I knew that I should have bought this instead of my last tea order...
http://www.amazon.com/My-Chinese-Co..._1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1249689868&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/My-Chinese-Co..._1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1249689868&sr=8-1
Competition for Yunnan Sourcing LLC
- Thread starter ouch
- Start date
Ditto to what Scotto said. We have seen the Taobao prices and we appreciate your interest, but since we don't speak Chinese as well as you speak English and since the Taobao vendors don't encourage foreign business, pull up a chair and tell us what you're drinking these days.
Alright. I am sorry if I sounded arrogant. Perhaps I misunderstood some of the posts as some of you did on mine. I don't consider anyone here an idiot. I really don't. I never intended to send such a horrible message. I really don't want to cause trouble.
In any case, there really is no point any more. You are happy with your vendors. I am sorry for challenging your opinion and decision without suggesting immediately plausible alternatives.
Sorry everyone for making things unpleasant. I really meant to share a good information. I did not like the fact that the online vendors were charging so much and thought someone needs to mention about this fact. That's all. I made a mistake of thinking that you were not informed of the situation and you didn't know about taobao and stuff like that. Now I know. I will be silent and not bother anyone anymore. I got your message very clearly. I will not challenge the existing vendors unless I have a clear alternative. I just meant to share what I thought a useful information.
As many of you know, it is true that Taobao does not use paypal and requires a Chinese bank account. It also requires a mainland address to receive goods. So it is difficult to use taobao and I understand your cautious approach about guarding your financial information. I am the same way. It makes sense. So your loyalty to your reputable vendors is really understandable. Sorry that I challenged your circumstances without offering a clear alternative. I was wrong to say that you should buy from taobao. My intention was that I wanted to inform you about the going price in China so that you would buy better and cheaper.
I do not intend to argue against anyone and I have no more desire to say anything anymore. At this point, I am just little down and have very little energy to further withstand my point. It took some thought and care for me to write the previous posts but I really think I am in the wrong place and said the wrong things in the wrong way perhaps. I almost feel embarrassed... I am a bit puzzled by some of your reactions but I must have earned it. I need to re-read my posts and see what it is that have provoked some of the discouragement I read.
There are some great guys here who are passionate about tea; just relax, tell us what you're drinking, and you'll find some great camaraderie. Stick around.
- Thread starter
- #25
You should know that not only are the folks here passionate about their tea, but at least one member has (at what I can only presume to be a great financial outlay and risk) undertaken the rather daunting task of starting his own tea business with the best interests of the members of this site in mind.
I not only want tea, I need it, in the monkey pushing a button to get his fix until he dies sense of the word. I can no sooner boycott the very people who have made this exotic product available to me than I can do away with all manner of electric devices simply because I disagree with my power company's pricing.
To recap-
Q: Are you satisfied with the price you're paying for pu'er?
A: Of course not. Moreover, you may subsitute any word you choose for pu'er in the above sentence. No matter what you're talking about, I will always want to pay less.
Q: Are you willing to eschew drinking pu'er to maintain your principles?
A: No.
You said-
The vendors of these products are not only providing a tea, they're providing a service. That service includes speed and guarantee of delivery, selection, price, proper packing, etc. They name a price that will enable them to stay in business, and the buyer decides, on an individual basis, whether or not they want to do business with them. I elect not to buy high priced items from Houde, and others choose differently. No one is right and no one is wrong.
Taobao is not the only site that offers prices so low they look like misprints. But there's a world a diffence between a bing in Beijing and a cake in my kitchen. Large orders involve a greater gegree of risk on the part of the buyer, and for small orders the shipping fees outweigh any price benefit. I can buy a single cake of 8582 for under $15 and have it in two days. If taobao were to offer the same product for free, it would cost as much (with a two month wait) by the time I would be able to enjoy it.
Nobody is jumping on you here. Feel free to enjoy the site, and we welcome any contributions regarding tea or anything else.
I not only want tea, I need it, in the monkey pushing a button to get his fix until he dies sense of the word. I can no sooner boycott the very people who have made this exotic product available to me than I can do away with all manner of electric devices simply because I disagree with my power company's pricing.
To recap-
Q: Are you satisfied with the price you're paying for pu'er?
A: Of course not. Moreover, you may subsitute any word you choose for pu'er in the above sentence. No matter what you're talking about, I will always want to pay less.
