Another Online Purchase – Taps You’ll Drool Over
If I tell you I bought this vintage looking oil-rubbed bronze bathroom faucet for US$40 (SGD50) including shipment, you’ll probably not believe me.
The hardware shops in Balestier and Geylang don’t even carry anything as nice, and SGD50 will only buy you this in Singapore:
Now, that’s exciting…
If I tell you I bought this vintage looking oil-rubbed bronze kitchen faucet for USD60 (SGD75) including shipment, you better be asking me for the contacts now. I ran the whole island’s retail and wholesale hardware shops at Balestier, Geylang, Changi, MacPherson, Paya Lebar and Ubi, and found only one, ONE MISERABLE SHOP, in Ubi that sells this. Guess the price they quoted me: SGD321!!! Compared to the SGD75 I spent buying this online, I think it’s a steal!
Oh, did I mention I didn’t have to pay GST?
My fascination with oil rubbed bronze faucets started when I spotted them in one of those fancy ID magazines showing off award-winning interior designer apartments. Fell in love with them, but not with the price tag. So I turned to Ali Express (where else can I possibly go….), and found quite a few factories selling them. Wasn’t quite sure which one to buy (too many choices!), and I was hesitant with buying/shipping from China. All the talk about quality, safety, paying import fees, or goods getting lost, not getting refunded if it doesn’t turn out the way it is supposed to….
Finally picked up the courage to place my faucet orders two days ago. My package arrived today. Am so glad I did.
All nicely wrapped up in bubble… 
Each faucet comes wrapped in a thick, white, polyester cloth, as additional protection against scratches.
Look at this beauty…
A close up…
Looking at it up close, you can clearly see it’s a bronzy brown, rather than acrylic black, which makes me feel a lot more comfortable that it is the real thing.
And it comes with an installation manual as well.
Who would have thought washing dishes in the kitchen could be that much more aesthetically pleasing! #droolsomemore
BudgetReno 
Love the taps u had ordered! It’s so pretty. Is it ok if you can let me know where u had ordered it from? Many thanks in advance!
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Hi Andrew, I bought them online from AliExpress http://www.aliexpress.com/store/503663. Highly recommend. I will be doing a follow up post on the taps shortly.
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Thanks so much for your reply. Can’t wait to see how it will look after u have done with the installation. I had gone to the website searching for the shorter tap that u had posted. After checking the dimension, I am afraid the 9 cm length(water outlet) would be too short for my basin. Such a beauty but such a pity.
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Hi Andrew, how did your search go? Did you finally find anything on AliExpress? Always happy to hear about renovation progress, it’s exciting yet stressful (the kind of good stress).
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Hi there! My reno is finally done last year Oct and I move in since Nov 2014. The reno process was indeed very stressful and time consuming as I decided to engage a contractor instead of ID. I have met more than 10 IDs but none was able to provide me with interesting ideas or convince me with the budget I have. As for the taps, I decided to buy them thru Taobao instead of Aliexpress. In fact, I have brought several items from them including lightings and rainshower. I am happy with all my purchase to date. Thanks for for your interesting update and insight!
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Hi Andrew, glad you got what you need! It’s addictive – that Taobao thing! It’s a lot easier now that they provide direct shipment to Singapore. Most, in not all, the suppliers on AliExpress also have e-stores on Taobao. And yes, the stress one has to go through during renovation. Happy to hear that it all worked out for you!
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Hi there, thanks for sharing your reno experience in your wonderful blog. Just wondering- have these taps been serving you well? I’m assuming you’ve been using them for a few months now?
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Hi, yes its been about 6 months now using them. The faucets for the bathrooms and kitchen are still standing and functioning well. No leaks nor did they come lose. There is a slight bit of discoloration at the master bathroom faucet because my hubby likes to wedge the bar soap in between the sink and tap. The kitchen faucet is excellent, despite heavy usage everyday. I would highly recommend this supplier.
Hope this helps. Happy to hear your progress with the renovation.
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Thank you for the quick and detailed reply, appreciated every bit of it. It’s my first foray into unchartered waters of AliExpress, hence your positive sharing lends me encouragement as I make my first (few) buys.
Looking forward to your next (insightful) post. 🙂
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Hi, hope you will find what you need. I bought my faucets from this particular store on AliExpress (http://www.aliexpress.com/store/503663). They have all sorts of designs, styles, price points etc. My communication with their online salesmen has been good so far, and they were quick to send the goods. Of course, there are many others out there that I haven’t yet discovered. If you placed an order on AliExpress, please let me know how your experience went.
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Hi, how long does the delivery take?
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Depends on the supplier, usually between 2-4 weeks.
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Thank you!
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