Wholesale, not retail
Hacoo sells single items to individual shoppers. 1688, run by the Alibaba group for the domestic Chinese market, sells mostly to businesses: small shops, market stalls and online resellers buying stock. That changes how its listings work. Prices are often tiered by quantity, many listings set a minimum order, and descriptions assume a buyer who knows the trade. When a 1688 row in a spreadsheet shows a price far below Hacoo's, the minimum quantity is usually the reason.
| Question | 1688 | Hacoo |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | Businesses in China | Individual shoppers abroad |
| Minimum quantity | Often | No |
| Ships abroad | No; use an agent | Yes |
| Language | Chinese | Several languages in the app |
| Link format | detail.1688.com/offer/….html | App share links |
Low prices come with quantities attached.
When 1688 makes sense for a personal order
- When the listing accepts single units at a fair price.
- When you genuinely want several of the same thing, such as plain T-shirts in three colours.
- When friends are ordering together through one agent account and one parcel.
Otherwise, Taobao or Weidian listings of the same item, or Hacoo itself, are usually easier. We don't cover reselling or buying stock to sell on; this page is about personal orders.
Good for multiples; awkward for a single piece.
Rescuing 1688 rows from closed agents
Autocomplete for "1688 spreadsheet" suggests "cnfans" and "taobao" next to it, a sign of how many 1688 rows were shared in CNFans format before that agent closed in August 2026. The offer number inside each row still works. Paste the row into our converter; it recognises 1688 addresses and builds links for eight agents whose 1688 formats we could confirm. For other agents, paste the 1688 address into their search box. Our CNFans page covers the rescue in more detail.
Old 1688 rows need a new wrapper, not a new search.
From Hacoo to 1688
Some Hacoo items trace back to 1688 factories or wholesalers, especially basics and accessories. If your image search turns up a 1688 listing, check the minimum quantity first, then the size chart and material. If the minimum is too high, keep searching for a Taobao or Weidian seller of the same item. The Hacoo-to-agent guide explains the matching routine.
Check the minimum before anything else.
Agents and fees for 1688 orders
Open agents on our status list generally buy from 1688, but fees can differ by platform. Superbuy, for example, publishes no service fee for 1688 orders. Check the fee line at checkout, pay per order, and compare the landed total with Hacoo in our calculator. If it's all too much, our WhatsApp service quotes a single delivered price.
Compare the real single-unit landed cost, not the wholesale headline.
Working out the real single-unit cost
A fair comparison between a 1688 row and a Hacoo listing adds up every line for the quantity you actually want. Start with the per-unit price at that quantity, not at the cheapest tier. Add the seller's domestic shipping to the agent's warehouse, which on wholesale listings can be charged per order rather than per unit. Add any agent service fee for 1688 orders, then your share of international shipping and import tax. Only that total compares with Hacoo's checkout, which already includes shipping and adds $5 per extra 0.5 kg above 3 kg. If you are buying three or more of the same plain item, the 1688 route often wins. For a single piece, it rarely does, and a Taobao listing of the same product is usually the better agent option. Our calculator takes those lines one by one, and the men's sheet page explains how to measure basics before ordering several.
Multiply out the real quantity before comparing prices.
One more habit helps with 1688 rows: write the minimum quantity and the per-unit price at that quantity into your own list next to the link. When you come back to the row weeks later, you'll know immediately whether it suits a personal order, without reopening a Chinese-language listing to check the tiers again. If the minimum is too high, note a Taobao or Weidian alternative on the same row.
1688 questions from Hacoo shoppers
Why are 1688 prices so much lower than Hacoo's?
Because 1688 is a wholesale marketplace: prices are set for businesses buying several units, sometimes dozens. Many listings have a minimum order quantity and tiered prices that fall as quantity rises. The single-unit price you'd actually pay, plus the agent's costs and international shipping, is the figure to compare with a Hacoo checkout, not the headline per-unit price.
Will a 1688 seller sell me a single piece?
Sometimes. Some 1688 sellers accept single-unit orders, often at a higher per-unit price; others insist on a minimum quantity. Check the listing's minimum before adding it to an agent cart. If the minimum is more than you want, look for the same item on Taobao or Weidian, or in the Hacoo app, where single units are normal.
How do 1688 links look?
A 1688 product link reads detail.1688.com/offer/ followed by a number and .html. The number identifies the listing. Our converter recognises 1688 addresses and builds links for the eight agents whose 1688 format we could confirm; for the others it tells you to paste the address into the agent's search box, which works everywhere.
Do I need an agent for 1688?
Yes, in practice. 1688 is aimed at buyers within China, with Chinese-language listings and domestic shipping. Agents buy on your behalf, receive goods in their warehouse, photograph them and ship them internationally. Some agents charge different fees for 1688 orders than for Taobao, so check the fee line. Ask whether the minimum quantity applies before paying.
Why do people search '1688 spreadsheet cnfans'?
Because many 1688 rows in shared lists were wrapped in CNFans links, and CNFans closed in August 2026. Those rows aren't lost: the 1688 offer number inside them still works through any open agent. Paste the old row into our converter to extract it, then pick an agent marked open on our status list.