The unit of work is one defined product.
A platform link is only a starting reference. Before we quote, the order needs a product definition that can survive being forwarded: model or drawing, material, dimensions, finish, packaging, quantity, acceptable substitutions and the evidence you expect 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.
Four decisions before goods move.
- Fit: we decide whether this pilot can quote the request as seller and decline categories or requirements we cannot support.
- Baseline: before payment, both sides agree the product, price basis, hand-off point, evidence, cancellation and refund terms in writing.
- Payment: Payment clears before goods move. We do not extend credit, net terms or purchase-order financing.
- Release: goods move only against the agreed written baseline. A platform listing alone is not that baseline.
The first order should be sized so that both sides can learn without pretending an untested desk already has a long delivery record.
The jobs this page deliberately leaves outside.
We do not arrange freight or transport. Your destination helps us reject an unusable specification; it is not an invitation to quote carriage or a delivery date.
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.
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.
Send the smallest brief that can produce a real yes or no.
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.
We will reply with the missing questions, a scoped quote under the payment rule above, or a decline. A decline is better than an agent claiming it can buy every category.
Official source used for the platform facts
Alibaba Group — 1688 business profile. Accessed 12 August 2026. It supports the founding year, marketplace description and FY2024 paying-member figure above; it does not support any claim about Currawong’s service capability.