Search History
Delete All
Complete
1688 is a B2B wholesale procurement platform under Alibaba Group, catering specifically to the Chinese market and serving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It offers an online trading platform where businesses can list their products, find business opportunities, and conduct transactions.
Features:
Vast Product Resources—All Categories: 1688 covers various industries including raw materials, industrial products, clothing and apparel, household goods, small commodities, and more, providing a wide range of options for buyers.
One-stop Procurement Service: From raw material procurement to production processing and wholesale, the platform offers a full supply chain solution for SMEs.
Multiple Types of Stores: There are different types of stores on 1688:
Factory Stores: These are source factories with strong capabilities, full qualifications, and guaranteed product supply.
Wholesale Stores: These focus on products and offer retail, wholesale, and distribution services.
Display Stores: These promote self-brands, enhancing company visibility and influence.
1688 has gradually gained recognition in international markets and is now becoming a global sourcing hub.
There are five main types of suppliers on 1688:
Source Factories: B2B businesses with large minimum order quantities (2,000 to 5,000 units). They don’t keep inventory and produce based on orders.
Wholesalers: These sellers aim for low margins and high volumes. Minimum order quantities are lower (usually 2-3 items) and they tend to have stock available.
Brand Suppliers: They operate on an agency or distribution model, typically offering 2-3 items per batch and maintaining inventory.
Service Providers: These sellers provide services such as certifications, logistics, and foreign trade support.
Middlemen: These individuals or companies act as intermediaries, reselling goods they buy at a markup without manufacturing the products themselves.
Some product categories are better suited for offline procurement, where you can visit factories to inspect product quality in person. Factories in industrial clusters are generally more professional, able to modify designs, and offer lower prices. Trade suppliers may have higher prices but offer more flexibility.
Step 1: Choose the category you want to source (e.g., men's T-shirts). Filter for reputable merchants, large factories, and trustable suppliers who provide verified factory reports.
Step 2: Exclude certain keywords such as "individual" or "business" to avoid small-scale suppliers and focus on source factories.
Step 3: Check the supplier’s store info (business status, service rating, store activity, etc.) and historical product sales to assess their reliability.
Step 4: Review the evaluations of previous buyers, checking customer types, product reviews, and keywords used in the feedback.
Step 5: Compare the shortlisted suppliers with others, check best-seller or rising supplier rankings to find quality manufacturers for customized needs.
You can also add suppliers to your list or monitor them for easier future reference.
Check Stock Availability: Some suppliers provide stock for multiple stores. If certain products are popular, stock may run out quickly, so it’s essential to order in advance.
Request Product Photos: Avoid using suppliers' photos directly as they may result in copyright complaints. Confirm whether you can get real product images.
Clarify After-sales Details: Discuss returns, warranties, shipping costs, logistics, and packaging. If you're concerned about product quality, consider ordering samples first.
Understanding Your Needs Before Communicating with Suppliers
Clearly define your needs: expected product quality, price range, payment terms, delivery timeframes, and after-sales services. Understand the common language and terms used when negotiating with suppliers.
Keep Some Details Confidential: Avoid revealing too much about your business to get better pricing.
Ensure Accurate Understanding of the Order: Confirm details like model numbers, quality, quantity, and delivery schedules with written records. If the order is large, have the supplier stamp the agreement.
Always Document Communication: Ensure you have a written record of your discussions with suppliers, especially for larger orders.
Start with a Trial Order: Test the supplier with a small order before making large commitments.
Sourcing from 1688, How to Avoid Copyright Infringement on Amazon
The model of sourcing products from 1688 at a low cost, reselling them on Amazon for a profit, is already well-established. However, this doesn’t mean the path is without obstacles. One of the biggest issues is infringement!
Infringement risks are everywhere, such as: patent infringement, trademark infringement, and copyright infringement. One infringement complaint can potentially ruin all your previous efforts.
So, how can you effectively avoid these risks? Here are some methods:
Be Careful When Selecting Products and Research Intellectual Property (IP) Information：
When sourcing products from 1688, be sure to check the patent and trademark status of the products. Avoid the “hot products” trap: Pay special attention to IP risks with popular or trending items, especially those that have registered patents or trademarks.
Conduct Thorough IP Searches：
Patent Search: Use patent databases from different countries (e.g., USPTO, WIPO) to check if the product you want to sell already has a registered patent.
Trademark Search: Verify whether the product name or description infringes on any registered trademarks.
Copyright Search: Ensure that product images, packaging, and text content do not infringe on copyright protection.
Obtain Legal Authorization：
If you plan to sell branded products, you must obtain brand authorization in advance and verify the supplier’s credentials, such as their certification and production licenses. Only with legal authorization can you reduce the risk of infringement.
