Which Marketplace App to Use
I landed in Taipei with one suitcase and too many questions. The first one was simple: where do people actually shop here? The answer came fast. Taiwan has a few major players and each one works differently.
PChome 24h is the Amazon of Taiwan. You order something at 2 AM, and it shows up the next morning. I ordered a USB hub at midnight, and it was at my door by 9 AM. The catalog is massive, mostly electronics and daily goods, and prices are competitive. The interface is in Chinese, but Google Translate handles it fine.
Shopee Taiwan feels younger and more casual. It is big for clothing, beauty, and random imported stuff. You get chat support from sellers directly in the app. I bought a hiking rain jacket there for under 600 NTD. The seller answered my sizing question in five minutes.
Ruten is more like eBay. Lots of secondhand gear, vintage items, niche stuff. I found a 35mm film camera there that I could not find anywhere else. Prices are negotiable,e and you can message sellers.
MOMO Shopping is solid for household products and branded goods. They often have flash deals during lunch hours.
Now, here is the thing about apps in general. When you live somewhere for a while, you collect apps for everything. Shopping, food delivery, maps, transit, and some people add entertainment apps too. Games, streaming, casual stuff. A friend of mine uses 大撈家 online casino on his phone the same way he uses Shopee, just another app he opens when he has time. I am not saying go sign up for anything. But the habit of building a small stack of apps that cover your daily life, including fun stuff, is genuinely a good Taiwan strategy.
My personal pick for newcomers is Shopee plus PChome together. Use Shopee for soft goods and PChome for anything you need fast. That combination covers about 90 percent of what you will need in daily life here.
Price Tracking, Coupons, and Free-Shipping Thresholds
Prices in Taiwan apps move constantly. I learned this the hard way when I bought a blender for 1,200 NTD and then saw it drop to 890 NTD three days later. That was my lesson in tracking.
The best free tool for price tracking is BigGo. It is a Taiwan price comparison engine. You paste in the product name or link, and it shows youthe price history across PChome, Shopee, MOMO, and others. I use it before every purchase over 500 NTD. It takes two minutes and often saves me real money.
Coupons work differently on each platform. On Shopee, look for the little coupon icon inside each product listing. Sellers issue personal coupons and store coupons separately. Always click to collect them before checkout. I once forgot to apply a 100 NTD coupon on a 400 NTD item. That hurt.
MOMO has a daily coupon section on the homepage. They refresh at midnight. If you shop there regularly, check that section first thing. PChome runs flash coupon windows during big sale periods like 11/11 or Chinese New Year. Those go fast so you need app notifications turned on.
Free shipping thresholds are key. Most Taiwan apps set the free shipping line at 490 NTD or 990 NTD, depending on the seller. On Shopee, especially, many sellers offer free shipping for orders over 299 NTD if you use a specific delivery method. Read the shipping section before adding to cart.
A trick I use: if I am close to a free shipping threshold, I browse the same store for something cheap I actually need. A phone cable, a pack of pens, anything that pushes the total over the line. Better than paying 60 to 80 NTD in shipping fees.
During major sale events, apps also issue platform-wide coupons. These are different from seller coupons. They sit in a separate wallet inside your account. Before checkout, always check both your coin balance and coupon wallet. Missing either one is money left on the table.
Delivery Options, Pickup at Convenience Stores, and Tracking
Taiwan has one of the best delivery systems in the world. I am not exaggerating. Most urban orders arrive in one to two days. Some arrive the same day. And the convenience store pickup option is genuinely one of the best features of shopping here.
Here is how it works. When you check out on Shopee, PChome, or MOMO, one of the delivery options is pickup at 7-Eleven or FamilyMart. You choose a specific store near your home or office. The package goes there and waits for you. You get an SMS or app notification when it is ready. You have a few days to collect it. This is perfect if your building has no reception desk or if you are out during delivery hours.
I used this constantly during my first six months here. My building in Xinyi had no lobby staff. Every package would have been left outside or returned. Switching to 7-Eleven pickup fixed everything. I just grabbed things on my way home.
Standard home delivery on PChome uses its own logistics network called PChome Express. It is fast and reliable. You can track it inside the app. Shopee uses a mix of logistics partners: Black Cat (Yamato), Kerry Express, and Chunghwa Post depending on the seller. Each one has its own tracking page.
For tracking, the easiest method is to check inside the app first. The order status page usually has a live tracking link. If the link goes to a third-party carrier site, copy your tracking number and paste it into 17track.net, which covers all the major Taiwan carriers in one place.
Returns are smoother than you might expect. Most platforms support a seven-day return window. For convenience store orders, you can often start a return directly at the same 7-Eleven where you picked up the package. No need to call anyone. Just scan the QR code they send you.
One thing to note: some seller listings say “only ships within Taiwan,” and some cross-border Shopee sellers cannot do convenience store pickup. Check before you order if that matters to you.
Smart Settings: Language, Notifications, Payments, and Security
Most Taiwan shopping apps are built for Chinese speakers first. But they are usable in English with the right setup. Here is what I actually changed in my apps and why it helped.
On Shopee, go to the profile tab, then settings, and switch the language to English. The translation is not perfect, but the core navigation becomes much easier. Product listings are still in Chinese so keep Google Translate or a screen reader app nearby. I use the Google Translate camera feature to scan product details I cannot read.
For notifications, be selective. Turn on shipping updates and payment confirmations. Turn off promotional push notifications unless you actually want daily sale alerts. Too many pings and you start ignoring all of them, including the important ones. I keep only order status notifications active.
Payment setup matters a lot. Taiwan apps all accept credit and debit cards. LINE Pay and JKoPay are popular local options and sometimes unlock extra discounts. If you have a local bank account, link it. Some platforms also offer Apple Pay and Google Pay. I use a local credit card that gives 1.5 percent cashback on online shopping, which adds up over time.
For security, turn on two-factor authentication on every account. PChome and Shopee both support it. Use a strong, unique password for each platform. Shared passwords across accounts are how people lose access to their purchase history and saved payment methods. I also never save my full card details on platforms I use less than once a month.
Shipping address management is worth a few minutes of setup time. Save your home address, your work address, and one nearby convenience store as defaults. Switching between them at checkout takes five seconds when they are already saved.
One more thing: check your app permissions occasionally. Shopping apps sometimes request location access for delivery features. That is fine. But a microphone or contact access is rarely needed. Deny anything that does not have an obvious reason.
Good settings take about fifteen minutes to configure once. After that, the apps just wor,k and you stop thinking about them, which is exactly what you want.
