1688.com in English

What the platform tells you, and what it does not

Alibaba Group describes 1688 as a wholesale marketplace. Individual listings still need checking: a platform identity does not establish who made an item or what a seller will deliver.

Alibaba Group: 1688 marketplace ↗

Read a listing in a repeatable order

• Save the original product URL and the selected variant. Note whether the displayed number is a unit price, deposit or quantity-tier price.
• Use browser translation for navigation, then confirm material, dimensions, tolerances, colour, accessories and packaging in writing. Keep the original Chinese terms alongside the translation when precision matters.
• Try image search and Chinese product terms as discovery tools. Matching photographs do not prove identical goods or a shared factory.
• Ask for order-specific photographs, with the requested feature and a ruler where relevant. Images can be copied or staged; neither images nor a specification table establish material composition, safety compliance or stock availability.

What we verified in the public translation guidance

Source review, 2 October 2026: WorldFirst’s English-language shopping guide distinguishes browser text translation from words embedded in images, and describes a translated supplier-chat option. This directly contradicts the idea that every non-Chinese speaker must use an agent. It does not establish that a translated technical requirement is accurate.

Our conclusion: browsing and basic communication can be done directly when the available tools work for the buyer. Pay for sourcing support when it produces something missing from the order, such as a checked specification, a supplier response, sample coordination or a consolidated packing record. We reviewed published guidance, not a buyer’s logged-in account or a completed order.

WorldFirst shopping guide: browser text, image text and supplier chat ↗

A listing-reading example that prevents a wrong order

Hypothetical listing only: the headline shows ¥12, the chosen colour shows a 500-piece quantity tier, and a second option is marked 定金. You need 100 finished pieces. You cannot use ¥1,200 as the goods budget until the seller confirms the 100-piece variant price and whether the displayed amount is a deposit.

Save these original fields beside your translation: 起批量 (starting order quantity), 规格 (specification or variant), 现货 (stock goods), 定制 (custom work), 定金 (deposit) and 包装 (packaging). Their presence does not promise stock, a final total or free customisation. Ask one concrete question for each field that changes your decision.

• Variant: give the exact option text, finish, dimensions and quantity; ask the seller to repeat the selection in the written order.
• Price: ask for total goods cost, quantity-tier conditions, deposit/balance and China delivery separately.
• Evidence: ask which material and performance claims are documents, which are measurements and which remain seller statements.
• Stop: do not substitute a similar photograph when the required size, stock date or material cannot be confirmed. Request a different candidate or a local quote.

Choose direct buying, limited help or a managed purchase

• Direct purchase fits a repeat item with an understood specification, eligible payment, an agreed delivery path and a buyer who can manage discrepancies. Keep the marketplace order in the account that will handle claims.
• A receiving-only service fits an already-agreed purchase when the missing task is receipt and onward logistics. Ask whether counting, opening cartons and measurements cost extra.
• A managed purchase fits a multi-supplier basket or specification-heavy project when supplier questions, samples and approval records matter. Compare the fee against those deliverables, rather than paying solely for access to a translated page.
• Local stock fits an urgent, very small or uncertain order when import setup and unresolved requirements outweigh any item-price saving.

Choose how to pay and receive the goods

Eligible accounts may see World Card, WorldFirst Payments or World Pay. WorldFirst distinguishes USD-balance Payments without advance account binding from CNH-based World Pay with Alipay verification and account binding. Availability must be checked for your region, account and order.

Payment does not include export delivery by default. Confirm a seller-export route, a receiving-only forwarder, or a buying agent that can quote the communication, receiving and shipping work you need.

WorldFirst: current 1688 payment methods ↗

Compare the complete order

• Request the same specification, quantity, packaging, destination and required arrival date from every candidate.
• Add goods, payment/FX costs, domestic freight, agreed inspection, storage, packing, international freight, customs and final delivery. Mark unquoted amounts as unknown rather than zero.
• Disclose batteries, liquids, powders, magnets and branded items before purchase. Their acceptance depends on the goods, rights, route and destination; a logo alone is not a universal transport ban.
• Send the product links and variant list through the sourcing form. Use the landed-cost calculator for planning, then replace assumptions with a written quote.

DHL Express: prohibited, restricted and dangerous goods ↗

Keep a record you can use for a quote

The reusable order-decision worksheet keeps the variant, unverified facts, owner of each check and purchase/release decisions together. It contains no completed customer example. Attach the completed version to a sourcing request and identify only the tasks for which you want a price.

Download the order-decision worksheet (plain text) ↗