1688 buying routeDefined order only

1688 agent or seller? We quote as your seller

Send the 1688 listing, selected variant and quantity for a quote. From this page on, we are a seller. We act as the seller, not as your purchasing agent. We take title to the goods and invoice you directly, subject to capacity for each defined order.

Match the listing to your order →

Prefer to buy directly? Start with the 1688 buyer guide.

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01

Match the listing to your specification

A link is a starting point. Record the model or drawing, material, dimensions, finish, packaging and quantity. State any allowed substitutions and the evidence needed before release.

We may ask for a screenshot or Chinese listing text if a public link changes, requires login or shows different variants. We do not treat the lowest displayed platform price as an available final price; the selected variant, quantity and written specification have to match first.

This route is for a product you can identify. “Find me something profitable” is not a product brief and will not be quoted.

02

Five decisions before goods move.

  1. Fit: we decide whether we can quote the request as seller and decline categories or requirements we cannot support.
  2. Baseline: before payment, both sides agree the product, price basis, hand-off point, evidence, cancellation and refund terms in writing.
  3. Payment: Payment clears before goods move. We do not extend credit, net terms or purchase-order financing.
  4. Release: goods move only against the agreed written baseline. A platform listing alone is not that baseline.
  5. Freight: we book export carriage to the destination you named and hand you the carrier’s tracking reference. The carrier’s charge is passed through at cost, and import clearance at the other end remains yours.

Use the first-order limits below when setting your quantity.

03

Service limits

We do not guarantee transit time or act as carrier. We book tracked export carriage and pass the carrier’s charge through at cost. Under our DAP trade terms, risk transfers on delivery at the named place. Carrier limits do not replace our obligations as seller; use our claims process for missing or damaged goods.

We do not calculate customs duty. Product classification, import clearance, destination tax and regulatory approval remain with you and your appointed specialists.

We do not finance purchases. We do not extend credit, advance supplier funds for you or carry inventory on your behalf.

We keep selling separate from checking. We will never verify a supplier for you and then offer to replace them with ourselves. If you need an independent record check, use the verification service. It does not recommend us or another supplier.

04

What 1688 is, and what those facts do not prove.

Alibaba Group says 1688 was founded in 1999 and describes it as China’s leading integrated domestic wholesale marketplace. The same official profile says the platform had more than one million paying members in fiscal year 2024.

Those facts describe the platform’s scale and domestic wholesale role. They do not prove that a listing is accurate, that a seller controls a factory, that a product meets your specification or that an order will be delivered. Each order still needs its own written baseline and release evidence.

You may not need an intermediary at all if you can contract with the named seller, make the required domestic payment, resolve Chinese-language listing details and control acceptance and hand-off yourself. This route exists for a buyer who instead wants a seller-side quote for one defined order; it is not an agency relationship.

Have a supplier code? The free USCI checker checks its format and check digit. The payment-party checker compares the contract, invoice and bank names. Both run locally in your browser; neither retrieves a registration record.

For a dated record and its limits, see the verification service. It recommends no supplier and can also be used to check this desk.

05

Send your order brief

Email the product link or screenshot, specification, first-order quantity, destination country and required decision date to hello@currawongweb.com. Do not send passwords, marketplace login details, payment credentials or identity documents.

The first-order rules, before you pay:

RuleWhat it means for your first order
Order sizeFirst orders stay at about US$2,000 or less. Sample orders of 1 to 5 pieces are welcome.
Payment100% prepayment, in one payment, to the entity named on the quote.
Purchase timingWe buy nothing until your payment is verified. Before we purchase, you can cancel at no cost.
SubstitutionsAny substitution needs a new quote version that you accept first.
ShippingGoods ship DAP, by a carrier with online tracking.
ClaimsClaims run on written evidence, within the stated windows.

The full trade terms control where this summary compresses them.

You will receive a quote, questions about missing details, or a decline.

Buying a retail listing rather than a wholesale lot? The Taobao buying route runs the same desk and explains shop identity disclosures. For a defined prepaid order sent to one address, see the one-address 1688 route. Still deciding who to buy through? What the register can and cannot tell you. Considering skipping the platform and the desk both? Buying direct from the factory sets out the export-side condition that decides whether you can.

06

A name search does not show who can fill your order

On 22 August 2026 we searched a Chinese business-information service for name endings related to buying and trade. These six selected results count matching names, not verified services.

Registered companies by name ending. Queried 22 August 2026.
Name endingCompanies returned
采购代理有限公司 (“purchasing agent”)5,000: display ceiling
外贸代理有限公司 (“foreign-trade agent”)5,000: display ceiling
进出口代理有限公司 (“import-export agent”)5,000: display ceiling
外贸综合服务有限公司 (“integrated trade services”)4,863
跨境供应链有限公司 (“cross-border supply chain”)1,443
代采有限公司 (“buying on behalf”)163

A broad name ending may return more matches than the service displays. A narrow one may miss firms using other words. Neither result establishes which firms offer buying services or can meet your order.

Start with a written brief and compare the proposed scope, fees and claim terms. Then check the named party. These counts do not rank or recommend any company.

For listing identity, our 28 August 2026 profile study recorded name and principal fields on all 59 sampled 1688 category profiles. The USCI field was present on each: eight had no string value extracted and eight candidates failed the study checks. A missing extracted string may be blank or use a format the parser did not match. Two control profiles were counted separately. A field label does not prove that its value is correct or that the principal is a legal representative.

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Official source used for the platform facts

Alibaba Group — 1688 business profile. Checked 6 September 2026. It supports the founding year, marketplace description and FY2024 paying-member figure above; it does not support any claim about our service capability.

How we checked

Name counts come from one licensed data source. Counts may overlap or hit a display cap. They do not prove factory capability or accreditation. Last date marked for the checks: 22 August 2026. Use the date shown with each finding. A page update does not mean all checks were run again.

Use the source links. Check the dates and limits stated for each finding.

PRIMARY SOURCES / 01

Official sources this page relies on

Your contract identifies the seller and its duties. These sources describe customs filing and online trading rules; they do not establish the seller in a particular order. Links were checked on 6 September 2026.

Nothing here is legal advice. It describes who stands where on a document, which you must read with the contract and its claim terms.

COMMON QUESTIONS / 05

What people ask about buying from 1688

Is 1688 legit?
It is a real domestic Chinese wholesale marketplace, and that fact says nothing about any individual listing. Sellers quote for the Chinese domestic market, so the listing does not carry an expectation that the buyer needs export documents.
Can I buy from 1688 without an agent?
Yes, if you can agree the item with the named seller, use an available payment route and arrange the required delivery and export work. Check account and order eligibility first. Our linked buyer guide covers direct purchase; this desk instead quotes as your seller.
How do I know who I am actually paying?
Compare the registered Chinese name and credit code with the contract seller, invoice issuer and payment recipient. Resolve any differences in writing. Identify the export consignor and customs broker separately: the party filing a declaration is not necessarily your seller.