How much does the agent charge on a 1688 order?

The same fee structure applies as for any platform - and as of 2026-10-01 the purchasing service fee is 0 (currently waived), as is the online payment processing fee. Settlement FX is plain mid-market, shown on the order. There are no per-item or per-order add-ons beyond the published rate card.

Can I buy just one item from 1688?

Often yes - many sellers accept below-MOQ orders at a higher unit price, or run separate single-piece listings. The listing's minimum and tier table tell you; when in doubt, ask the agent to confirm with the seller before ordering.

Do tier prices apply across different colors/sizes?

By default tiers apply per SKU - mixed variants usually do not pool into one tier unless the seller agrees. Confirm via your agent before assuming the volume price on a mixed-SKU cart.

What does a US$1,000 order really cost landed?

Worked example in this article: ¥7,100 goods + ¥355 service fee + ¥190.08 freight (US, 2 kg) = ¥7,645.08 before duties - roughly US$1,076.77 at the example 7.1 rate. Duties depend on your country and category: US rates are set at clearance; UK/EU/CA formulas are in our customs FAQ hub. Always add your country's taxes before comparing suppliers.

Is 1688 still cheaper than Taobao after all the fees?

At quantity, usually yes by a wide margin - the goods line drops 10-20%+ at tiers while per-unit freight shrinks. For one-off single items, the service fee and freight often erase the unit-price gap, and Taobao's consumer protections are stronger. The deciding number is landed cost per unit at your real quantity.

How do I estimate duties on my 1688 haul?

Apply your country's formula: duty = (goods + shipping where applicable) × category rate, plus VAT/GST on top for UK/EU/CA, with the US assessed at clearance. Use the in-article estimator for a preview with declared value, and your customs authority's tariff database as the authoritative source.

Do I need a Chinese company or bank account to buy from 1688?

No. A purchasing agent provides the domestic payment rails and warehouse address; you pay the agent from your account balance. Many small businesses worldwide operate exactly this way - order samples, inspect at the warehouse, consolidate, ship.

Home / Buying Guides / What Does a 1688 Order Really Cost? Commission, Freight and Duties to Your Door (2026)

What Does a 1688 Order Really Cost? Commission, Freight and Duties to Your Door (2026)

Published 2026-09-27 · Updated 2026-10-01 · About 10 min read · BUYCN

Update (2026-10-01): BUYCN has set the purchasing service fee and the online payment processing fee to 0 (waived), and settlement FX is plain mid-market with no markup. The worked examples below keep the earlier 5%-fee / +1.5%-FX rate card for illustration only - treat the service-fee line as ¥0 at today's checkout.

Why 1688 needs its own cost math

1688 is China's domestic wholesale marketplace: prices sit close to factory level, listings carry minimum order quantities (MOQ) and quantity-based price tiers, and nothing ships abroad directly. The platform price is only the first line of a five-line landed-cost calculation - buyers who compare sticker prices alone routinely misjudge whether 1688 beats retail. The five lines:

Goods value - the tier price × your quantity.
Agent service fee - currently 0 (waived as of 2026-10-01); the worked examples below keep the earlier 5%-fee rate card for illustration.
Domestic shipping - seller to the China warehouse; often free, ¥0-12 when charged (actuals prevail).
International freight - chargeable weight × per-kg rate + registration fee.
Import duties/taxes - set by your customs authority; you are the importer of record (actuals at clearance).

The US$1,000 order, line by line

A typical small-business starter order: ~US$1,000 of goods at tier pricing. Currency note: orders settle in CNY at plain mid-market with no markup (transparent, shown on every order); the US$ figures below use an example rate of 7.1 for readability - payment amounts prevail.

Line item	Amount (CNY)	Notes
Goods value (≈US$1,000)	¥7,100	Tier price × quantity at the 2-10 pcs tier
Service fee (5%)	¥355	Min ¥8 rule not binding at this size; first order: −up to ¥20 → ¥335
Domestic shipping to warehouse	¥0	Many 1688 sellers ship free; ¥0-12 when charged (actuals prevail)
International freight - US line, 2 kg general goods	¥190.08	= ¥85.86/kg × 2 + ¥18.36 registration (published baseline incl. markup - live quote prevails)
Total before duties	¥7,645.08	≈ US$1,076.77 at the example rate
Import duties/taxes (US)	at clearance	US rates for China-origin goods not restated here - the estimator previews and customs decides

Worked example on published reference baselines; example FX rate for readability - checkout and clearance actuals prevail.

Read the two teaching points in that table: first, at ¥7,100 the 5% fee (¥355) dwarfs the ¥8 minimum - the minimum matters only on tiny orders (a ¥100 order pays ¥8, not ¥5). Second, the first-order reduction (up to ¥20) applies automatically per the published rules, shaving the fee to ¥335 on this example.

