From a 1688 factory listing to a German doorstep: minimums, code 0 and the per-piece maths

Code 0: how 1688 reaches LitBuy

1688 is Alibaba Group's domestic wholesale marketplace. Its sellers are mostly factories and trading companies, its pages are in Chinese, and it is built for trade buyers who order by the carton. LitBuy opens it directly. In LitBuy's links 1688 is code 0, so an original address such as detail.1688.com/offer/<id>.html becomes litbuy.com/product/0/<id>. LitBuy's estimator page also states, in its own interface text, that it supports exchange-rate conversion and direct purchase for 1688 and Taobao products; we read that line on 19 October 2026.

The "usual" rows in that table are general descriptions, not LitBuy statistics. The sibling pages cover Taobao and Weidian in the same format.

1688 opens like any other row; what differs is who sells and how many you must buy.

The minimum a sheet row does not show

A minimum order quantity is the smallest number of pieces a seller accepts in one order. On 1688 it is common, and the price you see is often the price at the top quantity tier. A sheet that copies "¥22" from a listing may leave out that the tier starts at five pieces, or that a single piece costs more. LitBuy's help centre says nothing about waiving seller minimums, so we assume it does not.

Before a 1688 row goes into your parcel plan, record three numbers in your own sheet: the quantity required for the quoted price, the seller's domestic shipping, and the unit weight. Our LitBuy spreadsheet template has columns for price and assumed weight; add a minimum-quantity column for 1688 rows.

Write down the minimum quantity next to the price, or the price means nothing.

Five pieces from one listing, priced to Germany

The unit price, the minimum of five and the weight are hypothetical, labelled as such; the freight is real. LitBuy's estimator showed €24.12 ($27.10) at the weight of a 1,000 g parcel to Germany on the economy line LIT-Economy-DHL-DE, 19 October 2026, including the ¥24 EU prepayment that LitBuy describes as a flat €3 per parcel. We add the €2 handling fee that applies to parcels submitted after 25 October 2026.

Divided by five pieces, that is €8.22 each, of which €5.22 is the parcel (€26.12 over five). The 1 kg weight sits exactly on the quote; real cartons add packaging, and LitBuy charges on the greater of actual and volumetric weight, using a divisor of 8000 on this line. LitBuy's shipping policy covers the details on the shipping cost page.

Five pieces cost €8.22 each delivered, if you truly want five.

When one piece is all you need

The same parcel logic can turn a wholesale bargain into a loss if you only wanted one item. Suppose a Taobao-style seller offers a single piece of the same hypothetical item at ¥29, with free domestic shipping. At an assumed 0.2 kg it falls inside the 500 g quote, which was €16.81 ($18.89) on the same line.

The wholesale route costs €18.83 more in total and €14.07 less per piece. The crossover depends on how many pieces you want and what you will do with the rest, which is a question for your own plans, not for LitBuy. Pieces you cannot use also sit in storage, where the 90-day free period applies per item.

Wholesale wins on the unit price and loses on the total when you wanted one.

Many identical pieces and the commercial-parcel line

LitBuy's help centre warns that parcels above 10 kg, and parcels with many identical items, are more likely to be treated as commercial. It gives no exact limit, and we do not guess one. Treat it as a classification risk and read the customs page for what LitBuy's lines do.

For a German buyer the EU rules are simple to state. Import VAT of 19% applies from the first euro. A temporary flat €3 customs duty on small parcels up to €150 has applied since 1 July 2026 for each tariff category, so ten identical shirts are one category and a shirt plus a cap are two. LitBuy's tax-free EU lines charge a flat €3 per parcel regardless of categories, and LitBuy pays duty and VAT on those lines. Declare the value truthfully; LitBuy's own forwarding page asks you to do so.

Buy quantities you actually want, and keep the invoice that shows them.

Five checks before a 1688 row joins your parcel

1. Open the LitBuy link and confirm a price, stock and a seller dispatch date appear.
2. Read the quantity tiers: which price applies to the number of pieces you want?
3. Add the seller's domestic shipping, which LitBuy includes in the order total.
4. Estimate the unit weight and multiply it by the quantity; test it with LitBuy's ¥20 rehearsal parcel if the margin is thin.
5. Decide what happens to leftover pieces: LitBuy's return window is five days after the item is stored, and only if the seller offers returns.

If you cannot read the listing, paste the link into our converter to confirm the code and ID, and ask support before paying. Prefer not to register with LitBuy? A WhatsApp QR sits on our contact page; it opens a buying service that gives a delivered price up front, with photos ahead of dispatch and payment order by order.

If the listing is unreadable to you, get it translated before you pay.

Freight for the same cartons to France, the US and the UK

At 1,000 g the cheapest tax-free lines we read on 19 October 2026 were €23.75 ($26.68) to France on LIT-Quickly-GOFO-FR, $37.41 to the United States on FF-GOFO-US-2 and £16.87 ($22.49) to the United Kingdom on FF-Royalmail-GB-1. At 500 g they were €16.44, $23.16 and £11.08. The US and UK quotes do not contain the EU prepayment, and neither is subject to the EU €2 fee. For a wider choice of lines see the marketplace hub and delivery times.

Pick the destination first; the same carton costs very different amounts to move.

1688 questions from LitBuy buyers

Can LitBuy buy from 1688 at all, or only Taobao?

It buys from both. LitBuy's link mapping gives 1688 the code 0, Taobao 1, Weidian 2 and JD 3, and its estimator page states that it supports exchange-rate conversion and direct purchase for 1688 and Taobao products. We read both on 19 October 2026. A 1688 link therefore works like any other row, subject to the seller's minimum order and stock.

What is a minimum order on 1688, and does LitBuy remove it?

A minimum order quantity is the smallest number of pieces a seller will sell in one order, set by the seller. LitBuy's pages we read do not say it waives or lowers any seller's minimum, so assume it stays. A sheet row priced at ¥22 may require five pieces, which is ¥110 before seller shipping. Read the listing's quantity tiers before you commit.

Is 1688 cheaper than Taobao for one item?

Not necessarily. 1688 is built for wholesale buyers, so its low unit prices usually come with quantity requirements, and listings are in Chinese. We have no price comparison of our own to quote. In our hypothetical example, a single piece at ¥29 from a Taobao-style seller came to €22.29 delivered to Germany, while five ¥22 pieces cost €41.12 in total.

Will many identical pieces make Germany treat my parcel as commercial?

LitBuy's help centre says parcels above 10 kg, or containing many identical items, are more likely to be treated as commercial. It publishes no exact threshold, and we will not guess one. For German customs the practical rule is to declare the true value and quantity. Buy quantities you genuinely want, and read LitBuy's customs page before you build a large parcel.

How do I find the item number in a 1688 link?

Original 1688 addresses look like detail.1688.com/offer/ followed by digits and .html. Those digits are the item number. Put them after litbuy.com/product/0/ to get the LitBuy page, or paste the whole original link into LitBuy's search box. If a sheet gives a short or app-share link, open it in a browser first and copy the full address.