What's the buzz

Taobao reported record sales of 35 billion yuan ($6.1 billion) on Nov 11, turning the so-called Singles Day into an online shopping spree. China Daily's mobile phone news readers share their shopping experiences of the day:

Rational consumption is the key to saving money during shopping sprees, like the one on Nov 11. Businesspeople expect us to join the shoppers' bandwagon on such days, which essentially is a great waste of money for people using the Internet to purchase what essentially are "unnecessary goods" because of the allure of discounts. Before Nov 11, I had made a list of the skincare products I needed for the coming year because the 50 percent discount available during the day is once-in-a-year opportunity. Since I stuck to my list, prepared in advance, I spent the expected amount on the products I bought on the Singles Day.

TAOZI, Xi'an, Shaanxi province

I did some online shopping on Singles Day but did not take part in the crazy buying spree at midnight. I checked the offers of some of the outlets on Taobao and found some surprising discounts being offered by a few on the day. I bought products I use on a daily basis or had planned to buy during the special shoppers' day. Needless to say, I saved a lot of money. Apart from experiencing the excitement of being part of a shopping spree, I also faced some annoying moments because of the delay in the delivery of the products I had bought.

A READER, Shanghai

Unlike many online shoppers, I did not indulge in any crazy shopping. The only thing I bought was a pair of scarves. Perhaps the huge volume of sales is to blame for the poor customer service and delivery. What upset me most is that the next day the price of one scarf was only slightly more. Singles Day is a battle of both price and psychology, so people should be rational while shopping if they do not want to regret their choice of purchases.

BONNIE, Jinan, Shandong province

I spent a little more than 10,000 yuan on Singles Day shopping spree and bought a lot of necessary products. Lights and bulbs cost me about 7,000 yuan and necessities such as shampoo and toothpaste which could last a whole year cost about 2,000 yuan. Besides, I also bought 1,000 yuan worth of books, as well as audio and video products. Generally speaking, logistics was much better than last year. It took me more than five days to receive everything I purchased on Nov 11.

A READER, Xuzhou, Jiangsu province

Many of my friends had planned in advance for the shopping mania on Nov 11 because Taobao, Tmall and other major online shops began advertising about it well in advance. Although such marketing campaigns are nothing but the business strategy of shopping websites, not everything during the shopping craze is worth your money. Therefore, one should purchase what he/she needs rather than whatever is much cheaper than usual or largely discounted. Rational consumption is the right thing to do on such occasions.

LAVENDER, Taiyuan, Shanxi province

(China Daily 11/25/2013 page9)