Beijing-based fashion and lifestyle magazine 1626, targeting 16 to 26 readers whether in body or spirit, is featuring me and stylites.net in their next issue. Hopefully I won’t be so vain as to post the photos here.
Xiaoyang, a freelance photographer, came to shoot at my home. A 25 year old from Guangxi province, he has been in Beijing for nearly three years. He studied graphic design at University but later switched to photography. A rock fan, his favorite Western bands are Joy Division, New Order, and others in that category. Luckily, I had Joy Division on hand to listen to during the two-hour shoot.
He purchased his Dior Homme pea coat on Taobao, China’s leading online auction site, for RMB 330 (USD 45) after some bargaining. Not sure whether it was genuine or not, Xiaoyang pointed out that it might be for export to Japan. Xiaoyang shops only on Taobao because of the convenience, low price, and superior selection. Generally, Xiaoyang only buys from Beijing based sellers since that allows for transactions to be completed the same day. Unlike Ebay, Taobao has a system whereby buyers don’t have to complete payment until the item is delivered and deemed satisfactory and genuine. The payment is initially held in a kind of middle compartment from which the buyer can still recover it.
Online buyers in China are concentrated in the developed parts of the country, mainly Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou province, so shipments do not normally have to go to especially distant regions. Shipping is usually RMB 10 to 25 (USD 1 to 3) for clothing.
Comments are closed.