Quick Tips & Dirty Tricks To Score On 11/11 Singles Day

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This upcoming Singles’ Day will be my 7th-year participation in this global shopping event.

The world’s largest online shopping gala, Singles’ Day (光棍节) – also known as 11/11 (Double 11 or 双十一) may be more than 2 weeks away but for millions of shoppers around the world, it isn’t too early to start planning for the annual 24-hour online shopping marathon. Last year, the world saw shoppers spend a whopping US$31 billion on the Alibaba online platforms in just 24 hours, making a billion dollars in sales in just 85 seconds! This number exceed those of Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the United States combined.

To those of you still living in caves, so what is Singles’ Day? This day is, by far, the largest Chinese e-commerce bonanza. The event was started by a group of university students in the early 1990s at Nanjing University. With many Chinese university students unable to find romantic partners during their studies, the special day was created to celebrate being single and carefree. The date, Double 11 (11/11) was chosen as the number “1” looks like a person who is single or alone. This special occasion quickly spread from Nanjing University to various cities across Mainland China and Asia. With the rise of social media, this day has become even more well-known across the world.

Think of Singles’ Day as a 2-part contingency plans:

• Before 11/11- Many merchants will start running promotions and offers from 6th November onward,
• On 11/11 itself – Look out for the flash deals that run on the day itself!

Here, we will take a look at the largest Chinese e-commerce festival to help western shoppers obtain a greater understanding of this “special occasion”, and make the preparations necessary to take advantage of it.

• Pre-orders: You can pay a deposit in advance to get lower prices later. Retailers are fond of this type of deal because it gives them time to calculate and prepare inventory in advance. However, note such pre-orders cannot be canceled, which means you risk losing your deposit if you decide not to pay remaining amount on November 11.
• Coupons: You can purchase coupons to get lower prices. Unlike pre-orders, the upfront payment is typically much smaller and the terms can be a bit more complicated. For example, you might pay $5 to purchase a coupon that lets you deduct $20 from an order totaling $200. As always, it is important to read the fine print, which might specify the type of goods the coupon applies to, as well as specified colours and models covered by the deal.
• Lottery or game: You can enter lottery or play game to win “cash.” Though the retailers call it cash, it’s not actual money in your pocket but rather credits that can be applied to your Singles’ Day shopping carts. For example, AliExpress offers games to win credits in a form of “coins” from October 28 to November 11, in exchange for cash coupons.

Do your homework

It is worth doing your homework ahead so you know the deals you are about to pull the trigger on are genuine deals. Compare prices on websites such as Google Shopping, Yahoo! Shopping, BizRate and Shopzilla, etc. For Chinese shopping sites, both manmanbuy.com and smzdm.com have been proven to be reliable. However, be prepared to rely heavily on Google Translate if you don’t read Chinese. Research on the items you want to purchase and make a list so that you are prepared to put all of the items into your shopping cart. If you have a question for a seller about the item, make sure to ask before the actual shopping day. If not, you may get delayed responses given that the seller will be overloaded with messages.

If you plan to buy from overseas, do a quick research to find out which credit cards offer the lowest rates for inter-bank transactions and exchange rates. Also, make sure you get a credit card that is ideal for online sales. Do ensure your credit card gives you bonus rewards for online shopping in foreign currencies.

Get ready

It’s best to set up your accounts with your favourite shopping sites first. You really want to move quickly, as the best items are usually sold out within the first hour. Last year, for example, Alibaba’s sales hit US$10 billion in the first hour, as everyone rushed for the best deals. By the time you have done registering and setting up your account, you’ll be left with scraps. So get it all set up the day before, at the latest.

Beat the competition

The “competition” begins at 12 midnight on the 11th (Beijing Time). Many people will rush to grab the best deals, thus there will be HUGE traffic loads on shopping websites, especially during the first few minutes after midnight. To increase your chances of checking out before items disappear, you should fire up multiple tabs on your web browser and log into your accounts ahead of time. Take note, desktop sites are generally more stable compared to shopping apps on mobile phone. Fill up various online shopping carts before midnight and check out immediately. Speed is crucial here!  Purchase electronics first as they tend to run out the fastest. You might want to stay up later on the night of the 10th in order to get the best deals.

