Want to buy products online in China without the aid of a Chinese speaker and the obstacles of online banking?

Then, head on over to Jingdong (previously 360buy). When I started buying from Jingdong in 2011, they sold mostly books and PC components, but the online retailer has since branched out into home appliances, food, and clothing and accessories.

What makes Jingdong better than Taobao? Well, it’s not better, just more accessible. Taobao excels at selling everything, and Jingdong caters mostly to people looking for electronics. However, the greatest difference is in the payment method. Taobao requires a much more involved payment method that is cumbersome even without the language barrier. Jingdong provides cash on delivery options as well as same day delivery in Beijing and most major Chinese cities.

Below you’ll find a guide that will help you setup an account and complete your purchase all in 10 steps (No Chinese necessary!).

Step 1: Create an account.

First go to jd.com and register an account. At the top of the website you’ll see two links. Click the link on the right (免费注册) to register (indicated by the red circle). For future purposes, the link on the left (登录) is Login.

Step 2: Account information.

Input your email address, user name, or mobile number. I used my mobile number, but it may be easier to just create a username. If you use your mobile number, the captcha will disappear and you’ll receive an SMS with a code to place instead of the captcha. Input your password. Confirm your password. Input the captcha on the right (or the SMS code if you used your mobile phone number).

Step 3: Success!

You made an account! Congrats!

Step 4: Shop!

I’ve included a Chinese/English list of common items at the end of this article, but the list is by no means comprehensive. Also, you may Google translate the pages or use extensions to help you navigate Jingdong (For Chrome – Zhongwen Popup Dictionary and Firefox – Perapera Chinese).

In this screenshot there’s a few things that you can look for when browsing but is by no means necessary to know if you are looking for a specific item.

Clicking this will expand the box to narrow your choices beyond Brand (品牌) or Price Range (价格). Clicking 价格 (Sort by Price), will sort prices from cheapest to most expensive. Click again to reverse the order. This is very important. When you search for items make sure that you tick this box. It narrows your search items to Jingdong items only. Jingdong is a lot like Amazon in that there are items sold and shipped by Amazon and other sellers that create Amazon stores. By ticking this box, you ensure that your items come from Jingdong and that they are eligible for cash on delivery.

Step 5: Purchasing your item.

In my example, I chose a 2TB Seagate Hard Drive. Notice that I have the options for other sizes, like 500GB, 1TB, 3TB or 4TB. The same will apply to other items that you buy like shoes or even different models of the same motherboard.

Look at #1. This means that the item is in stock (有货). If the item is not in stock you will see (无货). If the item requires pre-ordering you will see (预定).

Now take a look at #2. Earlier we ticked the box that only showed items sold by Jingdong. Now that we have chosen an item, we should verify that it will be sent from Jingdong. If you see 由京东, then you are good to go.

Click the big red button indicated by #3.

Step 6: Success!

The item has been added to your shopping cart. Proceed by clicking the big red button.

Step 7: Confirm your order.

If this is the item that you want, click the red button to checkout. If you want to remove the item from your cart click the link next to the red star.

Step 8: Input your information.

In the future, you may use the same information or add more shipping addresses (like your office address). They are all saved for future use.

Name City/District - The first drop down menu is City and the first option is Beijing. The second menu is District – the options are in the following order:

Chaoyang



Haidian



Xicheng



Dongcheng



Chongwen



Xuanwu



Fengtai



Shijingshan



Mentougou



Fangshan



Tongzhou



Daxing



Shunyi



Huairou



Miyun



Changping



Pinggu



Yanqing

The third menu is location relative to the ring roads and other areas. It’s complicated because each district has different choices. I’ve listed all choices for each district. (Note: If you don’t know, just choose a random option. Then, you can just put your correct address in #3 and it *should* get to you without a problem):

Chaoyang Within 3rd ring road Between 3rd and 4th ring road Between 4th and 5th ring road Between 5th and 6th ring road Guanzhuang Beiyuan Dingfuzhuang

Haidian Within 3rd ring road Between 3rd and 4th ring road Between 4th and 5th ring road Between 5th and 6th ring road Outside of the 6th ring road West 3rd Flag East 3rd Flag

Xicheng Within the 2nd ring road Between 2nd ring road and 3rd ring road

Dongcheng Within the 3rd ring road

Chongwen Within the 2nd ring road Between the 2nd ring road and the 3rd ring road

Xuanwu Within the 3rd ring road

Fengtai Between the 4th and 5th ring road Between the 2nd and 3rd ring road Between the 3rd and 4th ring road Between the 5th and 6th ring road Outside of the 6th ring road

