We are your local 1688 sourcing agent in China for Amazon FBA, Dropshipping, Wholesale and more. We offer assisted purchases from 1688, quality checks, order consolidation, custom packaging, international shipping and all other services that your business needs.
Save time, money and rest assured that a reliable local partner will assist you to fulfill your specific sourcing needs.
You can book our individual services according to your needs or book one of our 360° full service packages:
- Assisted Purchases on 1688.com
Visit 1688.com and choose from the wide variety of items. Send us the links and further details about the required quantity, shipping destination, etc. - 1688 Quality Check
Our QC team inspects each product to ensure it is in good condition and it conforms with your specifications. We make sure you get the right product. - 1688 Order Consolidation
You can combine orders from different 1688 suppliers into a single package or cargo shipment to save shipping costs. - 1688 Custom Packaging
We offer custom packaging for your 1688 orders with logo print, package inserts, etc. - 1688 Worldwide Shipping
We ship your goods internationally according to your chosen shipping method. We offer shipping by Air Express, Air Freight & Sea Freight. - FBA Prep Service for 1688 Orders
We offer FBA Prep Services to fulfill FBA inventory requirements. With our FBA Label Service you can label your products or packages with manufacturer barcode or Amazon barcode before shipping. We help you to fulfill all requirements for printing and applying shipment labels to your shipping boxes.
What is 1688?
1688.com belongs to the Alibaba group founded by Chinese tech entrepreneur Jack Ma which runs multiple eCommerce platforms such as Alibaba.com, AliExpress.com, Taobao.com, Tmall.com, and more. 1688.com was developed in 2010. At the beginning it acted as a system for local vendors to source products for shopping in China, generally for Taobao and also JD. Currently as more and more Chinese Cross-Border sellers started to sell on Amazon, eBay.com, and other international platform, 1688 has become the primary web site for Chinese Amazon and eBay vendors to source items.
What’s the distinction between 1688 and other Chinese eCommerce Platforms?
Since there are numerous Chinese websites you can source from, why should you source from 1688, or what makes 1688 different than others?
Direct Contact to Chinese Suppliers
In China the majority of factories actually do not have the capabilities to market their business in English. So a lot of the manufactures on Alibaba.com are either trading firms or large enterprises. Although the trading firms claim that they have been verified as manufacturers, experience and background checks have shown that numerous business on Alibaba.com are trading companies in reality and not the actual manufacturer of the advertised products. Due to the fact that 1688 only is available in Chinese, especially small and medium sized manufacturers and factories have the ability to market their business or products much easier than on Alibaba.com. Of course, not all firms in 1688 are factories either, yet the percentage is much higher.
Wholesale Platform without MOQ
1688 is not a B2C or C2C platform, it is a dedicated wholesale platform. The main difference to Alibaba is the sheer number of different products offered on 1688 and the low MOQ (minimum order quantity). While most suppliers on Alibaba request that you place an order for hundreds or thousands of product unites, on 1688 the MOQ often is just between 1 or 3 units, so that you can order a sample much easier or even place a small test order.
Lower Prices
How can offer 1688 lower prices than other platforms? If you source a product from China on Alibaba or AliExpress, you will most likely deal with a trading firm that have added their profit margin to the price already. On the other hand, on 1688 it is quite likely that you can source directly from the actual manufacturer so the prices will certainly be lower than on most other platform.
Earlier as well as better access to brand-new products
Chinese business are catching up in terms of product quality as well as design. In recent years there are a growing number of excellent items developed in China which are not yet offered in other countries. Because the fast-growing Chinese middle class has the ability to consume all these new products there is no direct need to export the products to international markets. Nevertheless, these brand-new items are usually priced accordingly and if they get relisted on Alibaba by trading companies, the price will even be higher. If you as a foreign business have the ability to source these new items from 1688, you will have a much better margin to market the items in various other countries.
Is 1688 truly great area for sourcing from China?
As always there are numerous pros and cons.
Pros:
Accessibility to even more first-hand resources. This is the key to success for an ever growing trading or ecommerce business.
Earlier access to brand-new local products that have not reached the international market.
Cons:
The language barrier: Despite the fact that you can make use of Google translate to translate the website into English, there are still a lot of points which can not be accomplished without well-versed language skills in Chinese.
Import & Export formalities: The whole export and shipping process is likely going to be rather difficult since the majority of the sellers on 1688 does not have the expertise or experience of sending products outside of China.
Payment: 1688 just accepts local payment in Chinese Yuan.
Can Foreigners/Non-Chinese residents buy from 1688?
Yes. But the condition is that you have a Chinese bank account or Alipay (支付宝). If you already have a Taobao account, you can additionally register on 1688.com as well. Furthermore you will need a shipping address in China. This is the most ideal scenario which generally implies you currently stay in China or operate in China. But if you are in the United States, Europe or any other country outside of China you will need local help.
How to find products on 1688 without understanding Chinese?
To browse through the product listings on 1688 and translate them to English you can use the Google Chrome Translate Extension or the Baidu Chrome Translate Extension. Please note that this method only works on desktop/laptop computers and not on mobile phones or tablets.
The Google Chrome Extension may not be functioning well in China, because all Google Services and websites are blocked in China. If Google is not working for you, you can try the Baidu Translate Extension by downloading Baidu Chrome.
How to use the 1688 App?
The 1688 app is not offered in English and can not be translated by using Google translate or other services. So you can just browse the products and check prices.
阿里巴巴1688.com – 全球领先的采购批发平台,批发网