Q: Are you willing to eschew drinking pu'er to maintain your principles?
A: No.
You said-
We know this. But it's not a simple matter of saying, "Hey, Scott, can you charge me half price for my order?"
The vendors of these products are not only providing a tea, they're providing a service. That service includes speed and guarantee of delivery, selection, price, proper packing, etc. They name a price that will enable them to stay in business, and the buyer decides, on an individual basis, whether or not they want to do business with them. I elect not to buy high priced items from Houde, and others choose differently. No one is right and no one is wrong.
Taobao is not the only site that offers prices so low they look like misprints. But there's a world a diffence between a bing in Beijing and a cake in my kitchen. Large orders involve a greater gegree of risk on the part of the buyer, and for small orders the shipping fees outweigh any price benefit. I can buy a single cake of 8582 for under $15 and have it in two days. If taobao were to offer the same product for free, it would cost as much (with a two month wait) by the time I would be able to enjoy it.
Nobody is jumping on you here. Feel free to enjoy the site, and we welcome any contributions regarding tea or anything else.
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stress is one of the no.1 killer in the world I would say.
ugly truth has a point about the prices but ouch and netsurf are spot on too. One can never under estimate the quantity and power of fakes in China and I mean everything! not just puerh. For puerh imitation is common and easy to produce. For the westerners, lets not forget about the cost of shipping, communication, hassle of payment etc Service as ouch mentioned is the key word.
I love British sausages and German frankfurts but I dont like the price I'm getting them here in Asia either plus it taste fake (I think its fake!)
Afterall the idea of enjoying a cup of tea is to relax
ugly truth has a point about the prices but ouch and netsurf are spot on too. One can never under estimate the quantity and power of fakes in China and I mean everything! not just puerh. For puerh imitation is common and easy to produce. For the westerners, lets not forget about the cost of shipping, communication, hassle of payment etc Service as ouch mentioned is the key word.
I love British sausages and German frankfurts but I dont like the price I'm getting them here in Asia either plus it taste fake (I think its fake!)
Afterall the idea of enjoying a cup of tea is to relax
stress is one of the no.1 killer in the world I would say.
ugly truth has a point about the prices but ouch and netsurf are spot on too. One can never under estimate the quantity and power of fakes in China and I mean everything! not just puerh. For puerh imitation is common and easy to produce. For the westerners, lets not forget about the cost of shipping, communication, hassle of payment etc Service as ouch mentioned is the key word.
I love British sausages and German frankfurts but I dont like the price I'm getting them here in Asia either plus it taste fake (I think its fake!)
Afterall the idea of enjoying a cup of tea is to relax
Wow....I'll trade you a dozen wieners for a tong
I have to say, I agree with Ugly Truth - thank you for posting this here and don't feel bad about the lack of encouraging response.
It's not as hard as people have made out to order from taobao. You can order from the west using a proxy handling service. Here's one of many - http://www.taobaonow.com/
They charge 10% on top of your order as a commission, but surely that's better than the 300% that the vendors are charging.
On the subject of fakes.... it's not really worth anyone's while to fake new cakes - they're so cheap anyway. If you have any hesitations, just order a cake or two first and see how it tastes.
It's not as hard as people have made out to order from taobao. You can order from the west using a proxy handling service. Here's one of many - http://www.taobaonow.com/
They charge 10% on top of your order as a commission, but surely that's better than the 300% that the vendors are charging.
On the subject of fakes.... it's not really worth anyone's while to fake new cakes - they're so cheap anyway. If you have any hesitations, just order a cake or two first and see how it tastes.
I love British sausages and German frankfurts but I dont like the price I'm getting them here in Asia either plus it taste fake (I think its fake!)
Maybe I can put some British sausages into my next batch of samples for you - my hometown is famous for good sossies.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Wow....I'll trade you a dozen wieners for a tong
I'll remember to bring a tong of something with me if I happen to visit the States
Maybe I can put some British sausages into my next batch of samples for you - my hometown is famous for good sossies.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
you can't be serious! hahaa not sure if it'll make the long trip but thanks for the thought
I'll remember to bring a tong of something with me if I happen to visit the States
you can't be serious! hahaa not sure if it'll make the long trip but thanks for the thought
Well, if you're in HK they might get past customs, coming from the UK!
I'm hungry now.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