Take Your Own Product Photos：
Avoid using photos directly provided by suppliers. By taking your own photos, you not only avoid copyright issues but also have the chance to enhance the appeal of your product through unique and original photography styles.
Write Original Product Descriptions：
Avoid copying other sellers' product descriptions. You can refer to their expression methods, but be sure to rewrite the description based on your product, ensuring it is original and not a direct copy.
Register Your Brand：
Complete brand registration on Amazon, which allows you to use their brand protection tools. This can help monitor potential infringement activities and improve the security and compliance of your product listings.
Be Cautious of Suspicious Buyers：
If you notice unusual purchasing behavior, such as a large number of the same product being bought or orders coming from law firms, these could be from competitors or intellectual property protection teams. Always stay vigilant.
Summary：
The cross-border e-commerce model of sourcing from 1688 and selling on Amazon is indeed feasible, but it is essential to manage risks effectively. By conducting proper IP searches, obtaining legal authorization, creating original images and descriptions, and other preventive measures, you can significantly reduce the risk of infringement.
Linkallbuy, authorized by Alibaba Group, is a shopping platform that connects the wholesale 1688 platform with the retail Taobao site. Buy directly from the factory—no middlemen, and the best prices.
We provide authentic source pricing (monitored by Alibaba), support for customization, wholesale, and retail services, and offer direct delivery to your door. Importantly, Linkallbuy charges no commissions, making wholesale and shopping easy. Our platform supports multilingual searches in Chinese, English, French, Spanish, Russian, and more, helping you find the best products and grow your business.
True Source Prices: Get China’s true wholesale prices, not inflated cross-border platform prices.
Quality Assurance: We ensure quality and after-sales service for all products purchased through Linkallbuy.
Customization Support: We cater to independent store owners with customized products.
Large Product Selection: Search for trending products directly and find the best deals with transparent pricing.
Expert Identification: We help identify factory prices, which are often confusing to foreign buyers. Factory suppliers usually focus on production but have weaker marketing capabilities compared to traders.
Flexible Logistics: We guarantee efficient logistics solutions.
Price Negotiation: We negotiate with Chinese sellers for fixed wholesale prices based on your order volume.
Language Support: Linkallbuy provides customer service in multiple languages, eliminating communication barriers common on 1688.
Product Testing: With a vast selection of images and videos, you can test products before committing to large purchases.
Guaranteed Profit Margins: By sourcing directly from China, you can ensure healthy profit margins.
1. Home Appliances:
Shunde, Guangdong: Known as China’s “Home Appliance Capital,” it produces the largest variety of small home appliances.
2. Lighting:
Zhongshan, Guangdong: China’s largest lighting production base, including 80% of the country’s lighting products.
3. 3C Electronics:
Shenzhen Huaqiangbei, Guangzhou, Dongguan: The largest electronic products distribution center in China.
4. Cosmetics:
Guangzhou, Guangdong: The largest cosmetics manufacturing base in China.
(And many more regional industrial clusters for various product categories such as clothing, toys, home textiles, jewelry, and more.)
5. Small Accessories Industry Hub
Yiwu is renowned for its small accessories production and wholesale business.
Qingdao Chengyang specializes in Korean-style accessories, while Qingdao and Zhuji are known for their focus on hats and pearls, respectively.
Shenzhen Shuibei is famous for its jewelry business.
6. Clothing Industry Hub
Women’s Clothing: Mainly in Guangzhou (Guangdong), Hangzhou (Zhejiang), Humen (Guangdong), Shenzhen (Guangdong), etc.
Men’s Clothing: Ningbo (Zhejiang), Quanzhou Shishi (Fujian), etc.
Children’s Clothing: Zhili Town (Huzhou, Zhejiang), Guangzhou (Guangdong), Foshan, Dongguan (Guangdong), Qingdao Jimo (Shandong), etc.
Underwear:
Lianyungang Guanyun County (Jiangsu) – Sexy lingerie accounts for over 60% of national online sales, dominating 80% of China’s graduation uniforms.
Chaoan District (Shantou, Guangdong) – The largest scale, the most complete industrial chain, and the most diverse types of underwear.
Yanbu, Nanhai (Guangdong)– Entered the second-tier bra market early, with regionalized operations.
Gongming, Shenzhen (Guangdong)– Was one of the earliest regions for world-famous brands, attracting many major brands.
Xiaolan, Zhongshan (Guangdong)– Developed discreetly and is the largest underwear manufacturing base in the world.
The clothing industry is vast, with each sub-category having its own dominant production areas.
