The 1688 before-payment checklist
Six things to confirm before you transfer money to a 1688 supplier — supplier, product, MOQ, package, customs, and evidence. Each item links to the tool that checks it. Use it to keep payment behind a check, not on trust.
The checklist
Six checks before you pay
Work through it like a tool, not an article — tick what you've confirmed. Progress is saved on this device, so you can come back as supplier answers arrive.
Your progress: 0/19 confirmed
Ticks are saved on this device.
Confirm you are paying a real, traceable supplier — not a thin reseller or a scam.
Confirm the listing is really your product, not just a similar photo.
Confirm duty, VAT/GST, and the HS code — these change the real cost.
Confirm the product is allowed and that China-side evidence will exist.
Stop signals
Red flags that should pause payment
The checklist above confirms what should be true. These six flags are the opposite — patterns that should stop a payment until they are explained. Each one maps to a real check our engine runs.
Asks you to pay off-platform
A request to wire money to a personal account, WeChat, or any channel outside 1688's order system removes every buyer protection at once. This is the single most common pattern behind total-loss cases.
How it gets checked
Keep payment on-platform, tied to an order. Supplymo never wires suppliers directly on your behalf.
Price far below every comparable listing
When one listing is dramatically cheaper than ~200 comparable offers, it is usually a different product, an accessory listed under the product's name, or bait pricing that changes after contact.
How it gets checked
Our engine compares each offer's price against the full match set and flags outliers automatically.
Quality return rate worse than peers
1688 publishes a 30-day quality return rate per supplier. A rate above ~5%, or clearly worse than category peers, predicts the defect disputes you would have after paying.
How it gets checked
One of 7 signals we percentile-rank against peers: returns, service, disputes, after-sales, repurchase, fulfillment, years.
Trader posing as a factory
Resellers marked up as “factories” add margin without adding control. Not fatal — but you should know who actually makes the goods before negotiating price or quality terms.
How it gets checked
We read the supplier's declared identity and certificates to classify factory vs trader tiers.
Listing carries a patent / brand mark
A patent-flagged or brand-adjacent listing can clear China and still be seized at your destination, or get your marketplace account suspended for IP infringement.
How it gets checked
Patent-marked listings trigger a confirm-your-rights warning; brand/IP-risk products go to manual review.
Refuses samples, certificates, or production photos
A supplier unwilling to evidence the product before a bulk payment is asking you to carry all the risk. Photos on the listing prove nothing about your batch.
How it gets checked
Sample-first is one of our five standard decisions; missing evidence is listed in every report.
Ask the supplier
Copy-paste messages that collect the evidence
Most checklist items are answered by the supplier — if you ask the right way. Send the Chinese version on 1688 chat; the English version shows you what it says.
Ask for the business license & certificates
Before any payment — confirms you're dealing with a real company.
Chinese · paste this into 1688 chat
你好，我们是海外采购商，下单前需要核实贵司资质。方便发一下营业执照和这款产品的相关认证（如质检报告）吗？谢谢。
English · what it says
Hello, we are an overseas buyer. Before ordering we need to verify your company. Could you share your business license and any certificates or test reports for this product? Thank you.
Ask for carton data (for freight quotes)
Before requesting any shipping quote — freight needs real numbers.
Chinese · paste this into 1688 chat
请问这款产品的装箱数据方便发一下吗？需要外箱尺寸（长宽高）、单箱毛重、每箱装多少个，我们要计算国际运费。
English · what it says
Could you send the packing data for this product? We need the carton dimensions (L×W×H), gross weight per carton, and units per carton to calculate international freight.
Ask about samples before bulk
When photos can't prove material or build quality.
Chinese · paste this into 1688 chat
我们想先拿样品确认品质，再下批量订单。请问样品怎么收费？后续下大货的话样品费可以抵扣吗？
English · what it says
We'd like to check a sample before placing a bulk order. What is the sample cost, and can it be credited against the bulk order later?
Ask for real photos & stock status
When the listing photos look like renders or stock images.
Chinese · paste this into 1688 chat
方便发几张产品和包装的实拍照片吗？另外想确认一下现货库存情况，和详情页是否一致。
English · what it says
Could you send a few real photos of the product and its packaging? We'd also like to confirm current stock matches the listing.
Run the numbers
Check the landed cost before you commit
A 1688 unit price is not your real cost. Estimate duty, VAT, and freight to your door in 10 seconds.
Quick landed-cost estimate
Real freight lines, official duty & VAT data.
Result
Fill the fields and press Estimate. Freight scenarios, duty, and VAT come from the same engine as our reports.
Open the full calculatorSee it applied
The checklist in action: three real teardowns
Aluminum phone stand
ContinueContinue to quote if the buyer accepts a narrow first SKU mix and collects carton/packaging evidence before payment.
Read the teardown
Pet bed
Sample firstSample first if material, odor, compression, and real packed size are not clear. The visible 1688 price is not enough for a first bulk order.
Read the teardown
Reusable storage bag
StopStop before supplier payment unless the buyer can clarify material, claims, MOQ, and package volume. A low listing price is not enough.
Read the teardown
Questions
Before-payment checklist: common questions
What should I check before paying a 1688 supplier?
Before transferring money, confirm six things: the supplier is real and traceable, the listing matches your product, the MOQ is realistic for a test batch, the package data is ready for a freight quote, the HS code and destination duty/VAT are understood, and the product is not restricted. Keep payment behind this check rather than paying on trust.
What are the biggest red flags when buying from 1688?
The strongest stop signals are: a request to pay off-platform (personal account or chat transfer), a price far below every comparable listing, a 30-day quality return rate worse than category peers, a reseller posing as a factory, a patent- or brand-flagged listing, and a supplier who refuses samples, certificates, or production photos before bulk payment. Any one of these should pause payment until it is explained.
Is this checklist a guarantee my order will succeed?
No. The checklist reduces avoidable risk by making missing fields and red flags visible before payment. It does not guarantee supplier quality, exact duty or tax, customs clearance, freight price, delivery time, or sales performance.
Can I get the duty or landed cost from this page?
This page tells you what to confirm; the duty and landed cost depend on your destination country's official tariff and your product's classification. Use the landed-cost calculator and the official source for your market to estimate it — never a fixed rate.
How do I turn the checklist into a decision?
Submit the product link, quantity, destination, SKU count, and package data for a Product Check. Supplymo attaches the assumptions, missing fields, risk tags, and quote boundaries so you get a written continue / sample-first / request-info / manual-review / stop decision before payment.
Turn the checklist into a written decision
Send the product link, quantity, destination, and package data. Supplymo returns a before-payment sourcing decision — continue, sample first, request info, manual review, or stop — with the full cost stack and risks.