How to Buy from 1688 Outside China: A Practical Guide

1. Choose a buying route you can manage

1688 is a Chinese wholesale marketplace. Its offers can be useful to importers, retailers, brands and e-commerce sellers, but each listing needs a purchasing plan. Decide what you can handle before choosing a payment method.

Three ways to organize the purchase

Direct buying can work when you can communicate the specification, assess the seller and manage the handovers. Support becomes useful when language, multiple suppliers, customization or changing schedules make those tasks harder to coordinate.

Ask for a written service scope. A receiving address does not automatically include inspection, repacking or export coordination. Our guide to direct buying and sourcing support explains how to choose the work you want help with.

2. Read the listing before comparing prices

Search with the product’s Chinese name and the material or function that matters. Translation can help you find options, but check the selected variant and image annotations separately. Save the listing link and the specification you want; a screenshot of the main product image leaves too much open to interpretation.

Use the displayed price as a starting point. Ask for a quotation for your actual quantity, assortment, packaging and delivery scope.

Useful Chinese listing fields to check

For example, a listing may show a storage organizer in several sizes while the lowest price applies only to the smallest version at a higher quantity. Comparing that price with a larger version from another seller produces a misleading result.

Record the quantity for every variant. Do not assume a seller’s mixed-order allowance extends to another store. If the minimum does not fit your plan, use our MOQ negotiation guide to investigate workable alternatives.

3. Check the supplier and confirm the product

Identify the company selling the goods, the invoice issuer and the expected payment recipient. Ask whether the seller manufactures the product, trades it or coordinates production elsewhere. Store indicators and transaction history can help you shortlist sellers, but they do not establish that a particular factory can meet your specification.

Send the same requirements to each shortlisted supplier: product reference, dimensions, material, quantity per variant, packaging, intended market and required date. Ask them to identify any differences between the listing and their quotation.

For a bulk or customized order, also confirm:

• Whether the quantity is available stock or requires production.
• Which sample and specification version will control the order.
• Branding, artwork approval, setup costs and packaging requirements.
• Production milestones, delivery batches and who approves changes.

Keep the seller’s responses with the quote. A substitution proposed during production needs a recorded decision, even when the seller describes it as equivalent. Use our supplier comparison guide to compare offers against the same requirements.

Before ordering, establish the product information and testing your sales market requires. Ask the appropriate specialist to review uncertain requirements early, while the specification can still be changed.

4. Approve samples and the bulk-order requirements

A sample lets you evaluate the version you intend to buy. Request the relevant material, size, color, function and packing, and record any differences from the proposed production batch.

Approve the sample against written criteria. Keep the approval date, reference photos, unresolved changes and the person authorizing production. For customization, confirm artwork and packaging versions separately. Agree what starts production lead time and which milestones require updates.

An approved sample is a reference for later checks; it does not prove that every unit in the batch will match. Our sample ordering and approval guide provides a fuller request and approval process.

For repeat purchases, confirm that the specification, supplier and packing remain unchanged. Record any revision before treating the new order as the same product.

5. Confirm payment and who holds the order

Overseas buyers should check the payment options offered for their account and order. Avoid following a tutorial that assumes every buyer needs the same Chinese payment setup.

WorldFirst’s regional help documentation distinguishes WorldFirst Payments, which uses a USD balance, from World Pay, which settles in offshore renminbi (CNH) and involves Alipay verification and account linking. Its regional payment guide also documents Visa and Mastercard options. These are different routes, with conditions to check for your region, account and transaction.

Review the current checkout requirements, exchange rate and charges before funding or paying. Do not treat a fee or minimum stated on one regional page as a worldwide rule.

If an agent pays or places the order, agree these points first:

1. Order account: whose account holds the platform order and who can access its records?
2. Payment recipient: who receives each payment, in which currency, and for which goods or services?
3. Fees: what payment, conversion and coordination charges apply?
4. Approvals: who may authorize substitutions, extra spending or shipment?
5. Claims: who contacts the seller and submits any platform refund request?

Retain the agreed specification, quote, payment record and approval messages. Ask for the evidence you will receive if another party manages the account. Payment access and the order’s applicable claim process are separate questions; confirm both before committing funds.

6. Receive and check goods before international dispatch

Confirm the shipping options for your exact order and destination. Some regional official routes exist: WorldFirst’s 1688 FAQ describes a Nigeria route through a warehouse in China. That does not establish coverage for every country or product. Where your purchase needs separate arrangements, assign China-side receiving and international transport explicitly.

Before the seller dispatches, provide the receiving address, contact, order reference and identification labels. For multiple suppliers, prepare an expected-arrivals list so each carton can be traced to its seller and purchase.

Choose checks suited to the goods:

• Receiving checks: carton count, product identity, visible damage and obvious shortages.
• Product inspection: agreed sampling, dimensions, workmanship, functions, assortment and packing.
• Product testing: required tests performed with appropriate methods and qualified facilities.

