Search allowance
A separate allowance, one for each new 1688 search, which may also be limited per minute. Product pages, and a search you ran recently, are free.
Sourcing
Find it on 1688. We buy it for you.
Search the whole of 1688 by keyword, category or photo, and see the price before you ask. Found it somewhere else? Send the link, and we price it within 48 hours.
Search
The whole of 1688, inside the app
Not a catalogue someone picked for you: the supplier listings themselves, with their prices.
-
Four ways to search
Type a keyword in English, paste a 1688 link, browse a category, or upload a photo of the product (JPG or PNG, up to 5 MB).
-
Sorted the way buyers think
Sort by best match, top sales, repurchase rate or price, and set a price range. Repurchase rate shows which products buyers come back for.
-
Browsing is free
Each new search counts against your plan's search allowance, never your sourcing credits. Opening a product page costs nothing, and repeating a recent search is free.
-
Not in the search?
Send the link from Taobao, AliExpress, JD or a factory's own site, with a photo, and our team prices it within 48 hours.
Before you ask
Know what you are buying
Every product page shows what the supplier shows, translated where possible.
-
Every variation, with its stock and weight
Pick the exact colour or size. Each variation shows the supplier's stock and its weight.
-
The supplier's minimum and pack size
The quantity starts at the supplier's minimum and moves in their pack size, so you never ask for an amount they will not sell.
-
The price, and what it leaves out
Prices are for the product alone: the supplier's price plus a small conversion adjustment. The supplier's delivery to our warehouse is shown separately on each product.
-
A weight you can plan with
The weight is what your shipping estimate uses when you sell, so you can work out your margin before you buy.
Sourcing request
One click from the product page
Choose, tell us what to check, and see the total before you send it.
-
Choose the variation and quantity
Give it a short name you will recognise later in your inventory and your orders.
-
Tell us what to check
Colour, packaging, labels: anything you write in the notes, our team reads before we buy.
-
See what you will pay
A summary shows the product price and the supplier's delivery to our warehouse before anything is sent. No agent commission is added.
-
Paid from your wallet
If your wallet covers the total, the request is paid straight away. If it does not, it waits until you top up and pay.
Already have this product in stock? The same button sends a restock request, which uses no sourcing credit, and the new units join the same product when they arrive.
Who does what
Your part is short
From the moment you send a request to the day the goods are in your stock.
You
- Choose the product, its variation and the quantity
- Note anything we must check
- Keep enough money in your wallet
Sourship
- Check the price and the supplier
- Buy the goods from the supplier
- Receive them at our warehouse
- Check them against your request and weigh them
- Add them to your Products List
- Tell you each time the request moves
Follow it
Every request, every step
Each request shows where it stands in Sourcing Requests, with a notification every time it moves.
-
Pending
When our team prices it
We are checking the product and setting its price. A 1688 request whose price is confirmed goes straight to Paid.
-
Ready to pay
Only when needed
Priced and waiting for you: your wallet was short, or we need you to confirm a price we set.
-
Paid
We are buying the goods, and the supplier is sending them to our warehouse.
-
Processed
Checked, weighed and in your Products List, ready to sell.
Changed your mind? You can ask to cancel within 24 hours of creating a request. If our team approves it, the money goes back to your wallet. Once we have placed the purchase order, tell us within 7 days: you pay the return shipping and any supplier fees, we credit what the supplier refunds, and some suppliers refuse.
Credits
What sourcing uses from your plan
Every plan includes a monthly allowance of each, which resets each month and does not carry over. You can buy more inside the app at any time, and sourcing credits you buy do not expire.
-
-
Sourcing credits
One for each product added to your inventory, whatever quantity you buy, including a product you ask us to source for a listing. Restocking a product you already hold uses none.
-
More, when you need it
Credit packs are paid from your wallet. When you run out, the app tells you, and a pack is one click away.
As you grow
More than buying
The bigger plans add people who work on your supply for you.
-
Supplier negotiation
On Advanced and Pro, our team negotiates better prices with your suppliers.
-
Brand building
On Pro, help choosing the factory, designing the product and building your brand.
-
Private label
On Pro, custom packaging and tags with your own brand, on request.
Questions
Sourcing, answered
What sellers ask before their first request.
Which suppliers can I buy from?
The search inside the app covers 1688. For any other supplier, on Taobao, Tmall, AliExpress, JD or a factory’s own site, send us the link with a photo from New Request: our team checks the supplier and prices the request within 48 hours, the same way as for 1688.
How is a link request priced and paid?
Our team finds the product, checks the supplier and prices it within 48 hours, and you get a notification when it is priced. The amount is then taken from your wallet if it covers it; if it does not, the request waits until you top up and pay.
Is there a minimum order?
Only the supplier’s. The quantity starts at the supplier’s minimum and moves in their pack size. Many 1688 products start at a single unit, so you can test a product before you buy more of it.
What exactly do I pay for a sourced product?
The supplier’s price plus a small conversion adjustment, and the supplier’s delivery to our warehouse. On a 1688 product, both are shown before you send the request. No agent commission is added. Shipping to your customer is paid later, with each order.
Can I cancel a sourcing request?
Yes, within 24 hours of creating it, once, with a reason. Our team reviews the request, and if it is approved, what you paid goes back to your wallet.
What happens when the goods arrive?
We check them against your request and weigh them, and they appear in your Products List, ready for your orders and your stores.
Send your first sourcing request.
Apply for an account, top up your wallet and search 1688 from inside the app. We take it from the moment you press send.