海淘

hǎitáo

verb

Meanings

1 to shop overseas online (and have goods shipped to China)
2 cross-border online shopping

Characters

sea; overseas (abbr.)

to pan for, to hunt for

Examples

这款奶粉我都是海淘的。

Zhè kuǎn nǎifěn wǒ dōu shì hǎitáo de.

I always buy this formula from overseas online.

海淘的东西要等很久才能收到。

Hǎitáo de dōngxi yào děng hěn jiǔ cái néng shōudào.

Stuff you buy from overseas takes a long time to arrive.

Tips

usage

海 'sea' here is short for 海外 'overseas'; 淘 'to pan for' suggests hunting for finds (as in 淘宝). Peaked with cross-border e-commerce in the 2010s for baby formula, cosmetics and luxury goods. Close cousins: 代购 'personal-shopper proxy' and 跨境电商 'cross-border e-commerce'.

Stroke Order

海 hǎi

淘 táo