Shopping in China on local Chinese websites and ordering from places like Taoabao can be a drag at the best of times and a near impossibility at the worst of times, especially around this time of year when you just want to buy the simple genuine Yuletide accoutrements.

Having fought and battled with the site for what seems like forever, one might ask themselves, “why isn’t there an English button on Taobao?”, or “Is it necessary/fair for me to have to pay an agent who can navigate these sites an extra fee just so they can buy things for me through Chinese websites?”, and/or maybe the final, yet oft-occurring “why can’t I just read Chinese fluently?”. There is no longer a reason to be asking these questions, or to pay high shipping costs (which might as well equate to ordering from Santa himself direct from the North Pole), nor to have to pay a middle man to navigate and order for you because a company called Kookus.com is here to act as the online Santa Claus for China expats.  

We all need a helping hand from Santa now and then
Source: Sam Howzit

Kookus is as easy as pie to navigate

Kookus.com was started by a Chinese American who wanted to make a shopping portal that would be solely and entirely in English, and tailor made for the expat searching for the type of goods easily and readily found at home while in any part of China. The simple payment methods are also a hallmark convenience property of the website: shoppers can pay via either cash on delivery or PayPal, no Chinese credit cards or banks needed.

Buying on the website is easy and non-intrusive. All that’s required is setting up an account that just asks for the bare bones basic info such as name, address, email, password, etc; and just like when making a purchase, you won’t be asked for your credit card number.

As for browsing and locating the desired goods, the site couldn’t be more basic; no ads, especially not the flashy ads flying around the screen, no complicated menus, and once again, it’s all in English. There are two navigation bars: at present, the bar on the left is handling the holiday-specific products, and the bar up top is where you can browse through the products normally featured on the site, which includes mainly household goods, as well as the current holiday products.     

If they don’t have it, they will get it

Kookus.com’s product line tends to shift to focus more on western holidays when they approach to meet the demands of expats in China, but the website also prides themselves on dedication to their customers’ individual needs. If there is a related product you want but it can’t be found on their website at the time, just call their English speaking hotline and Kookus will work through their supply networks and try their best to seek it out. Around this time of year, that’s almost like being able to call Mr. Claus’s factory itself and have him (or maybe one of his elves) deliver your Christmas tree, or whatever you called in for, right to your home (but via the door).

The philosophy and spirit of Kookus.com, however, does not end at simply supplying products and easy-as-breathing payment methods to its customers. The website also provides the same easy navigation and payment methods to buy train tickets, flight tickets, and hotels all across China (which can be reached via their “Special Services” tab). Kookus.com is an expanding, bustling online marketplace platform designed to identify, meet, and seamlessly satisfy the demands and needs of expats all across China.

From the words of Kookus.com’s CEO Sheila, “My wish is that whenever expats need to go online to shop for something, be it for a holiday or daily life, going to Kookus.com will the most preferred and most comfortable site to come to their mind.”

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Keywords: Shopping in China; Chinese websites; shopping online in China Online Santa Claus