Great to see someone going into detail on this- the Taobao experience is awesome. There are a few flakey carriers but over all- nothing even close in the US. It's become my favorite thing about living in China.
I usually buy only from sellers which have already sold lots of the particular item in question, with good feedback. The ability to see sales volume and feedback for a particular _listing_, and not just a particular SKU or particular seller, really makes my life easier.
A few of the things I've bought from Taobao recently:
These prices include delivery to Beijing. I converted the CNY prices to USD only to make them easier to understand.
I have heard that some Taobao vendors do ship internationally, but I have no knowledge of this, and have only heard it indirectly from overseas Chinese. If you don't speak Chinese, then dealing with unusual requests or customisation can be hard, because it's all done through the online chat system, and 99.99% of vendors only speak Chinese.
A few of the things I've bought from Taobao recently:
Bluetooth receiver for headphones $16: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=38718297406
48v 20Ah lithium battery for electric moped $192: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=16566200878
Ultrasonic jewellery cleaner $19: http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=13861247309
Waterproof bluetooth speaker $6.36: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=39374503285
Bluetooth adapter for amplifier $3.75: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=20525099344
Custom-made venetian blinds ~$10: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=15785435641
Google Cardboard $4: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=39893565312
All of the prices above are in USD and include shipping.