What is 1688, and why do resellers buy there?

Q: How is 1688 different from Alibaba.com and AliExpress?

1688 : wholesale, for buyers in China. Alibaba.com : wholesale too, but for buyers abroad. The group calls it its international online wholesale marketplace. AliExpress : the group’s global e-commerce platform. It sells one piece at a time and delivers abroad. You often find the same product on all three: why the same product photo shows up everywhere .

Q: How does Rabbit buy from 1688 for you?

Search. Send me a 1688 link, a photo or a few words: I search 1688 and AliExpress and show you what I find. You never read Chinese or talk to the supplier, and nothing I write to you is in Chinese. When my search finds nothing, a person in China searches for you. Price it. Before you order, I estimate the cost delivered to your door and your estimated profit on each sale. In the US, the import duties on goods from China are counted. Order. You order and pay in Rabbit, in dollars with a US account. Your first order doesn’t need a subscription. Receive in China. Your goods arrive at my warehouse in China. Every parcel is opened, checked and photographed, and you see the photos before it ships. If a piece doesn’t match, I offer a replacement, a credit or a refund. Ship. I ship to you, in the US or in any of the 23 countries I deliver to. A shipping quote is a ceiling: it can go down when the parcel is weighed, never up. Search for a product

1688 is the Alibaba group’s domestic wholesale marketplace in China: suppliers sell in bulk, in Chinese, to buyers in China. Resellers buy there because prices are set for those buyers, and the price per piece drops as the quantity grows. Rabbit buys on 1688 for you, from the US or any of the 23 countries it ships to.

By Hussayn Delli, founder of Rabbit · Updated November 9, 2026.

What is 1688?

In its 2025 annual report, the Alibaba group describes 1688.com as “an integrated domestic wholesale marketplace in China”. Domestic means the buyers are in China. Wholesale means you buy in quantity. That is why the site is in Chinese and its suppliers deliver to addresses in China.

How is 1688 different from Alibaba.com and AliExpress?

1688: wholesale, for buyers in China.
Alibaba.com: wholesale too, but for buyers abroad. The group calls it its international online wholesale marketplace.
AliExpress: the group’s global e-commerce platform. It sells one piece at a time and delivers abroad.

You often find the same product on all three: why the same product photo shows up everywhere.

Why do resellers buy on 1688?

Because prices there are set for buyers in China who buy in bulk. Two rules shape most listings:

The price per piece drops with the quantity. A listing can show several prices, one per quantity step.
The seller often sets a minimum. On October 31, 2026, we kept 436 products from 1688’s own ranking of what sells in the US. 233 of them sell from one piece. 203 have a minimum above one piece, up to 200 pieces.

Two examples from that catalog. “You pay” is what a piece costs you in Rabbit, our fees included. The estimated profit is per piece, on a batch of 20 delivered to the US, after shipping, the TikTok Shop fee, the parcel to your buyer and US import duties, without ads. US prices were seen on October 31, 2026; costs were calculated on November 4, 2026.

Wooden piggy bank, minimum 3 pieces: you pay $8.00 a piece, it sold for $39.99 in the US, estimated profit $13.34 a piece.
Travel watch case, minimum 10 pieces: you pay $4.77 a piece, it sold for $42.99 in the US, estimated profit $12.49 a piece.

Is a product from 1688 always worth reselling?

No. Of the 169 products from that catalog that we could price completely, delivered to the US at 20 pieces, 142 left no profit: a loss, or nothing. Only 27 left one. The gap between the 1688 price and the US price is not your profit: shipping, duties and the fees of the platform where you sell come out of it first. How to calculate your profit on a product from China, and the products that pass, with their numbers.

Can you buy on 1688 from outside China?

Not directly: the site is in Chinese, the seller expects to be paid in China and ships to an address in China. You need someone there who orders, pays, receives, checks and ships. The steps are in how to buy from 1688 without speaking Chinese, and the address question in I don’t have an address in China.

How does Rabbit buy from 1688 for you?

Search. Send me a 1688 link, a photo or a few words: I search 1688 and AliExpress and show you what I find. You never read Chinese or talk to the supplier, and nothing I write to you is in Chinese. When my search finds nothing, a person in China searches for you.
Price it. Before you order, I estimate the cost delivered to your door and your estimated profit on each sale. In the US, the import duties on goods from China are counted.
Order. You order and pay in Rabbit, in dollars with a US account. Your first order doesn’t need a subscription.
Receive in China. Your goods arrive at my warehouse in China. Every parcel is opened, checked and photographed, and you see the photos before it ships. If a piece doesn’t match, I offer a replacement, a credit or a refund.
Ship. I ship to you, in the US or in any of the 23 countries I deliver to. A shipping quote is a ceiling: it can go down when the parcel is weighed, never up.

Search for a product

Sources

Alibaba Group — annual report 2025 (Form 20-F), describing 1688, Alibaba.com and AliExpress, read on November 9, 2026

For your exact situation: your accountant or a customs broker.