So, let's start.

Note:

The steps may be different than when you try to open your account, but what to do in each step are similar.

First, go to the Taobao homepage (www.taobao.com). Find and click"免费注册"

On the second page, when this pops up, click the orange button.

On the next page, fill in your country/region in the column “所在国家/地区”. “中国大陆” (Mainland China) will be the default option. Next, fill in your cell phone number in the column “手机号码”.

Slide the white box to the right.

Find the matching character.

Click “下一步” to move on to the next step.

After you click “下一步”, Taobao will send you a verification code to your mobile number. Fill in the empty box with the code you've just received. Click “确定” to confirm and proceed to the next step.

When this page appears, click "手机短信验证", and a code will be sent to your phone number.

To finish, click "确定".

At this point, you actually already have an active Taobao account. But, this doesn't mean that you can shop with it. There are several steps missing, and they will reveal themselves when you are trying to make a purchase. The most common missing steps are inputting your address and opening your Alipay account.

The next step is setting your payment method. On this page, you need to fill in some required information.

Glossaries

银行卡号：Bank card number

持卡人姓名：Cardholder's name

证件：Documents (if you're a foreigner, you can use your passport)

获取校验码：Get the check code (Taobao will send the code to your mobile number)

同意协议并确定：Agree and continue

If the page below pops up while purchasing, it means Taobao hasn't had your receiving address yet.

Glossaries

所在地区：Location; on the next box after country, you need to choose your provice/city/area

详细地址：Your detailed address

邮政编码：Postal code

收货人姓名：Receiver name

手机号码：Mobile phone number

电话号码：Phone number (you can empty this if you don't have one)

设置为默认收货地址：Set as default shipping address

保存：Save

If at some point of the registration you somehow skipped the payment method section, the easiest way to set it up is by purchasing something. When Taobao doesn't have your payment method information, this page will pop up. This is also the time to register to Alipay.

Glossaries

支付密码：Payment password; you will need to enter this password every time you make make a transaction on Taobao

再输入一次：Re-enter password

确定：Accept

On the next page, enter your bank card number in the "卡号" box, then click "下一步" to proceed to the next step.

On this page, you need to fill in registered personal information of the bank card you are using. If you are, for example, using your Chinese friend's card, you need to fill in their personal information just as registered in the card.

Glossaries

姓名：Name

证件：Document (if you use your passport, choose "护照")

储蓄卡卡号：Savings card number

手机号码：Mobile phone number

付款校验码：Payment verification code

同意协议并付款：Agree and proceed to pay

Re-check your data, then click "同意协议并付款".

After that, if a page like the one below appears, it means that you have set your payment method and that you've already made the transaction. You only need to wait until the purchased stuff(s) arrive.

And now, you can shop on Taobao for real!

Instead of explaining to you step by step, in this section we're going to give you a list of important vocabularies that you need to know while using Taobao.

1. 加入购物车 jiārù gòuwǔchē : Add to Shopping Cart

Clicking the button with this text on basically means you want to buy the item, but not now. Your item will be saved in your "Shopping Cart".

2. 购物车 gòuwǔchē : Shopping Cart

This is where you "store" all the products that you find interesting and you plan to buy. Clicking button with this text on will bring you to the list of stuffs that have been added to the cart after you click "加入购物车".

3. 结算 jiésuàn : Settlement

This button appears when you mark items from your "Shopping Cart". Clicking this means you want to proceed to the next step of the transaction.

4. 提交订单 tíjiāo dìngdān : Submit Order

This button appears in the next page after you click "结算". Clicking this will lead you to the payment transaction. You CANNOT back out from the transaction after you click this button.

5. 立即购买 lìjí gòumǎi : Buy Immediately

Clicking this means that you want to buy the product immediately without saving it in your "Shopping Cart" first.

6.  确定 quèdìng : Confirm

Clicking this means you're determined to proceed.

Pro Tips:

• Always check the item's rating and feedbacks from previous customers before you buy it.

• Use a dictionary or translator to translate the name of item that you want to buy. You can always insert its English name, but the result will not be as variative as when you type in Chinese, and in most cases the price will be higher. Here are links of good online translators:

  http://translate.google.cn/
  

  http://fanyi.baidu.com/

• While you can't back out after clicking "提交订单", you can still cancel the transaction before the vendor send out the item to you.
  

Hope this helps.

Happy shopping!