On this page
11.11, also called Singles' Day, is China's biggest online sale, and Taobao and Tmall run a big part of it. In 2026 it started early: deposits opened on 15 October and the main sale began on 20 October at 8 pm China time. The big day is Wednesday 11 November.
This guide is for a visitor who wants to shop it: how the dates work, what to set up first, whether a foreign card can pay, how a presale works, and how to get a parcel to a hotel in China. The part I can speak to first-hand is parcels to hotels, and that is in the box below. I also opened the apps on 27 October to see the sale myself, and the screenshots are further down. Everything else comes from the sources at the bottom, checked on 27 October 2026, and I mark what I could not confirm.
How I send parcels to hotels
I have ordered tens of parcels to hotels in China and not one was lost. Before anything arrives, I message the hotel by email or WeChat with my name, my booking number and my dates. I ask for their exact address in Chinese and the reception phone number. On the order I put my English name and my own phone number with the country code, because staff match parcels by the last 4 digits.
One thing I learned: I do not order to a hotel when I am staying only one to three days. Delivery can take up to three days, and the parcel arrives after you leave.
I have also used Pinduoduo. To me it is a cheaper version of Taobao.
Quick answers
When is Taobao 11.11 in 2026?
Presale deposits opened on 15 October, and final payments and in-stock sales started on 20 October at 8 pm China time. The big day is Wednesday 11 November. Sources differ on when Tmall's festival ends, 24:00 on 11 November or 13 November, so check the banner in your own app.
Can foreigners shop in the 11.11 sale?
Yes, for physical goods, paying through Alipay with your own bank card. China Survival Kit says Alipay has let overseas users link Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Discover and Diners Club cards since 2023. On my account the Taobao app is Chinese only, so set the currency to euro and search in English first.
Can I pay a presale deposit with a foreign card?
I could not confirm it. One guide, Tianwen, says international cards do not work for presale items, and I found no official page either way. Pay for a small in-stock order first to see whether your card works.
Can I send an 11.11 order to a hotel in China?
Yes, if the hotel agrees. Message them first with your name, booking number and dates, and ask for the address in Chinese and the reception phone number. Do not order to a hotel for a stay of one to three days, because delivery can take up to three days.
Is there a limit on what I can spend with a foreign card?
Yes, but the sources disagree on the numbers. Two give about US$5,000 per payment and US$50,000 per year after verification, and one gives ¥5,000 and ¥50,000 and could not confirm it officially. Check the limit shown in your own Alipay.
Can I get an 11.11 order sent to Ireland?
I use Taobao for parcels to hotels in China, so I have not tested shipping abroad. My Taobao home screen has an overseas consolidated shipping icon (海外集运), but I have not tried it. One trade article reports Taobao is running Double 11 in 20 overseas markets, with most medium and large items shipping directly overseas, but it is secondhand and I could not check the original. See what your own app offers at checkout.
What to check before you order
- 1
Know the dates, and which end date to trust
Singles' Day began in 1993 with students at Nanjing University, who picked 11 November because 11/11 looks like four single people. Alibaba turned it into a 24 hour shopping event in 2009. In 2026, Tmall's presale deposits opened on 15 October, and final payments and in-stock sales started on 20 October at 8 pm China time. Two bigger waves are still ahead, reported for 31 October and 10 November, both at 8 pm. The big day itself is Wednesday 11 November. The sources disagree on the end. Sina Finance says the Taobao and Tmall event ends at 24:00 on 11 November. Marketing China, citing a Huxiu report, says Tmall's festival runs to 13 November, and it gives both 23:59 and midnight as the end time. The banner in your own app is the final word. For context, JD started its sale on 12 October, and Douyin's shopping festival runs from 15 October to 11 November.
- 2
Set Taobao up before the sale, not during it
Do the basics from my Taobao guide first: switch the currency to euro, check that searching in English works, and add a delivery address. If you skip the address, checkout stops you and asks for it anyway, and a stalled checkout is the last thing you want when a deal has a deadline. First-hand: on my account, bought from Ireland, the app is in Chinese only. After I switched to euro, every price showed a rough euro amount underneath, which is enough to see at a glance whether something is cheap.
- 3
Link your card in Alipay at home, then test it
Taobao takes payment through Alipay with your own bank card. Set Alipay up before the sale; the steps are in my China travel apps guide. What the sources say about cost: payments up to ¥200 carry no Alipay fee, and above ¥200 Alipay adds about 3%, shown at checkout before you confirm. Your own bank may add a foreign transaction fee, typically 1 to 3%. Refunds go back to your card, not to an Alipay balance. Tianwen warns that Western banks often decline the first Alipay charge as suspected fraud, so make one small payment before the big order. Check your limits too. China for Travelers and China Survival Kit give about US$5,000 per payment and US$50,000 per year once your identity is verified. Tianwen gives ¥5,000 and ¥50,000 and says it could not confirm that on an official page. The sources disagree on the currency, so read the limit shown in your own Alipay before a large order.
- 4
Check whether your card can pay a presale
This is the one that matters most in this sale. Tianwen says international cards work only for physical goods on Taobao and Tmall, and not for second-hand Xianyu listings, presale items or Tmall International. I could not confirm that on an official Alipay or Taobao page, and the other guides I read do not mention it. If it is right, your card should still work for in-stock physical goods, but a presale deposit may be refused. The way to find out is to pay for a small in-stock order first. Do not count on a presale deal until your card has paid for something.
