Product Sourcing from China: 1688 & Taobao

Supplier search finds and vets the right factory; product sourcing is the actual purchase — we place the order, pay in RMB, consolidate, and ship. Many clients use search once to find a supplier, then buy-out for every reorder.

There's no fixed minimum, but very small orders carry proportionally higher handling and shipping costs. As a rough guide, a buy-out makes economic sense from a few hundred dollars of goods upward. We'll tell you honestly if your order is too small to be worth it.

1688, Taobao, Tmall, Pinduoduo and Alibaba, plus direct from factories we work with. Send us the links or a description and we'll source from wherever the price and quality are best.

No. You pay us in your currency; we pay the Chinese sellers in RMB from our local accounts. That avoids blocked foreign-card payments and the surcharges sellers add for international transfers.

Genuine branded goods, yes — but only with proof you're authorized to sell them. We don't buy counterfeits or replicas under any circumstances, because they'll be seized at customs and put your business at risk.

Every order gets a photo check on arrival at our warehouse — quantity, model, and obvious defects. For higher-value orders we recommend a full quality inspection before dispatch, which we can arrange.

Because goods pass through our warehouse first, we catch wrong or damaged items before they ship — and raise it with the seller for replacement or refund while the unpaid balance still gives you leverage.

Chinese yuan (RMB), and they are domestic prices: no export markup, no international shipping option in most listings, and no allowance for foreign payment methods. We pay sellers in RMB from our Chinese account, so you settle one invoice in your own currency and never need a yuan account or Alipay.

Technically yes, but you would need a Chinese phone number, a verified Alipay account, a mainland delivery address and enough Mandarin to handle a dispute. Most 1688 sellers will not ship abroad, will not accept a foreign card, and will not answer in English. An agent replaces all of that with a single invoice and one shipment.

Buy-out is normally charged as a commission on the order value, because the work scales with what is bought — more sellers, more payments, more parcels to receive and consolidate. We agree it before buying anything. Freight, duties and any inspection sit outside that number, with us as with any agent; a quote that appears to include everything is usually hiding a freight assumption.