Teaching Chinese at Home

[joshjay]

Hi Charmaine,


Where can we join the spree? Is it still available? I would love to join to get the above readers… Pls advise.

[Happybirdks]

Hi Charmaine


Thanks for the info. How long did you wait to get hold of the books from spree? I know there are some dangdang sprees in Singapore Motherhood Forum. I am however, reluctant to join spree as often, due to sheer amount of order, the organiser will need a long time to sort out the order. Also must fix a mass meet up time etc.

I called up a shop in Bras Basah 友谊企业 and they told me they’ve ordered the books but must wait till march!

I just keep my fingers cross that amazon.cn will have stock soon.

[Happybirdks]

Will it be easier to order from dangdang if we have an account with Bank of China (singapore branch)? Be it a saving account or credit card?


Anyone can advise on this?

[tree nymph]

Happybirdks:

Will it be easier to order from dangdang if we have an account with Bank of China (singapore branch)? Be it a saving account or credit card?


Anyone can advise on this?

i know that you can use Amex card - issued by any bank to pay dangdang. you can try.

[Happybirdks]

sigh!


Don’t have amex card. The thing is, even with a local approved credit card like citibank or amex, many people still have difficulty placing order as to dangdang, our credit cards are foreign issued, so they must go through long verification process.

Was hoping it might be easier if have THEIR bank credit card to cut down hassle.

[dimsum]

tree nymph:

i know that you can use Amex card - issued by any bank to pay dangdang. you can try.

Tree nymph, i don't think so. I believe it must be Amex's own issued card. For instance, I have DBS-AMEX card but DBS doesn't offer the VisaMaster Secure code thingy (I emailed to their customer svc support to confirm). So it cannot be used.

[tamarind]

Happybirdks:

I am also trying to buy 四五快读, but still waiting for citibank cc. Willing to pay the shipping from amazon china but the 1st book is also oos! In fact, a lot of books recommended by Tamarind is oos at amazon.cn!


Is it true that if you join spree for bulk purchase, you can get the books even though it is oos because dangdang will get it for bp?

I have emailed dangdang before, and they told me they don't know when the stocks will arrive.

The books are now only available at certain provinces of China. Someone in Sichuan can buy the books for you, or someone in China buys from other sources (not dangdang).

There are many sprees in the Singaporemotherhood forum :
http://www.singaporemotherhood.com/forumboard/messages/590029/590029.html?1265317936

In that forum, when they say spree or bulk purchase, they may not really mean bulk purchase. It is just someone who consolidates orders. I have organized sprees in that forum too. I do not recommend joining these sprees, because there have been many cases of the organizers collecting the money and then disappear. There is no way you can get your money back from them, so join at your own risk.

Anyway I want to emphasize that these books may not be suitable for everyone, read my blog :
http://tamarindvillage.blogspot.com/2009/12/teaching-chinese-at-home.html

Parents have to be good in Chinese and very passionate about teaching. Note that these books are \"study\" books, not \"fun\" books, they may not work for every kid. Parents must know how to use the methods correctly in order to teach effectively. Note that the cards are not \"flash cards\". These books are working very well for my kids, and these are excellent resources for kids to learn to read independently by the age of 6, but only if we put in the hard work for at least one to two years.

[tamarind]

joshjay:

Hi Tamarind and Windows,


Thanks for your advice. I have emailed them and they have reverted with an email to verify credit card details... Hopefully, it won't take too long for the books to arrive.... its the CNY and not too sure whether this will affect the delivery....

I have been trying to get 四五快读 but it's always out of stock.... should I order whatever level is available first or should I have wait for the whole series...? I actually wanted to start off with level 1 but it's oss....

You should definitely order book 1 first. The first 30 pages are very important, parents must make sure that they understand the methods.

[Charmaine_chong]

Hi Joshsay,


I have joint the spree in S’poremotherhood and the organiser told me that she would place the order in Feb 2010.

I have yet to received the books.

It is so hard to order from dangdang as always run out of stock. As the material is very affortable, by ordering a book would cost much more in shipping alone. So, i rather buy a set of 7 books from spree.

I do not encounter any problem by joining spree so far. Most organisers are very friendly even goods are defective or i don’t like it, they let me do exchange, and i always buy from these organisers that i have built out good rapport with them.

If you want to, try to join active spree who always organise, and start with small purchase.

Good luck and try at your own risk.

[tree nymph]

dimsum:

tree nymph:

i know that you can use Amex card - issued by any bank to pay dangdang. you can try.

Tree nymph, i don't think so. I believe it must be Amex's own issued card. For instance, I have DBS-AMEX card but DBS doesn't offer the VisaMaster Secure code thingy (I emailed to their customer svc support to confirm). So it cannot be used.

Hi dimsum,
I just checked the status of my order. It says that my order has been shipped out on 30 Jan 2010. I use the DBS Amex (the black card) to pay. since its Amex, you don't need the VisaMaster Secure code. After you put in your order and pay with the Amex card, they will ask you to verify the first 4 digits and the last 4 digits of the card no. The process is actually very fast. By the way, I've just receive the bill from DBS to pay for my order liao... So your DBS Amex black card can be use to pay for your order.