How to Use 1688 in English: Translate, Search and Read Prices

Is there an English version of 1688?

No. 1688.com is Alibaba's domestic wholesale marketplace for Chinese businesses, and the site and app are in Simplified Chinese. There is a cross-border site, global.1688.com, which shows selected suppliers and trending products for overseas buyers, but it is a showcase, not a full English copy of 1688. If you want an English site with international shipping built in, that is Alibaba.com, which we compare in Alibaba vs 1688 for Pakistani buyers.

Be careful with apps in app stores that call themselves "1688 English". Some are third-party shopping apps that buy on 1688 for you, with their own fees and rules. Check who the developer is before you sign up or pay anything.

How do you translate 1688 in your browser?

The simplest way is Google Chrome on a laptop or desktop:

1. Open 1688.com in Chrome.
2. Click the Translate icon on the right side of the address bar, or right-click anywhere on the page and choose "Translate to English".
3. Pick English. If the translation stops working as you scroll or open a new listing, refresh the page.
4. To translate just one line, such as a variant name, highlight it, right-click and choose "Translate selection to English".

Microsoft Edge has a similar built-in translator. Expect product titles to come out rough, because Chinese titles are stuffed with keywords. Specification tables usually translate much better, so read the specs rather than the title.

Can you use the 1688 app in English?

The official 1688 app is in Chinese. On a phone, the practical workaround is a camera or screenshot translator. Take a screenshot of the listing and open it in Google Lens or the Google Translate app to read it in English. It is slower than Chrome on a laptop, but it works for checking a variant or a size chart.

The app is useful for one thing a laptop does less well: image search with your phone's camera. Point it at an item, or pick a photo from your gallery, and it finds similar listings.

How do you search 1688 by image?

On the website, click the camera icon at the right of the search bar and upload a product photo. On the app, tap the camera icon in the search bar. Results show listings that look similar, often from many sellers at different prices, because the same product is commonly made or resold by several factories.

Image search works best with a clean product photo on a plain background. Crop out text, watermarks and people. If you have a Daraz or Instagram photo of the item, crop it to just the product first. We go deeper on this in how to search Taobao and 1688 by image.

Searching with words. English keywords rarely work well. Translate the product name into Chinese first, using Google Translate, then paste the Chinese into the 1688 search bar. Short, concrete terms work best: the object, then one feature. "Phone holder" plus "car" will find more than a long English description.

When you find a listing that matches, copy the Chinese words from its title and search with those. Sellers use the same trade words, so this finds competing listings for the same item.

How do you read MOQ and price tiers on 1688?

1688 prices are wholesale prices, so the number shown depends on quantity. Most listings show a small table of price breaks, with the minimum order quantity marked as 起批 (qǐ pī), meaning "starting batch". A typical layout looks like this:

Minimums vary a lot. Many listings start at 2, 10 or 50 pieces, while factories selling to other businesses can start at 1,000. The figure to compare against a Pakistani price is always the first tier, not the bottom one. Every colour and size combination can also have its own price, so pick the exact variant before you read the price. Our guide to reading a Taobao or 1688 listing explains variants in detail.

What do the seller badges on 1688 mean?

• 诚信通 (chéngxìntōng): a paid basic membership. A business licence and real-name verification are enough to get it. The number of years shown next to it tells you how long the seller has paid for it, which says something about staying power but not quality.
• 实力商家 (shílì shāngjiā): a separate, stricter certification with a review process and service commitments, including 48-hour dispatch and quick refunds for quality problems. 1688's own wiki says it is not just an upgraded 诚信通.
• 超级工厂 (chāojí gōngchǎng): "super factory", a label for manufacturers with verified production capacity.
• 回头率 (huítóulǜ): repeat-buyer rate. A higher figure means more buyers came back.

How do you contact a 1688 seller?

Every listing has a chat button for Aliwangwang, 1688's built-in messaging tool, and most suppliers also use WeChat. Suppliers' English is usually limited, so short, plain messages work best: one question per message, with the variant name copied from the listing. Translate your question into Chinese with Google Translate and paste both versions. Useful questions are whether a sample below the minimum is possible, how long dispatch takes, and what exactly is in the box.

The shop page also shows company details such as the date of incorporation, registered capital and address. 1688 suppliers must hold a Chinese business licence, so a supplier with no company details showing is unusual and worth skipping.

Can you buy on 1688 directly from Pakistan?

In theory, partly. Overseas buyers register as individuals, link a personal Alipay account, and verify it with a passport and a live photo check. Some suppliers accept international cards, and payment services such as WorldFirst let overseas buyers pay participating suppliers in Chinese yuan.

In practice, three things stop most single buyers in Pakistan. Most suppliers expect Alipay, WeChat Pay or a Chinese bank transfer. Most suppliers deliver only inside China, and even WorldFirst notes the 24-hour dispatch promise does not apply to cross-border delivery. And there is no way to have a 1688 seller post one item to Lahore. JazzCash, Easypaisa and Raast do not work on Chinese platforms either. Our guide to paying Chinese sellers from Pakistan covers the options.

Why do you still need an agent to buy and ship?

Because the item has to land at an address in China first. Someone in China pays the seller in yuan, receives the parcel from the seller's domestic courier, then sends it abroad and deals with customs at the other end. Translation tools help you choose. They do not solve payment, the domestic address or international shipping.

An agent also helps with the MOQ problem. Many sellers will sell a sample below the stated minimum at a higher unit price, but they will only agree to that with someone who can message them in Chinese and pay them in yuan.

From 1688 search to delivery in Pakistan, step by step

1. Find the item by image or Chinese keyword, and open two or three competing listings.
2. Translate each with Chrome and read the specs table, not the title.
3. Pick the exact variant (colour, size, plug type) and note its first-tier price and minimum.
4. Check the seller: years on 诚信通, any 实力商家 badge, repeat-buyer rate and review count.
5. Copy the listing link. On the app, use the share button and copy the link.
6. Send the link and the variant you want to whoever is buying for you, and get a full landed price before paying.

Common mistakes when using 1688 in English

• Comparing the 500-piece price with a single retail price in Pakistan. You will pay the first-tier price, or more for a sample.
• Trusting the translated title. Titles are keyword lists. The specs and the variant names are what you are actually buying.
• Reading 包邮 as free shipping to Pakistan. 包邮 (bāo yóu) means shipping included within mainland China only.
• Ignoring the plug and voltage. China uses 220V at 50Hz, close to Pakistan, but plug shapes differ, so check what the listing ships with.
• Downloading a lookalike "1688 English" app and paying it without knowing who runs it.

If you only want one piece, send us the 1688 link on WhatsApp with the variant you want. We reply within 24 hours with one rupee price covering the item, shipping, customs and our stated fee, and you pay once before it ships. We do not take bulk or wholesale orders, only single items.

Sources

• WorldFirst: guide to buying from 1688 outside China
• Fishgoo: 1688 in English
• Google Chrome Help: translate pages
• 1688 Wiki: 诚信通 vs 实力商家
• MDBG Chinese-English dictionary