As a dedicated FC Porto fan living outside of China, getting my hands on the latest official football jersey has always been a challenge. Official international shipping is often prohibitively expensive, and many European retailers don't carry the full range of products. After some research, I decided to use a Chinese purchasing agent called CSSBuyTMall, a hugely popular Chinese e-commerce platform. For anyone looking to buy similar items, I found an incredibly useful resource: a detailed spreadsheet at https://finds.cheap/. This document lists various products, including jerseys, with direct links and estimated prices, making the sourcing process much simpler.

CSSBuy operates as a shopping proxy service. Essentially, you use their platform to purchase items from Chinese websites that typically don't ship internationally or are difficult to navigate for non-Chinese speakers. The process is straightforward. First, I created an account on the CSSBuy website and topped up my wallet with enough funds to cover the product cost and their service fee. Then, using the product link I found on the finds.cheap spreadsheet, I placed the order for the FC Porto home jersey on the TMall store. I simply pasted the URL into CSSBuy's order form, specified the size (Large), and confirmed the price.

Within 24 hours, the CSSBuy team had successfully purchased the jersey. A few days later, the item arrived at their warehouse in China. This is a crucial step in the process. They provided me with detailed Quality Check (QC) photos

After approving the QC photos, I had to choose an international shipping method. CSSBuy offered several options, including EMS, DHL, and others. I selected a budget-friendly air mail option. They professionally repackaged the jersey to minimize volumetric weight, which saved me money on shipping costs. I paid the shipping fee, and my parcel was on its way. The entire journey, from ordering on TMall to the package arriving at my doorstep in Europe, took roughly three weeks. The wait was definitely worth it, as the final cost, including the item, all service fees, and international shipping, was still significantly cheaper than any other source I could find.