Warehouse photos can show visible details of the items photographed. They do not establish a full inspection scope or prove performance and compliance. Agree the report, evidence and acceptance criteria before booking the work.

Use the pre-shipment inspection checklist to define the scope. If a check fails, resolve the findings and record a shipment decision before the affected goods leave China. Repacking and consolidation should preserve the connection between supplier, SKU and final carton.

7. Calculate the complete cost of your order

Compare quotations for the same specification, quantity and delivery scope. Build the budget from product value, domestic transport, payment and currency conversion, sourcing support, samples or setup, inspection or testing, packaging, international freight and destination charges. Mark missing figures “to be confirmed”.

Ask whether each service is included elsewhere before adding it again. For phased deliveries, confirm charges for each shipment and any storage or extra handling between them.

Illustrative comparison in US dollars: trial and bulk quantities of the same product

All figures except the sourcing-fee formula are invented planning assumptions, not market averages, supplier quotations or a customer case. Both orders are assumed to qualify for standard TMDSourcing coordination. Subtotals exclude samples or setup, payment and conversion costs, applicable destination charges and any additional services. They are not complete landed costs.

TMDSourcing’s current standard sourcing fee is 8% of product value, with a US$50 minimum per project. Inspections, packaging, fulfillment, shipping and complex projects are quoted separately. The table applies 8% to each product value; it does not add the minimum again.

The bulk option has a lower product unit price but a much larger cash commitment. Decide using demand, required delivery batches and the full quoted scope, rather than the displayed price alone.

Request final packed dimensions and gross weight. DHL’s weight and dimensions guide explains how Express charges can depend on the greater of actual and volumetric weight. Confirm the calculation used by your actual service. Describe the delivery destination and ask what customs handling, duties, taxes and final delivery are included in the transport quote.

8. Agree how delays, wrong goods and failed checks will be handled

Plan the response before paying. If the wrong color arrives in China, someone needs to identify the affected quantity, retain evidence, contact the seller and obtain your decision before export.

Record who holds the platform order, who can raise the claim, who coordinates a return and which costs remain chargeable. Ask about applicable deadlines and return conditions for that actual order; do not rely on a general promise of easy refunds.

For production delays, agree who obtains a revised date and whether partial delivery is acceptable. A change to packing, quantity or shipment timing may alter the quote. Confirm those consequences before approving the change.

If a provider coordinates the problem, define the deliverable and authority. Reporting a defect, negotiating a correction and approving dispatch are distinct tasks.

9. Prepare a short 1688 buying brief

Start with your product links, estimated quantities and destination. Add known specifications and the support you need. Leave uncertain fields pending so the seller or coordinator can explain what must be resolved.

1688 BUYING BRIEF

START HERE
Product link(s):
Quantity for each product / variant:
Delivery country and postcode (if known):
Support needed: purchasing / inspection / packaging / shipping / not sure

PRODUCT AND DELIVERY DETAILS — leave unknown items pending
Size, material, color and included components:
Selling unit: piece / set / carton; pieces per set or carton:
Sample and specification reference:
Branding, labels and packing requirements:
Order type: trial / bulk / repeat; delivery batches:
Required date and whether it is flexible:
Sales market and intended product use:

BEFORE PLACING THE ORDER — agree these together
Seller, invoice issuer and payment recipient:
Platform order holder and claim contact:
Payment route, currency, fees and milestones:
China receiving contact and expected arrivals:
Receiving checks / inspection / testing scope:
Person approving changes and shipment:
Return or correction coordinator and applicable charges:
Final packed dimensions and gross weight:
Quoted inclusions, exclusions and destination costs pending:

Send the same requirements to each seller or service provider. Update the brief when a decision changes, and keep the approved version with the order records. This makes quotes easier to compare and gives receiving staff a useful reference.

Buying from 1688: frequently asked questions

Do I need a Chinese bank account to buy from 1688?

Not necessarily. Supported cross-border or card options may be available to eligible buyers. Check your region, account, order and current checkout. The setup for one payment product should not be applied to every route.

Can I buy from 1688 without an agent?

Yes, if you can arrange the supported payment, communicate requirements and manage receiving, checks and delivery. You can also hire help for one task. An agent is an option for agreed coordination, rather than a requirement for every purchase.

Does 1688 ship internationally?

Some regional routes exist, but coverage depends on the order and destination. Confirm the available shipping option and its scope. Where separate transport is needed, arrange China-side receiving and the international leg before ordering.

Is the lowest listing price the price I will pay?

It may apply to a different variant, unit or quantity tier. Request a written quote for your chosen specification, quantities and packing, then add the services and delivery costs outside the product price.

Who handles a refund if an agent places the order?

Agree this before payment. Identify the account holder, claimant, seller contact and return coordinator, along with applicable charges and deadlines. Someone placing the order for you does not establish the refund arrangements by itself.

Are warehouse photos enough to approve a bulk order?

They provide limited visual evidence. Define the receiving checks, inspection or testing your product needs, and approve shipment against the agreed findings. Photos do not replace an inspection scope or necessary testing.