How to Wholesale China Toys From 1688? The Complete Guide

With reference to B2B Toys Wholesale, I believe the first platform come to your mind should be Alibaba.com. As is known to all, Alibaba is a famous website for merchants to Buy Wholesale From China. However, I’ve met lots of clients who look to Wholesale China Toys From 1688.com. Most of them ask my help cause they have no idea how to source toys on 1688.

In this article, I’ll show you how to Wholesale China Toys from 1688 step by step. Continue reading and use the links below to jump to a specific section.

1. What is 1688.com?

1688.com is a Chinese-language B2B wholesale website under the management of Alibaba Group. Alike with Alibaba.com, 1688.com serves as a medium between suppliers and buyers, who is featured by single Chinese language and only support RMB transactions.

To a large extent, 1688.com was designed to target domestic traders to buy wholesale in China. However, nowadays, with its growing reputation, more and more overseas buyers tend to seek manufacturers from 1688 directly and obtain more competitive prices.

2. How to Translate 1688.com to English Website?

We can use Google Chrome browser to quickly translate the whole website into English version. Kindly download one if you don’t have this browser. Here are 2 steps,

Step #1: Open 1688.com

Step #2: Right click on the blank and choose “Translate to English”. Then you can see a English website.

3. How to Register for an Account On 1688.com?

Currently, 1688 is limiting browse times of those who are not membership. You would be asked to log in after a few times browsing. Despite the fact that an agent can help purchase, without an account, you cannot communicate with the suppliers on 1688. Moreover, it’s quite easy for you to create an account as long as you have a phone number. Here are 5 steps to register,

Step #1: Go to Sign Up Page and sign up the personal account.

You can only sign up the personal account (个人账户注册) if you don’t have a Chinese business license. Even if you have one, I would still suggest personal account cause there is no point registering a company account whose process is much more complicated. Click the orange button (CN. 同意协议 / EN. Consent Agreement) to continue.

Step #2: Fill Out Sign Up Information

• Name of Membership (会员名). The length range is 5~25 characters. Note that it can’t be changed once being set.
• Set Your Password (登录密码). Note that it cannot be same as the username. The length range is 6~20 characters, which can only include letters, numbers or punctuation and 2 types of the three are must-contain.
• Re-enter the Password (密码确认). This step aims to confirm and correct.
• Country & Phone NO (手机号码). Click the downward arrow next to +86 to select your country code. Then text your cell phone number, preparing for receiving SMS verification code in later step.
• Verification Box (验证码). Drag the box with rightward arrows from left to right, which aims to verify that you are not robot.
• Check the box to agree its agreements.
• Click the button (CN.同意并注册 EN. Agree to Register) to continue.

Step #3: Input Verification Code

You would receive a message with 6-digit number on your phone. Fill in the code and submit. Till now, you have registered the account successfully if nothing goes wrong.

Step #4: Complete Your Profile

Fill out the required areas with red asterisk (*). For identity (会员身份), I suggest individual (个人). And for business scope (主营方向), I suggest the selection of I am a buyer (我要采购). As for business type (主营身份类型), I recommend the choice of online business (网商). Kindly check below picture to complete the profile.

4. How Do I Search for Toys on 1688?

4.1 Keyword Search

Similar with alibaba.com, just type your keywords in the search box and the results would pop up. The only difference is that you should input Chinese simplified characters even if the website has been translated into English version. Because you can only get few results when searching by English keywords.

1688.com is a wholesale platform on the basis of Chinese language. Therefore, if you plan to Wholesale China Toys from 1688, kindly make full use of translate app to prepare Chinese keywords in advance.

4.2 Picture Search

I would strongly recommend this way if you already have choices in mind. Firstly, you can find and download toy pictures from Amazon, Aliexpress or other B2C platforms. Next, use the camera icon to upload picture to 1688. Then you would get great number of results.

4.3 Check Product Information

Click the toy you are interested and enter into the product page. Scroll down, you could find product details. Normally, the words on pictures are all in Chinese so just take them for appearance reference.

Note that the packing information is not always correct so you should check with the supplier and get right data. Moreover, do not make payment before confirming with supplier whether the toys are in stock or not. The stock status is hard to identify by just looking over the website.

5. How to Find Suitable Suppliers on 1688?

5.1 Check Company Information

When you enter into the product page, click the company (公司档案) to check detailed company information. Find factory pictures, company address, size, history and production capability, etc information in this page. Note that not all information provided are true. You can only take them for reference. Kindly check pictures below.