Chi-Fi cheat sheet for audiophiles

Key in the correct terms in mandarin to get better and accurate search results. 

To make this easier, I have compiled a list below for you to refer to for audio-related items!

Hifi audio – 发烧音响

Audiophiles – 发烧友

Headphone – 戴头式耳机

IEM – 入耳式耳机

Earbuds – 平头耳机

DAP – 播放器

DAC – 解码器

Lossless – 无损

Portable – 携带式

Headphone amp – 耳机功放

Solid-state amp –  石机

Tube amp – 胆机

Hybrid amp – 胆石机

Op-amps – 运放

Upgrade cable – 耳机升级线

Silver-plated copper – 镀银铜

OFC copper – 无气铜

OCC copper – 单晶铜

MMCX connector – MMCX插头

0.78mm connector – 0.78mm插针

3.5mm connector – 3.5mm插头

Balanced cable – 平衡线

Auxiliary cable – 发烧音频线

USB cable – 发烧USB数据线

Power cable – 发烧电源线

Sillicon eartips – 硅胶耳塞套

Memory foam eartips – 记忆海绵耳塞套

Plan your delivery

From my own experience from past Singles Days purchases, long waiting times for deliveries due is unavoidable. If you are shopping for everyday items that are neither a designer brand or discounted, you should probably avoid buying them this time since shipping and handling will take longer due to the massive number of orders during the week. I have friends whose deliveries took more than 6 months to fulfill! When he received the items the following year, he had completely forgotten about he bought them.

My “Favourite” things

You can “favourite” any item or seller that catches your eye. It is also good for assembling items that you wish to buy before placing them in your shopping cart. This is especially useful if you wish to earn cashback rewards using shopping apps.

Compare the similarities

If you’re looking for a wider range of sellers for the same product, you can click on the “Find Similar” button (a feature available in some shopping sites). It will then showcase a whole list of similar products from different sellers. A good way to find the best seller is to click on the “Orders” tab which rank the sellers in terms of sales the seller has made — a great measure of reliability. Although it might not be the exact same product you are looking for, the price difference might make up for it.
Try to put key items into the shopping carts of multiple sites. This ensures that when one website sells out of them, you have another on standby. Bare in mind that some shoppers buy in bulk on Singles’ Day to the tune of hundreds or thousands of the same item (some of them are actually resellers). In a matter of a few seconds, the supply of those earphones you love can go from 1,000 to zero. So just to be safe, have the items ready to check-out at more than one website.

Pack your wares

Request for the seller to package your items properly to avoid damagaes upon arrival.

In order to make sure that your items do not get damaged during the shipping process, here are few messages you might want to leave in the “Message to seller” field:U

1. Use wooden crates for shipment of heavier or fragile items.

2. Refrain from using damaged boxes or containers.

3. Use cushioning materials such as bubble wrap to prevent loose or fragile contents from being damaged.

4. 保持项目尽可能紧凑 (Keep the parcel as compact as possible).

Feedback and ratings matter

Customer feedback is king! Just like any other platforms, you should check the rating of sellers and customers feedback, reviews of the product, as well as check out how old the shop is established (in years) and whether the seller is a top-rated seller (you should ALWAYS do this when shopping online) before taking the plunge. Use the rating system as an indication of the seller’s credibility.

Be safe! Always…

Avoid making a direct bank transfer to the seller’s account that leaves you without any kind of protection. As far as possible, try to go with services such as PayPal, UnionPay, Transfer Wise, WorldPay, etc, when making the transaction. The money can be held in escrow until you receive the item. Also, beware of sites that don’t have any online payment options. These sites often request that you make direct cash transfers. Many of them are scam sites trying to cash in on Singles’ Day.

Check… Check… 123…

We know some of you aren’t just shopping on a personal level. You might be stocking up for Christmas gifts, special occasions or for resale. If that is the case, I strongly suggest you order a few samples from different sellers ahead of time. This will allow you to determine if the quality is acceptable. Once you find a reliable seller, you will know exactly who to go to on Singles’ Day.

Armed with these vital information, I am sure you are ready to face the biggest shopping extravaganza and challenge of the year. Get your credit cards loaded and ready, and march toward the shopping battlefield on November 11.

Good luck soldier! 

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