- 5
Understand how a presale works
In a presale you pay a deposit first, then the balance when the final payment window opens. For 2026 that window opened on 20 October at 8 pm. I did not find an official page that explains the presale terms for foreign buyers, so I cannot tell you whether a deposit is refundable if you miss the balance. Read the refund and delivery lines on the product page before you pay. When Tmall and Taobao dropped presales for their 618 festival, a retail expert quoted by Yicai Global listed the problems of presales: late delivery, higher prices, uneven after-sales service and financial risk. That is a reason to read a presale deal twice.
- 6
Find real discounts, and check the final price
Reports differ on how discounts stack this year. Marketing China, citing Huxiu, says Tmall added an official instant discount shown right on the product page, with no basket threshold, on products that brands enrolled. It gives no discount sizes and does not say whether cross-border items are included. Sina Finance describes the older style for the 10 November session, where cross-store reductions, shop coupons and red packets combine. So do not trust the banner price. Compare the price on the product page with the price at checkout after coupons, and compare the same item in two shops. Sina Finance also reports a daily red packet: search 天降红包9090 in the Taobao app for a random no-threshold deduction, usable on presale and in-stock orders. I could not test it, amounts and eligibility can differ by account, and the report itself says the in-app event page overrules it. My own screenshots of the sale pages are further down.
- 7
Sending an 11.11 order to a hotel
My rules for hotel parcels are in the box near the top. The sale adds two things. First, volume: China's State Post Bureau reported a record 13.94 billion parcels between 21 October and 11 November 2025, with a peak day of 777 million. I found no measured delay figures for that period and no official 2026 numbers, so I cannot say how much slower delivery gets. Give yourself extra days and read the delivery estimate on the product page and at checkout before you pay. Second, timing: if you fly in December, an order paid in this sale will probably reach the hotel long before you do, so only send a parcel to a hotel you are about to check in to.
- 8
Avoid the common mistakes
Paying a presale deposit and missing the date for the balance. Ordering to a hotel for a stay of one to three days. Trusting the banner price instead of the checkout price. Leaving Alipay setup for the night of the sale, when a bank decline costs you the deal. Ordering without reading the delivery estimate. And treating any single guide as final, including this one: rules in a sale change by the day, so the banner and the checkout page in your own app win.
- 9
After you pay, follow the order in My orders
Everything lives under My orders in the My Taobao tab: to pay, to ship, to receive, and refunds. This is where you follow delivery. Tap to confirm receipt when the parcel arrives, not before.
What the sale looks like in the apps today
On 27 October 2026 I opened Taobao, a JD screen and Pinduoduo on my phone to see the sale for myself. The apps are in Chinese, and the English labels on the screenshots are mine. Here is what I noticed.
Screenshots from my own phone on 27 October 2026. The apps are in Chinese, the English labels are mine. Tap a picture to open it larger.
The sale is already everywhere. Taobao has a 双11 tab in the top row and sale tiles on the home screen. Pinduoduo has a tab called 11.11提前降价, early price cuts. Promotions are not waiting for 11 November.
The big price is not always the price. On the JD screen the first listing shows ¥8.90 in large type, and a smaller 到手价, the final price, of ¥11.13 next to it. I do not know what makes up the difference, so read the final price line, not the big number.
Read the tags under each listing. On Pinduoduo, some items carry 只换不修, exchange only and no repair, next to 先用后付, use now and pay later. The subsidy page shows 退货包运费, returns shipping paid, and 假一赔十, ten times compensation if the item is fake. I could not check what any of these promise to a foreign account, so check the return terms before you pay.
Countdowns are part of the design. The mother and baby page in my screenshots counts down to the end of its promotion, with about 20 and a half hours left when I took it. A promotion ending tomorrow does not mean the sale is ending.
Two icons I have not tried. Taobao's icon row has 天猫国际, Tmall International, and 海外集运, overseas consolidated shipping. Tianwen lists Tmall International among the things a foreign card does not cover, which I could not confirm. If you try either one, test with something small.
Chinese words worth knowing in the sale
These show up on banners and listings during the sale. Several are in my screenshots above.
| Chinese | What it means |
|---|---|
| 双11 | Double 11, the 11.11 sale |
| 优惠券 | Coupon |
| 满减 | Spend a set amount, get a set amount off |
| 立减 | Instant price cut |
| 定金 | Deposit, in a presale |
| 尾款 | Final balance, in a presale |
| 预售 | Presale |
| 包邮 | Shipping included, subject to the listing's terms |
| 到手价 | Final price after discounts |
| 红包 | Red packet, a discount you claim |
| 秒杀 | Flash sale |
| 国补 | National subsidy label on some products |
| 百亿补贴 | The 10 billion subsidy discount page |
| 先用后付 | Use now, pay later |
| 只换不修 | Exchange only, no repair |
| 退货包运费 | Return shipping paid, check the conditions |
| 假一赔十 | Ten times compensation if the item is fake |
| 旗舰店 | Flagship store, a brand's official shop |
| 海外集运 | Overseas consolidated shipping |
| 天猫国际 | Tmall International |
Sources
- Marketing China: Double 11 2026, Tmall drops basket rules
- Retail Boss: Tmall opens presales for its 2026 11.11 festival
- Sina Finance (in Chinese): 2026 Double 11 timetable and red packet codes, 12 October 2026
- iFeng Finance (in Chinese): Douyin Mall Double 11 festival, 15 October to 11 November
- Wikipedia: Singles' Day
- Tianwen: Taobao in English, paying with international cards
- China Survival Kit: Taobao for foreigners
- China for Travelers: Alipay for foreigners
- Yicai Global: Tmall cancels presale model for 618
- Henan government: 2025 Double 11 sees record parcel volume (State Post Bureau data) (official)
