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Alibaba hits nearly $18B in ‘Singles Day’ orders in 12 hours

nytimes.com

41–50 of 177 posts

Re: Alibaba hits nearly $18B in ‘Singles Day’ orders in 12 hours

#41
post #4

Every year around this time we get the singles day news that yet another record has been broken. I'm going to guess it's going to be the same next year and the year after that since the Chinese middle class is growing (and adopting Western debt-driven spending). Not really a surprise. If anyone in the US wants to partake in the frenzy, I believe aliexpress is doing a Singles Day thing (using US timezone, so it hasn't…

Are the sales numbers inflation adjusted?

Re: Alibaba hits nearly $18B in ‘Singles Day’ orders in 12 hours

#42
post #4

Every year around this time we get the singles day news that yet another record has been broken. I'm going to guess it's going to be the same next year and the year after that since the Chinese middle class is growing (and adopting Western debt-driven spending). Not really a surprise. If anyone in the US wants to partake in the frenzy, I believe aliexpress is doing a Singles Day thing (using US timezone, so it hasn't…

> I've had situations where items didn't arrive until weeks later and I had already forgotten that I'd bought anything.

This might be a good litmus test for whether you actually need what you're buying :-)

Re: Alibaba hits nearly $18B in ‘Singles Day’ orders in 12 hours

#43
post #4

Every year around this time we get the singles day news that yet another record has been broken. I'm going to guess it's going to be the same next year and the year after that since the Chinese middle class is growing (and adopting Western debt-driven spending). Not really a surprise. If anyone in the US wants to partake in the frenzy, I believe aliexpress is doing a Singles Day thing (using US timezone, so it hasn't…

> I've had situations where items didn't arrive until weeks later and I had already forgotten that I'd bought anything. I love that! It's like getting a present from myself. (Depending on how important the item was, of course...)

I do this with Chinese electronic modules. I order a bunch of interesting things and get mailbombed about a month later. $10 spent is hours of fun! Granted most of it is crap but it’s fun finding that out and tutting and shaking my head in disgust.

Re: Alibaba hits nearly $18B in ‘Singles Day’ orders in 12 hours

#44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is interesting because the US was the record holder less than five years ago. Five years later, China's Single's Day is several times that of the US's Black Friday. Very soon, it will be an order of magnitude bigger than the Black Friday of the US.

More reasonable reason, the online shopping experience in China is much much better than in US. In China, if you are living some metropolis, the logistic is really faster than in US without any prime membership (normally within two days). And also the price is much cheaper compared with physical retail store. So, most people would prefer online shopping if possible.

I live in Thailand and buying from US online merchants is usually a nonstarter because of shipping costs which are often much more than the price of the item itself. When I buy something from Aliexpress it is usually free shipping, or something reasonable for heavier items. There is no Amazon here but there are a couple local versions, Lazada being one. They usually have shorter delivery times but cost more than Aliexpress, though not always. US online merchants aren't even in the ballpark.

Re: Alibaba hits nearly $18B in ‘Singles Day’ orders in 12 hours

#45

Has anyone else noticed over the last 6 months or so that AliExpress isn't necessarily the cheapest anymore? Same thing happened with Amazon a few years ago.

I have not noticed, but I am interested. Where are you seeing better prices?

Re: Alibaba hits nearly $18B in ‘Singles Day’ orders in 12 hours

#47
post #32
post #27

"One offer, from the Chongqing-based online alcohol brand Jiang Xiao Bai, allowed 33 fast-moving customers to make a single payment of 11,111 yuan, or $1,673, for a lifetime supply of a grain liquor known as baijiu"

A gallon of baijiu is a life time supply of baijiu, dependent on intake rates.

nah, just gotta open a bar that serves nothing but baijiu.

Re: Alibaba hits nearly $18B in ‘Singles Day’ orders in 12 hours

#48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have had some experience on Taobao and Tmall. Taobao is for C2C (customers to customers) while Tmall is b2c (business to customers). Tmall has better quality in general (the brands sell directly to customers). For Taobao, the quality varies greatly. For me, I always read the ratings and reviews, in particular negative reviews very carefully. If the percentage of negative reviews is high, I would avoid that product.…

Is it possible to buy from Tmall via an English-language website?

You're looking for an agent service (can't think of the proper name right now). They exist for Taobao.

Re: Alibaba hits nearly $18B in ‘Singles Day’ orders in 12 hours

#49

I've only bought a few things from Alibaba over the years, but most of them have turned out to be either faulty or a typical case of 'chinese manufacturer disappointment' which has led me to being reluctant to buy anything larger/more expensive. When I was in Marrakech a couple of years ago, the guy who owned the riad we stayed in referred to many things in the souks as being "China quality", and I guess that's the p…

You don't know how to shop from China.

Please enlighten us - it's often a whole different world if you're used to Amazon.
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