On this page
Why Taobao furniture arrives in pieces
A wardrobe shipped assembled is mostly air, and sea freight is priced on volume. So Chinese furniture makers ship knock-down (拆装 or 板式 furniture): flat panels, a hardware bag, and legs, rails and doors packed separately. A wardrobe that would be three cubic metres standing becomes less than one in cartons. That is good for the freight bill, which is why our guide to shipping furniture from China encourages it, and it is why the furniture needs assembling at the other end.
In China, assembly is rarely the buyer's problem. The listing says 送货上门安装 (delivered and installed), and the seller's local installer turns up with the cartons. That installer does not come to Singapore. Many listings therefore ship with no instruction sheet at all, or with a single exploded drawing and a parts list in Chinese, on the assumption that a professional will read it. The furniture is usually well made; the assembly is the part that was never designed for you to do.
What to check and ask for before you pay
Most assembly trouble starts at the listing. Five minutes before paying saves a weekend afterwards.
| Ask for | Chinese | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| The assembly drawing | 安装说明 / 安装图 | Even a one-page exploded drawing tells the assembler the order of the panels and where the cam locks go. |
| The parts list | 配件清单 / 五金包清单 | So the hardware bag can be counted on arrival, while the seller's return window is still open. |
| Carton count and sizes | 几个包裹，包装尺寸 | For the freight quote, and to check each carton fits the lift and the door. |
| Assembled dimensions | 成品尺寸 | To check the piece fits the wall, clears the skirting and leaves room for doors to open. |
| Fixing to the wall | 是否需要上墙固定 | Tall wardrobes and bookcases usually need an anti-tip fixing; that means drilling into your wall. |
| Material and panel thickness | 板材 / 板厚 | Thin boards and particle board need more care with cam locks and screws; the assembler wants to know. |
If the seller cannot send an assembly drawing, ask for photos of the installed piece from a few angles. Our team has assembled most of the common designs from the furniture towns around Foshan and can work from those.
Measure the route, not just the room
Measure the lift door and cabin, the corridor turns and your front door, and compare them with the longest carton the seller quotes. A 2.4-metre wardrobe side panel that will not go in the lift is carried up the stairs, which affects the quote, or sent as two panels, which only the seller can arrange before it ships.
When the cartons arrive: what to do and what not to do
- Count the cartons against the number the seller gave, before the delivery team leaves.
- Open only enough to check for damage, and photograph anything cracked, chipped or dented straight away. If you bought through our buying service, the goods were already checked for damage at our hub in China, while most sellers' seven-day return was still open.
- Keep the hardware bag sealed until assembly day. A missing cam lock is the single most common reason a flat-pack job stalls, and a sealed bag can be counted against the parts list.
- Keep the cartons and foam. Panels lean, slide and chip once unpacked; leave them in their cartons until the team arrives.
- Send us the photos and the listing. A photo of each carton or of the product page is enough for the quote, and the team arrives knowing what they are building.
Common Taobao pieces and what assembling them involves
| Piece | What assembly involves | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Platform or storage bed (床架) | Frame, slats or panel base, headboard; hydraulic lift on storage beds | Hydraulic pistons must be fitted in pairs under tension; a one-person job goes wrong here |
| Wardrobe (衣柜) | Carcass, shelves, hanging rails, hinged or sliding doors, drawers, anti-tip fixing | Sliding doors need the carcass square and level; skirting often stops it sitting flush |
| Bookcase or display cabinet (书柜) | Tall carcass, fixed and adjustable shelves, glass doors on some | Wall fixing; glass panels need two people |
| Dining table and chairs (餐桌椅) | Table top on legs or a pedestal, chairs bolted | Table tops in two sections must be joined and levelled |
| Desk and workstation (书桌) | Top, legs, cable trays, drawer pedestals; L-shaped and U-shaped runs | Corner joints and levelling across a run |
| TV console and sideboard (电视柜) | Low carcass, doors, drawers, sometimes wall-hung | Wall-hung units need the right anchors for your wall |
| Sofa and sofa bed (沙发) | Modules clipped or bolted, legs, backrests | Modular sofas come in many cartons; count them |
| Children's and bunk beds (儿童床) | Frame, ladder, guard rails, play fronts and shutters | Every bolt torqued; guard rails and ladders checked |
Bought it already? Send the photos
A photo of each carton or the product listing is enough. We reply with a final quote by email or WhatsApp within a few hours, 9:00am to 6:00pm every day.
Choosing an assembler for Taobao furniture
There is no shortage of people offering Taobao furniture assembly in Singapore: listings on marketplaces, handymen, and the platforms' own installer services. The price per item is rarely the problem. The questions that matter are what happens when the parts list is in Chinese and the drawing is missing, what happens if the job cannot be finished, and what happens if a panel is cracked on the way in.
- Can they read the parts list? A team that assembles Chinese furniture every day does not need the English version.
- What do they charge if they cannot do it? Many collect a call-out fee even when they leave the wardrobe in pieces. Our service charges nothing if the job cannot be done properly, and refunds the deposit in full.
- Is the quote final? Ask whether anything is added on site for drilling, for a second person, or because the piece took longer than expected. Ours is not.
- What if they break it? Ask who pays. Our team compensates you at the amount on your purchase invoice.
- Can they fit it? A wardrobe that stands a thumb's width off the wall because of the skirting needs cutting, not just assembling. Our partner has its own furniture factory for exactly that.
Our guide to furniture assembly cost in Singapore explains what a fair quote covers and what drives it up or down.
From the Taobao order to the assembled piece, with Shiplet
If you would rather hand over the whole chain, it works like this. You send us the links, or describe what you want, and our buying service orders from Taobao, Tmall, 1688, JD or Pinduoduo and deals with the seller in Chinese, including asking for the drawing and the parts list. The cartons come to our hub in China, where they are checked for damage, wrong items and wrong quantities while most sellers' return is still open. They ship by sea at an all-in price per CBM, with the import permit, GST handling and delivery to your Singapore address included in the way our guide to shipping from China to Singapore describes. On delivery day, the assembly team is there with the truck.
To see what the shipping comes to, put the carton sizes from the listing into our CBM calculator, then get an instant quote. The assembly is quoted separately from the same photos, so you know both figures before anything is ordered. If you want to buy from several shops at once, our Taobao consolidation guide explains how the orders become one shipment.
Frequently asked questions
Does Taobao furniture come with instructions?
Can you assemble Taobao furniture without instructions?
What should I ask the Taobao seller before buying furniture?
What if parts are missing when the cartons arrive?
Will a Taobao wardrobe fit my wall?
How is Taobao furniture assembly priced?
Can Shiplet buy the furniture, ship it and assemble it?
Do you assemble 1688 furniture for offices and cafés?
Know someone shipping from China? Send them this.