I’m Angie. I’m from Singapore. I love Cats, Lolita Fashion and learning about the cultures of different countries. Running a shopping service across different countries allows me to gain many interesting insights into unique trends around the world.
I was a huge fan of Olivia Lufkin, and I named my personal website Celestial Delinquent after Olivia’s song because it’s a pretty title with meaningful lyrics. I made some attempts at blogging, and I also used it to host self-made scanlations for the Nana series. But eventually, I didn’t have much time for a personal website, so it ended up being my shopping service website.
I discovered the joys of shopping on Taobao after people on the EGL community posted glowing reviews of their Taobao purchases. I started off by purchasing through a Taobao Shopping Service. Then I realized that communicating directly with Taobao sellers myself would be easier since many Taobao Shopping Services know next to nothing about my unconventional hobbies. With the help of an agent in China who tops up my Alipay account and provides logistics services, I was able to purchase smoothly from Taobao.
But international shipping costs remains a real pain so after a few successful attempts of purchasing Taobao items myself, I decided to rope in some friends to purchase with me and share the shipping costs. Since then, helping my friends to buy stuff on Taobao became a regular thing for me. I started my shopping service on a Livejournal blog My Thrift Store in June 2009.
Since then, I’ve helped hundreds of people from all over the world with their purchases. I’ve shipped thousands of packages. I love doing these orders because I’ve gotten to know so many people who share similar interests from different parts of the world. Through my friends and fellow shoppers, I’ve also learnt about many excellent Taobao shops I’d not have discovered otherwise.
I have a full-time job as a communications consultant and other freelance projects in writing, research and translation. My shopping service is one of a few side hustles (I certainly don’t make enough from this to quit my job!). But as a responsible and committed individual, I try my best to provide the best service possible. If there’s anything I should improve on, don’t hesitate to let me know!