5.2 Distinguish Manufacturer and Trading Company

The easiest way to identify manufacturer is to check its product categories. If the company has many different categories, it can be regard as trading company. For example, if you find both building blocks and inflatable toys in one shop. Then definitely this shop is doing trading business cause a factory cannot manufacture this 2 kinds toys at the same time.

It’s not hard to find some companies who have many categories tag themselves as manufacturers. Some of them have close cooperative relationship with factories, some don’t. You can ask those companies who only have one category if need customization service.

However, if you only want to buy a few pieces stock, then there is no point to be hung up on business types. In this case, the services and product quality would be your priorities during the Wholesale China Toys process.

5.3 Better Communicate With Suppliers

Normally, most of 1688 suppliers can speak basic English and some of them have good English level. For those who don’t speak English at all, do not worry since they can use translate apps to communicate. Here are 3 ways to contact suppliers,

5.3.1 Use Tool Aliwangwang (阿里旺旺)

Aliwangwang(Download the APP), different from Trademanager serving Alibaba.com, is a chat tool for domestic platforms of Alibaba Group, 1688.com and Taobao.com. You can easily find the blue icon and click it to talk with suppliers.

5.3.2 Use Wechat & QQ

Nearly every Chinese has a WeChat ID. People in China love WeChat because it’s very convenient and quick to communicate. Mostly, 1688 suppliers would display their phone number, WeChat ID or QQ on the banner of shop. Also, you could click the contact (联系方式) on the menu bar to check their contacts.

5.3.3 Hire An Agent

Buying a few stock toys from 1688 is not difficult. However, when it comes to bulk toys with various kinds, you have to contact multiple suppliers around the same time. With language and culture barriers, that could be a quite tough work. Time is money, a good agent can help you save both. I would strongly recommend you to find an agent to help Wholesale China Toys.

6. How Do I Make Payment on 1688.com?

Since 1688.com is a Chinese-language wholesale platform, the suppliers only offer RMB prices and accept RMB payment if you directly pay on 1688. Here are 3 ways to make payment for 1688 suppliers,

6.1 Use Alipay

Nowadays, Alipay has launched “Alipay Global”. As long as you have a mobile number, passport and visa bank card, you are able to buy from Taobao.com and 1688.com directly through Alipay after registering. Search “Alipay Global” in google, you could find many blogs to teach you how to use.

6.2 Use Wire Transfer

If the order you place is not small, the majority of 1688 suppliers would accept T/T. Before making payment, please make sure the supplier is reliable enough or ask your agent to help check its background.

6.3 Use Alibaba Trade Assurance

With powerful background, some 1688 suppliers have Alibaba websites as well. You can ask them to use Alibaba Trade Assurance especially it’s your first order.

7. How to Ship Toys From 1688?

Shipping costs play a very important role when you have plans to Wholesale China Toys. It is a must-consider factor during your toys import process cause it decides your benefits to a certain degree. Moreover, be attentive and careful when calculating the shipping costs.

7.1 Merchant Newbie Without Warehouse

If you are a new comer in toy business and don’t have warehouse in China, I would suggest you find a shipping forwarder to help deal with all affairs. An expert forwarder would help you save great costs as well as speed up the whole import process efficiently.

7.2 You Already Have Warehouse

Things would be much easier if you have warehouse in China. You can directly pay on 1688.com and the sellers would send out goods during 24 hours. Normally, you could receive goods in 2-4 days.

7.3 Bulk Wholesale China Toys

You may consider ocean shipping when buying bulk wholesale toys from 1688. In this case, you should find a forwarder to help ship to your country. Ask your agent to confirm all goods details with your supplier and ensure all data right before shipping.

8. Is 1688 Cheaper Than AliExpress/Taobao/Alibaba?

To Chinese, 1688.com is the cheapest wholesale website in China. The true manufacturers on 1688.com takes up over 50%. They are true factories who can supply the lowest market prices and support customization & development. Many suppliers on AliExpress, Taobao, or Alibaba.com also source products and suppliers from 1688, thereby 1688.com should be the cheapest one.

The End

Thanks for coming me with here. Hope this article can help you easily Wholesale China Toys from 1688. Import toys from China could never be a difficult process. Learn from this blog to find best China Toys Suppliers.

Now it’s your turn. I’d love to hear your experiences on sourcing from 1688.com. Kindly leave a comment and share your ideas. Feel free to contact us if there is any question. We are of service at any time.