We have been here for 39 days - and one of the things we missed was Amazon. At home in Tallahassee - we buy so many things online. We like the selection - convenience - but mainly the price. When we came over here - and set up housekeeping - we went to IKEA - and bought everything we needed at once. At IKEA - the selection is minimal - but the stuff is nice and priced well.
After searching all over Beijing for a vacuum cleaner for a couple days - we came up empty. The ones we saw were very nice - put they were long term purchases. We told our guide - Chu - that we wanted to buy from Amazon. She said there is no Amazon in China. They have Alibaba. While we were inline at Immigration - Lulu was online discovering this mail order place.
She ordered two things - a vacuum cleaner for me - and a king size bedspread for her. The vacuum was $21 and the bedspread was $7. The prices online are in Yuan - so you must divide by 7. What is nice is there is no tax - no delivery fee - just the price. You just pay with your WeChat account on your phone. It is just too easy to buy. WeChat is a national type program like Facebook - except it includes banking. You put money on your account - and spend it very similarly to Apple Pay. The money blindly comes out of your account.
Overnight the bedspread came and it was excellent. Next the vacuum was delivered right to our apartment door - floor 10. Separate delivery.
Our apartment is 20 x 40 - about 800 feet - living room - kitchen - bedroom - bedroom - bath. There is not a lot to clean. The floor is made of polished 3 feet by 3 feet marble tiles - polished to a glassy surface. It is very easy to clean with the right tools. The apartment came with an old wet mop - but it is not my style. So I bought a squeegee with a sponge - it worked - but the dust bunnies would float around. Then I got a squeeze mop - good except for dust bunnies. Next I tried a little push floor sweeper. Finally - seeing my frustration Lulu got this vacuum - which is perfect. I will still squeeze mop after vacuuming - but the vacuum is perfect.
The vacuum is well built - metal fixtures - retractable cord - 1400 watt motor - lots of suction. It even has a reusable dirt bag. It runs on 120 volts AC. It would work at home if I wanted it. I would say it is Hoover quality. Big wheels.
The bedspread is very nice for $7. It is gray plaid on one side - reversible - and plain gray on the other side. It is king size.
I am really surprise it took Lulu this long to go without Amazon. Alibaba is an appropriate name……… with the 40 thieves.
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