Tips For Saving Big on Single's Day (If You Must Buy Something)

原创 Gloria L. theBeijinger

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(Ed's Note: A few days ago, we released a very worthwhile article detailing the perils and waste of the Single's Day shopping craze, which you can read here. Saying that, if there's an item that has caught your attention this year, here are a few tips on how to shop smart.)

If you're waiting for the Christmas sales to arrive in China, you may find yourself disappointed with what's on offer. That's because although there are end of year sales, the country's biggest shopping day isn't attached to any specific holiday. Instead, it falls on Nov 11 AKA Single's Day.

Single's Day gets its name from the fact that the numbers 11-11 resemble four lonely sticks, providing a day for independent singles to celebrate their independence, free from the suffocating binds of an old-fashioned relationship. Realistically, it's actually just a made-up holiday created by Alibaba CEO Zhang "Daniel" Yong (张勇 zhāng yǒng). It was on his 40th birthday in 2012 that Zhang officially proposed the premise of a Double-11 Shopping Spree and it hasn't shown any signs of slowing down since.

In fact, last year's Double-11 bagged JD.com RMB 6 million within the first hour of its launch. As our partners at TechNode (technode.com) described, "JD.com also launched an eleven-day promotional campaign the year before, which generated a whopping USD 19.1 billion in sales."

For the event, almost all sellers and items on online shopping giants Taobao, JD.com, and TMall will have discounted prices and promotions. Therefore, if you've been eyeing a certain out-of-budget item for a long time, this is your chance to get it for cheap.

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Given that you and every other Chinese person under the sun will be wrestling for some deals, you'll want to keep these five tips in mind when shopping the clock hits midnight on Sunday:

Research the items you want to purchase and make a list so that you are prepared to put them all into your shopping cart on the day.
If you have a question for a seller about the item, make sure to ask before Nov 11. Otherwise, you may get a delayed response given that the seller will be inundated with messages.
Purchase electronics first as they tend to run out the fastest. The "competition" begins at midnight on the 11th, so you might want to stay up later on the night of the 10th in order to get the best deals.
If you're shopping for everyday items that are neither a designer brand nor discounted, you should probably avoid buying them online at this time since shipping and handling will take longer due to the inflated number of orders during the week.
If you're shopping for gadgets and electronics, you may want to gear your shopping toward JD.com. Likewise, Taobao is often better for more everyday essentials. Though Taobao's prices are usually lower than can be found on JD for the same item, fakes are more prevalent so exercise caution when buying your next iPhone.

Alternatively, say "screw you!" to consumerism and head out into Beijing to celebrate your independence. On Single's Day, young Beijingers tend to gather together with other single friends to sing their hearts out at karaoke or eat dinner until they flop. After all, things will never be able to replace your nearest and dearest. Well, not quite yet.