1688 is where the real prices live. While AliExpress and Alibaba serve international buyers at marked-up rates, 1688.com is China's domestic B2B wholesale marketplace — the place where those same AliExpress sellers actually source their stock. Prices on 1688 are routinely 20–40% lower than what you'd find on its international counterparts, because you're often dealing directly with the factory, not a trading company layered on top.
For a Shopify seller, ordering a sample before committing to inventory isn't optional — it's how you protect your store's reputation. Product photos can be misleading, and quality on Chinese wholesale platforms varies widely. A sample lets you verify materials, check packaging, measure real shipping times, and catch defects before your customers do.
Rule of sourcing: Never list a product you haven't held in your hands. A $20–$50 sample order can save you from a $2,000 inventory mistake and a flood of 1-star reviews.
The challenge? 1688 is built entirely for the Chinese domestic market. The interface is in Simplified Chinese, most suppliers only accept RMB payments via Alipay or local bank transfer, and the platform's logistics infrastructure ships within China only — not internationally. This is the wall most English-speaking sellers hit. The good news: there are clear, repeatable ways around it.
The fastest way to find products on 1688 without typing a single Chinese character is reverse image search. This is genuinely the most underused technique by English-speaking sellers.
If you prefer keyword search, translate your product name into Chinese first using Google Translate, then paste the Chinese term into 1688's search bar. Searching in English yields very poor results — always convert to Simplified Chinese for accurate listings.
Pro tip: The 1688 AIBUY browser extension can also detect product images on AliExpress or Amazon and jump directly to matching 1688 listings, with real-time translation of product details and price conversion to your local currency.
Not all 1688 suppliers are equal. Before reaching out, filter your search results and check supplier profiles using these signals:
Aim to shortlist 3–5 suppliers for the same product. You want to compare sample quality across multiple sources, not just commit to the first one you find.
This is where most guides stop giving practical advice — so here's what actually works.
1688 uses a built-in chat tool called Aliwangwang (阿里旺旺). Most suppliers only respond there, not by email. You can access it directly from a product listing page. The problem: nearly every response will come back in Mandarin.
Here's the workflow that works for English-speaking sellers:
Keep your first message short and structured. Here's a template you can translate and send:
Be patient and professional. Response times vary, and you may need to follow up once. Suppliers with staff dedicated to international buyers — they do exist on 1688 — will reply faster and in clearer terms.
Payment is the second major wall for international buyers, and it's real. Most 1688 suppliers only accept RMB via Alipay or direct Chinese bank transfer. As an overseas buyer, you almost certainly can't pay this way directly.
You have two practical options:
| Payment Method | How It Works | Best For | Complexity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sourcing/Fulfillment Platform | Platform pays supplier in RMB; you pay platform in USD/EUR via card or wire | Shopify sellers wanting a managed workflow | Low — single interface |
| Freight Forwarder with Payment Service | Forwarder pays supplier, invoices you via PayPal, Wise, or bank wire | One-off sample orders, testing new suppliers | Medium — requires trust in the forwarder |
| WorldFirst / Alipay International | Cross-border payment service authorised on 1688; pay in local currency | Buyers comfortable with direct 1688 ordering | Medium — account setup required |
| Direct Alipay (with Chinese account) | Requires opening a Chinese bank account in person in China | Long-term heavy 1688 users based in/near China | High — not realistic for most overseas sellers |
For most Shopify merchants ordering their first samples, the cleanest path is to use a sourcing or fulfillment platform that handles RMB payments on your behalf — you deal in your own currency, they handle the supplier side. This is exactly the kind of infrastructure Piratify is built for: sourcing products across 1688, Taobao, Tmall, and other Chinese platforms, then managing the fulfillment end-to-end, so you never have to wrestle with Alipay or freight forwarder relationships yourself.
Here's the part no one explains clearly: 1688 suppliers do not ship internationally. Their logistics network is domestic-only. This means you cannot simply enter your US, UK, or EU address at checkout and expect a package to arrive.
The standard workaround is a China-based consolidation warehouse — essentially a local Chinese address that receives your sample from the supplier, then ships it internationally to you via DHL, FedEx, EMS, or a dedicated e-packet service.
Your options for getting this address:
Always ask the supplier to include a packing list with the sample shipment — this speeds up customs clearance significantly.
When your sample arrives, don't just look at it and nod. Run it through a structured checklist before making any sourcing decision:
If the sample meets your standards, you're ready to negotiate bulk pricing, discuss custom packaging or private labeling, and move toward a first purchase order. If it doesn't, move to the next supplier on your shortlist — this is exactly why you vetted 3–5 candidates.
For deeper context on how to evaluate Chinese supplier quality before scaling, see our guide: How to Vet Chinese Suppliers on 1688 Before Placing a Bulk Order.
A common question from Shopify sellers is whether to bother with 1688 at all for samples, when AliExpress makes it so easy to order in English with global shipping built in.
The honest answer: it depends on your stage. AliExpress is simpler for a first sample — but if you're planning to source at volume, 1688 gives you access to the actual factory, lower unit costs, and more flexibility to negotiate private labeling. Testing from the real source also means your sample quality will match what your bulk order looks like — something you can't guarantee when AliExpress sellers are themselves sourcing from 1688 and adding a markup.
If you're building a serious Shopify brand rather than a generic dropshipping store, skipping straight to 1688 for samples makes long-term sense. You can also explore how platforms like DSers or AutoDS work for AliExpress-based sourcing if you want a purely hands-off comparison — but neither gives you direct 1688 factory access the way a dedicated China-sourcing platform does.
For a full breakdown of sourcing platform options, check out: 1688 vs AliExpress: Which Platform Should Shopify Sellers Source From?
Many suppliers on 1688 do offer low or even single-unit sample orders, particularly if you explain you're an international buyer evaluating for bulk orders. MOQs vary by supplier and product category. Some list a formal MOQ (e.g., 10 or 50 units) but will negotiate a single sample at a higher per-unit price upon request. Always ask directly — the worst answer is no.
The vast majority of 1688 suppliers communicate exclusively in Chinese. A small minority have international sales staff who can manage basic English, but you cannot rely on this. Your best strategy is to translate your messages into Chinese before sending, and to use a sourcing platform or agent that handles supplier communication natively — this removes the language barrier entirely and tends to get faster, more accurate responses.
There is no single answer, as it depends on the product weight, dimensions, and shipping method. As a rough benchmark, a lightweight product (under 500g) shipped via DHL or FedEx express from a Chinese consolidation warehouse typically costs $15–$40 to the US or Western Europe. Larger or heavier samples cost more. Economy options like e-EMS can cut the shipping cost significantly but add 2–4 weeks to transit time. Always factor total landed cost (sample price + domestic China shipping to warehouse + international freight) when evaluating whether a supplier's pricing makes sense at scale.