The same order, small and light (AU line)

Not every haul is 2 kg to the US. A ¥1,000 goods order shipping 1 kg of general goods to Australia on the published AU baseline (¥87.48 for 1 kg): goods ¥1,000 + service fee ¥50 + freight ¥87.48 = ¥1,137.48 before duties (≈ US$160 at the example rate; duties per your customs authority - actuals prevail). Freight share is small when goods are heavy-ticket and light-weight - the opposite of the ¥15-phone-case problem.

Tier pricing: why quantity changes the answer

A typical 1688 listing reads: MOQ 2 at ¥25.00 | 50-199 pcs ¥22.50 | 200-999 pcs ¥21.00 (illustrative structure - each listing sets its own). At 2 pieces your landed cost per unit carries the full freight share; at 200 pieces the per-unit freight is pennies and the tier price drops 16%. The 5% service fee scales with goods value and never benefits from quantity - only freight and the goods line do. That is why the honest comparison is always landed cost per unit, computed at your real quantity (see the 6-step method below).

The 6-step landed-cost method

Confirm the tier price for your quantity — Check MOQ and price tiers on the listing for your real quantity - tiers apply per SKU by default; ask before assuming mixed variants count together.
Add the service fee — Currently 0 (waived as of 2026-10-01); the worked examples below keep the earlier 5% rate card for illustration.
Add domestic shipping — Seller to warehouse - often free; ¥0-12 when charged (actuals prevail).
Estimate international freight — Chargeable weight = max(actual, volumetric ÷8000); multiply by the line's per-kg rate and add the registration fee - or just use the estimator below.
Estimate duties — Apply your country's formula to declared value (plus shipping where the formula includes it); treat every number as an estimate - customs actuals prevail.
Compare landed cost per unit — All-in total ÷ units. That number - not the listing price - decides whether 1688 beats retail for your order size.

Try the freight estimator

Pick a destination and parcel weight to compare channel rates instantly (chargeable weight = the greater of actual and volumetric weight).

Open the full estimator ›

Pitfalls to avoid

Quoting the MOQ price for a below-MOQ quantity - single-piece or small-quantity purchases usually pay a higher unit price.
Assuming tier prices pool across variants - they are per SKU unless the seller says otherwise; confirm through the agent before ordering mixed SKUs.
Forgetting production lead time - many 1688 orders are made to order; start slow items first and use the 90-day free storage window to gather the haul.
Sampling nothing - the sample order is the cheapest insurance on any new supplier; verify quality at the warehouse while fixes are domestic.
Reading duties as zero because the platform does not collect them - DAP parcels get billed by the carrier later; budget for your country's taxes (clearance actuals prevail).
Comparing 1688 with Taobao on sticker price only - freight share per unit, service fee and taxes can flip the ranking at your real quantity (see our platform-comparison guide).

FAQ

How much does the agent charge on a 1688 order?: The same fee structure applies as for any platform - and as of 2026-10-01 the purchasing service fee is 0 (currently waived), as is the online payment processing fee. Settlement FX is plain mid-market, shown on the order. There are no per-item or per-order add-ons beyond the published rate card.
Can I buy just one item from 1688?: Often yes - many sellers accept below-MOQ orders at a higher unit price, or run separate single-piece listings. The listing's minimum and tier table tell you; when in doubt, ask the agent to confirm with the seller before ordering.
Do tier prices apply across different colors/sizes?: By default tiers apply per SKU - mixed variants usually do not pool into one tier unless the seller agrees. Confirm via your agent before assuming the volume price on a mixed-SKU cart.
What does a US$1,000 order really cost landed?: Worked example in this article: ¥7,100 goods + ¥355 service fee + ¥190.08 freight (US, 2 kg) = ¥7,645.08 before duties - roughly US$1,076.77 at the example 7.1 rate. Duties depend on your country and category: US rates are set at clearance; UK/EU/CA formulas are in our customs FAQ hub. Always add your country's taxes before comparing suppliers.
Is 1688 still cheaper than Taobao after all the fees?: At quantity, usually yes by a wide margin - the goods line drops 10-20%+ at tiers while per-unit freight shrinks. For one-off single items, the service fee and freight often erase the unit-price gap, and Taobao's consumer protections are stronger. The deciding number is landed cost per unit at your real quantity.
How do I estimate duties on my 1688 haul?: Apply your country's formula: duty = (goods + shipping where applicable) × category rate, plus VAT/GST on top for UK/EU/CA, with the US assessed at clearance. Use the in-article estimator for a preview with declared value, and your customs authority's tariff database as the authoritative source.
Do I need a Chinese company or bank account to buy from 1688?: No. A purchasing agent provides the domestic payment rails and warehouse address; you pay the agent from your account balance. Many small businesses worldwide operate exactly this way - order samples, inspect at the warehouse, consolidate, ship.

Fee basis: freight figures are published on-site reference baselines (selling-rate basis) - live estimator quotes and outbound actuals prevail; import duties/taxes are determined by your customs authority. BUYCN does not provide duty-paid (tax-inclusive) shipping.