7. Swimwear Industry Hub
Xingcheng, Liaoning: Known as China's Swimwear City, the largest swimwear production base in China. Swimwear products account for 40% of the domestic market, 20% of the global market, and 80% of online swimwear shipments.
Jinjiang, Fujian: Started early, with good product quality and a wide export range.
Yiwu, Zhejiang: Focuses mainly on low-cost wholesale.
8. Wig Industry Hub
Jiaozhou, Shandong: Known as China’s “Hair Capital.”
Xuchang, Henan: The largest global distribution center and export base for hair products.
9. Shoes Industry Hub
Jinjiang, Fujian: China’s largest sports shoe production base.
Wuhou, Chengdu: Known as “China’s Women’s Shoes Capital,” the production base for women’s shoes, with other notable production areas including Guangdong Huizhou, Dongguan, Wenzhou, and Chongqing.
10. Socks Industry Hub
Daqing Town, Zhuji, Zhejiang: Known as "China’s Sock Capital" and the largest sock production base in the country.
Lishui Town, Foshan, Guangdong: Famous for its sock production.
Liaoyuan, Jilin: The largest cotton sock production base in China.
11. Luggage Industry Hub
Shiling, Guangzhou: Known as "China’s Leather Capital," it is a comprehensive base integrating research, production, and sales of leather goods.
Baigou, Hebei: Known as "China’s Luggage Capital" and currently the largest luggage production and sales base in China.
Pinghu, Zhejiang: Known as "China’s Travel Luggage Capital," with luggage being a traditional pillar industry.
12. Towel Industry Hub
Gaoyang, Hebei: A famous textile town in Hebei, with towels accounting for one-third of national production.
Anji, Zhejiang: Known for OEM/ODM production of bamboo fiber towels.
13. Home Textile Industry Hub
Nantong, Jiangsu: Has a complete home textile industry chain covering weaving, dyeing, printing, finishing, R&D, and logistics.
Wuqing, Tianjin: Known as the “Carpet Town,” with carpet products accounting for 40% of the national export volume at one point.
Dexing, Shangrao: Known for its complete industrial chain for more than 100 types of curtains, including bamboo, wooden, cloth, and Venetian blinds.
14. Toy Industry Hub
Chenghai, Anhai, and Shanghai: The three major toy production bases.
Yongjia Qiaoxia Town, Wenzhou: Known as "China’s Toy Capital."
Xiong'an New Area: Specializes in plush toys.
15. Mother and Baby Products Industry Hub
Quanzhou, Fujian: A key region for China’s baby products industry, with numerous companies and an annual output value of billions. After more than 20 years of development, Quanzhou has formed a clustered industry covering products like baby diapers, toys, children's clothing, shoes, food, and bags.
16. Eyewear Industry Hub
Danyang, Jiangsu: Produces 40% of the world’s eyeglass lenses, with an annual output of over 300 million pairs, and 70% of the domestic market.
For sunglasses:
Taizhou: Known for plastic frames.
Wenzhou: Specializes in lenses and frames.
Shenzhen: Known for high-end sunglasses.
17. Electronic Clock and Watch Industry Hub
Zhangzhou, Fujian: The largest production and sales base for electronic quartz clocks in China.
Shenzhen, Guangdong: Known as “China’s Clock Capital,” with a long-standing dominance in the clock and watch industry.
18. Musical Instrument Industry Hub
Huiyang, Guangdong: The guitar industry capital of China.
Taixing Huangqiao, Jiangsu: The world’s largest violin manufacturing base.
Deqing, Huzhou: Known as “Piano Town,” with over 90 piano manufacturing and accessory companies.
Changle County, Shandong: The largest base for electronic musical instruments in Northern China.
19. Coffin Industry Hub
Cao County, Shandong: Produces 80% of the country’s coffins and 90% of the coffins exported to Japan.
20. Fishing Gear Industry Hub
Weihai, Shandong: The largest fishing gear production base in China.
Gu'an, Hebei: The largest producer of fishing floats, accounting for over 80% of the national market.
21. Outdoor Camping Equipment Industry Hub
Dongguan, Guangdong, and Nan’an, Fujian: Gather many manufacturers of outdoor sports equipment, mainly producing tents, sleeping bags, hiking shoes, backpacks, etc.
Wenzhou, Zhejiang: Known for lightweight, waterproof, durable, and breathable products.
Understanding the distribution of manufacturing and industrial zones is a key step to success in cross-border e-commerce. Each industrial zone is a vibrant commercial area, offering a wealth of product options and partnership opportunities. The information provided by Linkallbuy can assist you in selecting suppliers and sourcing products effectively!
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us on WhatsApp: +86 19170030976.
Estimation 
English - USD 