Hougang Parkview: My Biggest Loot from Taobao (淘宝)!

So after lots and lots of reading, procrastinating and discussions, we finally made the decision to purchase all our lights from Taobao! From my previous posts, you would know that I am not a stranger to this amazing online china website. However, I have never purchased such big ticket items from them before.

We were torn between two different forwarders: Oops.sg and Amcon Express. We are looking at their service for sea shipping which is calculated by volume. Oops.sg is pretty popular with Hardwarezone member, do check out the thread here. Amcon will be more expensive than Oops.sg as they have an additional charge of $35. You would also be able to opt in for a 3% insurance to protect your items against damages during shipping for Oops. However, after speaking to May Ho (representative of Amcon) on the phone, I was reassured by her honesty and sincerity, plus many Renotalk members have shipped items through her too.
Updated post here and here on Amcon Express services, please read before deciding on them.

Name: May Ho
Contact number: 93862818
Shipping charges: 550RMB/cubic metre + $35 (documentation fee) + 7% GST
Shipping duration: 8 days
Note: get seller to write your name or nickname (麦头) on the outside of the packaging of your items

I have nothing but praises for May’s and Amcon’s services. Take note that you have to tell the seller to write your name or nickname on the outside of the packaging of your items, this is so that the staff in the China warehouse can identify your items and sort them out. After you have ordered your items, you will have to fill in a form with shipping information (运单号码，物流公司) plus declare the prices of the items.
IMPORTANT! After your items have been shipped out by the seller, check the number of boxes you will be receiving. Especially with bulky items, some sellers might send them in separate packaging and different tracking numbers. It doesn’t necessary mean that the seller will pack everything into one box. This will also need to be indicated in the form so that the warehouse will ship all your items to Singapore.
When the tracking system indicates that my first item has been received by the warehouse I will get May to double check. After which, she will then update me daily with the list of items the warehouse receives. The exchanges with her was usually done through Whatsapp and she is always prompt in replying.

And you can really pack A LOT of things in one cubic metre (1 m by 1 m by 1 m).

How did I choose my items? I bought my lights and the vacuum from Tmall. The rest I just went with the store with the highest sale (销量).

living room

living room

master bedroom

kitchen

service yard

study

corridor

Tv console workmanship isn’t superb but flaws are not noticeable, still a good buy compared to the price in Singapore
Dustbin quality is not bad, simple mechanism that works well
Flipclock looks super nice, timing is very accurate, however quality is not superb
Dustmite vacuum and Robot vacuum have yet to use it, take note that you need to change the plug or use a converter
Soap dispenser and toilet roll holder great quality
Handspray good quality, quite heavy
Living room, kitchen and service yard, master bedroom and household shelter (free gift – not LED), study and spare room, toilet, corridor lights all the lights arrived intact. Phew. They are all well-packed to avoid breakages. The lights are bright! The only problem I had was with the study and spare room lights. The seller sent me the wrong color but they are sending extra replacements for me and May is nice enough to help me ship it over at no cost.

Check out this post for reviews of the items.