Shijingshan Between the 4th and 5th ring road Shijingshan Community Bada Technology Park

Mentougou Within the city Suburbs

Fangshan Within the city Suburbs

Tongzhou (This is a mess, but should suffice) Within the 6th ring road Zhongcang Street Xinhua Street Yuqiao Street Beiyuan Street Outside of the 6th ring road Yongshun zhen Liyuan zhen Songzhuang zhen Kuoxian zhen Zhangjiawan zhen Xi jizhen Yongledian zhen Lucheng zhen Taihu zhen Yujia wuxiang Ciqu zhen

Daxing Between the 4th and 5th ring road Between the 5th and 6th ring road Outside of the 6th ring road Yizhuang Economic Development Area

Shunyi (Another mess…) Beishicao zhen Beiwu zhen Beixiaoying zhen Dasungezhuang zhen Gaoliying zhen Guangming Street Houshayu district Konggang Street Liqiao zhen Lisui zhen Longwantun zhen Mapo district Mulin zhen Nancai zhen Nanfaxin district Niulanshan district Renhe district Shengli Street Shiyuan Street

Huairou Within the city Suburbs

Miyun Within the city Suburbs

Changping Within the 6th ring road Within the city Suburbs

Pinggu Within the city Outside of the city

Yanqing Way too complicated. You shouldn’t live here.



Your address. I wanted this guide to require no Chinese language. However, you may need help on this one. I’d suggest having a Chinese speaker type your address for you and then you can save it as a file for later use (copy/paste). If you are feeling like MacGyver and have your temporary residence permit, a copy of your lease, a copy of your landlord’s deed, or any mail, then you can use the Pleco app (Apple and Android) to translate the address. There is a “still” OCR option in which you can take a picture of your address through the app. The app will then translate the text in the picture. Telephone number. Only the first box is necessary. Email address. (Not necessary to continue) Click the red box. This will cause the next menu to unlock.

Step 9: Payment Method and Schedule Delivery Time

Choose option 1. This means cash on delivery. Choose the option shown. Should be the only option. Choose the first option and click the calendar on the right.

Green means you can choose that option. The times are indicated on the left.



The date is indicated at the top, but here are the translations for days of the week anyway:

今天 - Today



周一 – Monday



周二 – Tuesday



周三 – Wednesday



周四 – Thursday



周五 – Friday



周六 – Saturday



周日 – Sunday

1st option is Yes you want a phone call from the delivery guy before delivery. 2nd option is No. 1st option is cash and the 2nd option is bank card. It doesn’t really matter which you choose or which you have on hand at the time. The delivery guy always has the ability to give you change or use the credit card machine. Click the big red box.

Step 10: The Invoice (fapiao)

The first option says 个人 (individual use). You can click that if you don’t need a fapiao. If you clicked 个人 then proceed by clicking the big red box. If you can use the fapiao, then click the second option, indicated by #1 in the screenshot. Choose option one. Click the second option and type in the name of your company (English or Chinese). You have four options: 1. A detailed list of the items; 2. The items will be described generically as Office Supplies; 3. The items will be described generically as Computer Accessories; 4. The items will be described generically as Unnecessary Purchase (?). The direct translation is “wasted/squandered material”. I’d say don’t choose this option. Click the big red button.

Complete your order

Review the information. Click the big red button. Note that next time you will not need to input all of the information again. You will just have to choose the delivery date. Congrats! You’ve successfully completed your order!

Below is a list of Chinese terms for items available on Jingdong:

咖啡豆 – Coffee Beans

橄榄油 – Olive Oil

牛奶 - Milk

双带背包 - Backpack

净化器 – Air Purifier

咖啡机 – Coffee Machine

爱乐压 Aeropress

咖啡壶- Coffee Pot (Stovetop and French Press) Example: KAFFA

奶酪 - Cheese

零度可乐 – Coke Zero

百加得 – Bacardi

威士忌 – Whisky

意大利面 – Pasta

健身– Exercise (equipment)

维生素 - Vitamins

U盘 – USB Drive

移动硬盘 – External Hard Drive

笔记本 – Laptop/Notebook

主板 - Motherboard

显卡 – Video Card

SSD – SSD Drive

内存 – RAM/PC Memory

散热器 – PC/Notebook Cooling

显示器 – LCD/LED Screen

平板电脑 – Tablet PC

平板电脑配件 – Tablet PC Accessories

笔记本配件 – Notebook Accessories

键盘 – Keyboard

鼠标 – Mouse

路由器 – Router

Next post: “@!%* I bought the wrong item. How do I cancel?”