Buying on 1688 and Taobao from Europe

1688 is Alibaba’s wholesale site: factory prices, often with a minimum quantity. Taobao is the retail site: you can buy a single item. On both, most sellers only deliver within China. That is where we come in: you ship to our warehouse, we send everything on to you in Europe.

1. Create your account

• Taobao: download the app and sign up with your European phone number. Payment goes through Alipay, which generally accepts foreign Visa and Mastercard cards. Check when you pay.
• 1688: foreign buyers open a personal account. Identity is verified through Alipay. To pay, some suppliers accept services built for foreign buyers, such as WorldFirst: ask before ordering.
• Both sites are in Chinese. Your browser’s or app’s automatic translation is enough to order.

2. Find the right product

• Use photo search (the camera icon): a screenshot of a product seen elsewhere is enough to find the maker.
• Compare at least three sellers for the same product: price gaps are common.
• Read the minimum quantity (起订量) and the tiered price on 1688.

3. Check the seller

• How long the shop has existed, its rating, number of sales and reviews with customer photos.
• On 1688, prefer manufacturers (源头工厂) and look at the repeat-order rate.
• Ask for real photos or a video of the product through the site’s chat. A serious seller replies.

4. Enter our delivery address

Copy the address in Chinese from your My address in China page. In the recipient name, write your customer code (for example FXFR-7K3Q): that is how we recognise your parcel when it arrives. Shipping within China (运费) to the warehouse is paid to the seller; many offer it for free (包邮).

5. Announce the parcel

As soon as the seller ships, a Chinese tracking number (快递单号) appears in the order. Give it to us on the Announce a parcel page: your parcel will be recognised faster.

6. Confirm receipt only after our photo

On Taobao and 1688, your money only goes to the seller when you confirm receipt (确认收货). Wait for the photo and weight we send you on arrival: if an item is missing or damaged, you can still open a dispute.

Useful vocabulary