How do I buy from 1688 using a sourcing agent?
Short Answer: Send Links, the Agent Pays in RMB, Receives, Checks, Consolidates and Exports
The workflow is short. You shortlist products and send the 1688 links. The agent confirms specification and price in Chinese, pays in RMB, has goods delivered to their warehouse, checks and consolidates them, then handles export and freight. You pay product cost plus commission plus freight, with no Chinese bank account involved.
The Six-Step Workflow
You shortlist and send links
Links or screenshots plus the quantity and any specification notes per item.
The agent confirms in Chinese
Specification, real MOQ, current stock and price, because listing data is often stale.
Payment in RMB
Paid to the seller's company account through the platform, not to an individual.
Delivery to the agent's warehouse
Domestic delivery within China, usually a few days.
Check and consolidate
Quantities reconciled against your list, photos taken, cartons merged into one shipment.
Export and freight
Declaration filed, packing list and commercial invoice issued, sea or air booked.
What to Send With Your Links
The quality of the order depends almost entirely on the quality of the brief. A list of bare links produces a list of assumptions.
What the Agent Should Verify Before Paying
Paying a 1688 seller is quick and largely irreversible, so the checks belong before the transfer, not after.
| Check | Why it matters | How |
|---|---|---|
| Listing price is current | 1688 prices change frequently and stale listings are common | Confirm in seller chat |
| Real MOQ and stock | Listed MOQ is often not the working MOQ | Ask directly in Chinese |
| Company name matches | Name mismatch appears in 22% of flagged suppliers | Compare listing entity to payee |
| Business status is active | Cancelled or revoked entities should stop the order | GSXT registry lookup |
| Packing detail | Determines carton count and freight volume | Request carton dimensions |
The Consolidation Step Is Where the Value Is
Anyone can forward a parcel. The reason this workflow is worth a commission is what happens between delivery and export, when a pile of unrelated cartons becomes one checked, documented shipment.
Case: Nine Sellers, One Shipment
The client sent 23 1688 links across nine sellers. Four listings were out of stock and two had raised price since the screenshot, which we confirmed before any payment moved. One seller's company name did not match the payee account, so that item was dropped. The remaining goods arrived at our warehouse over eleven days and shipped as one LCL consignment.
What You Should Ask to See
A transparent 1688 workflow produces artefacts. If none of these exist, the process is not being run properly.
How RND SOURCING Runs a 1688 Order
A client's list arrives as links; what goes back is a confirmation sheet with the real MOQ, current price and stock status per item, checked in Chinese with each seller before a single payment. We pay company accounts only, receive at our own Yiwu warehouse, photograph goods against the list and issue a consolidation report before the shipment is booked. Original order screenshots go to the client so the product cost is visible and our commission sits on its own line. We are not a bank or an escrow provider, so the transparency is in the paperwork rather than in a guarantee we are not licensed to give.
Send us a 1688 list to quoteRelated Questions
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Related Reading
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