transaction fee:4.4%+0.3 of total payment will be charged when the order is paid via PayPal.

Currency conversion loss:

As I said,it is also an important part of your cost when using a taobao agent.

with taobao direct,you can save this loss, as taobao only use live exchange rate.

Optional costs

The following are things that you can decide to pay for but aren’t totally unavoidable.

Storage fee

Agents start to calculate the storage time when your items arrived in their warehouse.you have a free storage time.

If your free storage time has run out and you still haven’t shipped your items, they will begin to charge you a storage fee.

Most of the agents don’t have a clear statement about this fee.

Yoybuy and Cssbuy have a free storage time of 90 days.

Customs fee

This fee varies by local Customs policies. In countries with a high rate of Customs clearance, you don’t have to pay any fees.

However, in countries with a low rate of Customs clearance such as Argentina, you may be required to pay tariffs.

To avoid the Customs fee,you can request your agent to declare your package as a gift with a lower price.If you’re buying a brand name items or a large quantity, you might have to pay them anyway.

if your package weighs more than 10kg,you can request them to package your items into several small parcels,this will increase the chance of Customs clearance.

Insurance fee

They charge a certain percentage of the total price as the insurance fee.

Total price=Items fee + Domestic shipping fee + International delivery fee + Service fee + Customs fee

To take insurance, the insured value should be declared, which increases the value of the item at your local customs.

7 Popular Taobao Agent Pricing Comparison Table

Wrapping Up

If you are just starting out and are on a budget, it is important to find cheap taobao agent to get you started before using taobao direct.

When looking for a cheap taobao agent, you should look beyond their listed service fee. Consider shipping fee, conversion loss, transaction fee and other extras that it might occur.

Do let me know which taobao agent you are using?

Have you used any of the taobao agent I mentioned above?

Share your experience with such taobao agents.