1688.com, which is a part of Alibaba Group, formally launched in early 2010 in China, has been the largest wholesale and sourcing market for all kinds of raw materials, industrial products, clothing, home appliances and other general commodities on the globe.
On their official website (www.1688.com), 1688 claims to have a number of 120,000,000 registered users, more than 10,000,000 companies (factories and wholesalers), with a wide range of 49 different industry sectors are registered with 1688.com, attracting 12,000,000 daily visits online.
We used to source or wholesale from local wholesale markets or factories in China but now you can wholesale almost any item online by simply clicking your mouse on 1688.com. Of course when come to a large order, you have to verify or audit your suppliers first as there are still lots of scammers online. 1688.com is only a platform and they are not responsible for your losses in case you meet a professional scammer there. By the way if you would like to buy directly from 1688.com, you may need a local agent to help you out as it’s only for domestic users at present.