Online Shopping in Taiwan as a Foreigner: Shopee, momo, PChome, Coupang and Overseas Orders

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Online shopping in Taiwan for foreigners: which apps work in English, how to pay without a local card, convenience store pickup, EZ WAY and the NT$2,000 rule.

Online shopping in Taiwan is fast and cheap: order tonight, pick it up at the 7-Eleven downstairs tomorrow, pay cash at the counter. The catch for foreigners is everything around the checkout: Chinese-only apps, local phone numbers for SMS codes, name fields that cut off your surname, foreign cards that get declined, and a customs app for anything shipped from abroad. Here is how each platform actually works for a foreign resident in 2026, and which two we would install first.

Online shopping in Taiwan: the platforms at a glance

Coupang: the easiest start for foreigners

Coupang, Korea's answer to Amazon, runs the closest thing to an Amazon experience here (tw.coupang.com). The app defaults to English, it accepts English names, and Forumosa members regularly report paying with US and European cards without trouble (charged in NT$). Most items sold by Coupang itself ship as "Rocket Delivery" (火箭速配): order before 11pm and it usually arrives the next day, carried up to your door.

Shipping is free on Rocket Delivery orders of NT$490 or more, otherwise NT$60. Rocket items shipped from Korea or the US need NT$690 for free shipping. The WOW membership (NT$59 a month, 30-day free trial) removes the minimums and adds member prices and longer free returns. Order twice a month and it pays for itself.

Shopee: the giant marketplace

Shopee is where Taiwan actually shops. It is a marketplace, so you are buying from thousands of independent sellers, some excellent and some not. Forumosa regulars call it "hit and miss": great for cables, hobby gear and second-hand furniture, risky for anything branded shipped from China, which is often fake.

Signing up. You need a Taiwan mobile number for the SMS code. There is an English setting, but most listings and seller chats stay in Chinese, so use Chrome's "Translate this page" on the website or long-press text in the app and paste it into Google Translate. The name field is short, so long Western names get cut off: use first name plus surname initial, or the Chinese name on your ARC. At pickup the clerk asks for the last 3 digits of your phone number, not your ID.

Paying. Foreign cards often fail. The reliable path is cash on delivery (貨到付款) at 7-Eleven, FamilyMart or Hi-Life: choose "超商取貨付款", walk in when the SMS arrives, pay the clerk. Shopee's own pickup points (蝦皮店到店) and lockers are cheaper still. Shipping to a store is typically around NT$40 to NT$60, which hurts on a NT$100 item, so bundle orders from one seller to unlock free shipping. Note that Shopee ended OK Mart pickup from January 1, 2026. Our convenience store guide covers the pickup routine in detail.

Buying smart. Filter for sellers located in Taiwan (look for a Taiwan city under the listing, not 海外). Read reviews with photos. Clothing runs about two sizes small (a US 3XL is roughly a Taiwanese 5XL), so check the centimeter measurements. A two-week "pre-order" (預購) label usually means a dropshipper reselling Taobao items at a markup.

A white PChome 24h online shopping cardboard delivery box on an office desk

Photo: Person Lin via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

momo and PChome 24h: fast, Chinese only

momo (owned by the Fubon group) and PChome 24h are Taiwan's big retailers that hold their own stock, so you get genuine products, proper receipts and painless returns. Both are Chinese only and both want your name in Chinese characters at signup (a transliteration from Google Translate is accepted).

PChome is fast: it runs 6-hour delivery in parts of Taipei, and its "超速配" service with 7-Eleven covers Taipei, New Taipei and Taoyuan with free shipping from NT$350. The problem is payment. Foreign residents have complained for years, as recently as late 2025, that PChome rejects foreign Visa, Mastercard and Amex cards, and even LINE Pay linked to a foreign card fails. Pay with a Taiwanese debit or credit card, an ATM transfer, or cash at a 7-Eleven. Once you have a local card, momo and PChome become much more useful; see our guide to getting a credit card in Taiwan and the sister guide to mobile payments like LINE Pay and JKOPAY.

ATM transfer (轉帳) tip: the virtual account number (虛擬帳號) a site gives you is unique to your order. Transfer the exact amount before the deadline, usually 1 to 3 days.

A PChome Express delivery truck parked in a lane in Songshan District, Taipei

Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain (CC0)

Groceries and big stuff

For where to shop in person, see our grocery shopping guide.

Ordering from abroad: EZ WAY and the NT$2,000 rule

Amazon US, Amazon Japan, iHerb and Coupang's cross-border items all ship to Taiwan. Two rules matter.

The NT$2,000 rule. According to Taiwan Customs, an express shipment with a customs value (goods plus shipping and insurance) of NT$2,000 or less is free of duty and import VAT. But one person only gets that exemption 6 times per half-year (January to June, July to December). From the 7th, everything is taxed. Go over NT$2,000 and the whole shipment becomes taxable, not just the excess. Amazon collects an estimated "import fees deposit" at checkout and refunds what is not used, which is why Amazon orders often clear without drama. The Ministry of Finance has been studying a lower threshold for cheap parcels from China (NT$1,000 has been floated), but as of October 2026 the NT$2,000 rule stands.

EZ WAY (易利委). Customs uses this app for real-name verification of personal imports. When a parcel lands you get an SMS, open the app and tap to confirm it is yours. Foreigners can register by choosing "非中華民國" (non-ROC) and verifying by SMS with an ARC. Forum horror stories are real (English vs Chinese name mismatches, duplicate-account errors, Chinese-only phone calls). What works: register before you order, enter your name exactly as on your ARC everywhere, and if stuck, email ezway@tradevan.com.tw (they answer in English, often quickly). Coupang handles this best: you enter your ARC number (or passport) at checkout and the EZ WAY prompt arrives correctly.

Supplements. iHerb capsules and tablets face Taiwan FDA self-use quantity limits, so split big hauls into separate orders.

A foodpanda delivery scooter parked outside a PX Mart supermarket in Da'an, Taipei

Photo: Solomon203 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

What about Taobao?

You can still order from Taobao (淘寶) in China, but we would skip it. Its Taiwan branch closed in 2020 after regulators ruled it Chinese-controlled, lawmakers keep warning that data in China-based apps is reachable by Beijing under Chinese intelligence law, and cheap China parcels are exactly what customs is tightening. Forum threads end the same way: long waits and EZ WAY headaches. Shopee usually has the same gadget from a local reseller.

Returns, receipts and scams

7-day returns. Under Article 19 of Taiwan's Consumer Protection Act, online purchases can be returned within 7 days of receipt for any reason. Exceptions include perishables, custom-made items, opened personal hygiene products and opened software. Inspecting an item does not cancel your right.

E-invoices. Taiwanese online stores issue electronic receipts (電子發票), which go into the receipt lottery. Set up a free mobile barcode carrier (手機條碼) on the Ministry of Finance e-invoice platform and save it in each store's account, and any winnings are found automatically.

Scams to know.

Our pick: start with Coupang and Shopee

Install Coupang first: English, foreign cards, door delivery, sane returns. It covers 80% of household needs in your first month, while you are still without a local bank card. Add Shopee second for everything Coupang does not stock, and pay cash on delivery at your nearest 7-Eleven until you trust a seller. Leave momo and PChome until you have a Taiwanese card, and save Amazon for things Taiwan simply does not sell.

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