What we can help you buy on 1688
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Clothing is the category where a listing photo tells you least. The garment in it may be a different weight, a different sizing standard and a different dye lot from the one that ships.
So the work here is mostly specification: pinning down what "M" means, what the fabric actually weighs, and what happens when the second carton is a shade off the first.
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Chinese sizing runs small against EU and US charts, and sellers rarely state which standard they used. We ask for the flat measurements — chest, length, sleeve, shoulder — and compare them to a chart or a garment you already sell, rather than trusting the letter on the label.
A listing that says "cotton fleece" covers 240gsm and 380gsm, and the price gap between them is most of your margin. We confirm the gsm and the blend in writing before purchase, because it is the single number that decides how the finished garment feels.
Colour drifts between production batches. On a repeat order or a large single run we ask whether the whole quantity comes from one lot, and flag it when it does not — a visible difference between cartons is not something an inspection can fix afterwards.
The failures that come back from customers are seam slippage, loose overlock and crooked hems. Our inspection looks at those on sampled pieces rather than only counting cartons.
Most 1688 sellers ship with a Chinese care label or none at all. If you need your own label, care symbols for your market, or individual poly-bagging, that has to be agreed before production rather than discovered at the warehouse.
The headline MOQ is usually per style. The one that constrains you is per colour and size — a 100-piece order across four colours and five sizes is often refused, or priced differently. We get that broken out before you commit.