Hello cuties! A very happy lunar new year to you all and I hope you have had a good week! Today I'll be bringing you a review of my first Taobao haul and the shopping service, Bhiner, which I used to purchase the items!
First off, Bhiner! Bhiner is a shopping service which allows you to enter links to items on Taobao in their website, place the item in the size and colour you want into your cart, and then once you've chosen everything, estimate a quote including domestic shipping for the items! Once you've received the quote and you're happy, you can confirm the quote and checkout using paypal. Next, Bhiner will buy the items for you and wait for them to arrive (mine took 7 days in total to arrive). Finally, they will work out the international shipping cost, and once you have paid, your items will be on their way! You can choose multiple methods like EMS, HKAirmail, sea, DHL and so forth.
My items;
I ordered from two shops; To Alice and Bobon21, and they were both fairly speedy; To Alice sent my items to Bhiner within 4 days and Bobon21 within 7 days which is a little slow for domestic postage, but not unreasonable. As soon as my items arrived one by one, Bhiner would upload a photo of the item to my order page so I could check everything. It was so exciting to see my items in their packaging! Bhiner took 2 days or so to work out my shipping total for Hong Kong airmail which I chose as it was the cheapest method for a shorter wait. I paid the next day, but there was a small delay in posting out my parcel. It took about 5 days from my payment for Bhiner to give me a tracking number, which they said was due to a delay in Hong Kong post's shipping. I messaged them a few times and they were usually quick to reply which was good. Once my package left Hong Kong, it arrived to my house in 5 days which I was so surprised and pleased about! HKAirmail has a 7-21 day estimate, so I was very lucky!
My items were packaged in a sturdy box which weighed around 2.5kg in total for 4 items. I think it was so heavy as they were thick winter clothes, and I didn't mind paying a little more because of this. Please bear in mind that shipping from China is expensive, and the cheapest option for a single item of clothing will be $10 minimum, so it works out best to buy in bulk. Bhiner also offers to mark down your package to a value of your choice, so I luckily avoided customs thanks to this (UK customs has a very low clearance value and are mean!!)
The customs form got taken out of the box so it arrived a little....shredded... (0.0)
My items were all wrapped in plastic, and neatly placed in the box so they arrived nice and uncreased! I was pleased that Bhiner hadn't taken off the clothing tags as I love collecting them! Everything was clean and smelt brand new!
I love the adorable plastic bags that Bobon21 use!
Overall, I would give Bhiner a 4/5! They were helpful and quick to reply and their fees were very reasonable. I deducted a point for the time they took to ship, also their domestic delivery charges seem to be a little more expensive than the taobao stores advertise them as. I will definitely use their services again; I can't wait to order my spring clothing from them!
Now to review the 3 clothes items!
To Alice ~ Cardigan
I am so so happy with this item! The material is nice and thick and well constructed. It's super cosy to wear and a baggy style which I love. It's perfect to wear for class or for a comfy day outfit in the winter. The paw embroidery and fuzzy detail on the back is such a cute touch! I'm so tempted to order the pink version in my next haul, as its a favourite piece for me now. The buttons are really securely attached to, which I'm thrilled about as some taobao clothing has very loose buttons! The cardigan cost around £17 or so, which I think is a great price for the quality. The colour is very true to the stock photo and a lovely pale blue shade ~
It suits my red wig so nicely!
It looks super cute paired with my Liz Lisa skirt and shibuya 109 boots! My bobon21 tights are peeking over my boots to!
Bobon 21 ~ Pink Dress
This is the cosiest dress I've ever worn in my life! The material is so soft and silky and I love the furry pom pom details - I have a thing for faux fur, if you hadn't noticed! The dress is also a reasonable length and is actually a little baggy; I went for the larger of the two sizes, so its nice and roomy. The only downside to this dress is that I get very warm wearing it, as I found out when I wore it to animangapop, so it's best to wear outside on a cold day!
The lace detailing is just divine! Sadly there were a few loose threads on the dress so the construction wasn't as good as To Alice; however overall it's a lovely and well made dress. Here is a photo of the outfit I wore to animangapop; the dress matches my DreamV boots so well!
Bobon 21 ~ Fluffy Dress
This dress reminds me of Swankiss so much! Sooo soft and fluffy and comfy; its well constructed and the straps are adjustable which is useful; it's only just long enough for me at 5ft 4, so its probably not ideal for taller girls! It has shorts built in which are nice and reassuring as the skirt is short. I really like the little pom poms on the bottom of the skirt!
Love, Cee x
