The 1688 before-payment checklist
Record supplier, product, MOQ, package, customs, and evidence checks before transferring money. Claims do not count as proof, and payment-pause signals override progress.
Saved on this device; supplier claims are not evidence
Before-payment workspace
Record what is proven before you pay
Needs evidence. 0 of 19 evidence items received. Collect the missing evidence before continuing to Product Check.
Confidence, evidence, and payment-boundary details
Decision summary
Checklist progress records buyer-selected evidence states. It is not operator verification, payment approval, supplier quality assurance, or customs clearance.
More information needed
- Confidence
- Low
- Basis
- Input completeness
- Ruleset
- Before-payment checklist · version 2
- Input status
- Incomplete
- Ruleset status
- Not applicable
- Evidence status
- Missing
- Provider
- Available
Missing information
- Visible company name and business scope
- Shop history, transaction record, and response behavior
- Payment stays on-platform (no personal-account transfer)
- Willing to share samples, certificates, or production photos
- Material, function, and variant match your target product
- Source-match the URL, screenshot, or keyword to the right listing
- Certificates needed for your category are available
- Supplier MOQ vs your first-order quantity
- Whether MOQ applies per SKU, color, or size
- First-batch cash exposure against expected margin
- Carton dimensions, weight, and CBM / volumetric weight
- Air vs sea vs consolidation route fit
- Receiving, prep, and 3PL/FBA handoff readiness
- HS / HTS / TARIC code and covered products
- Destination import duty and VAT/GST (official-source, not a fixed rate)
- Who pays freight and duty under the Incoterm (FOB, DDP)
- Restricted-product, platform, and carrier review
- Batteries, liquids, magnets, branded/IP, child or food-contact risk
- China receiving photos and warehouse evidence plan
Evidence needed
- Visible company name and business scope
- Shop history, transaction record, and response behavior
- Payment stays on-platform (no personal-account transfer)
- Willing to share samples, certificates, or production photos
- Material, function, and variant match your target product
- Source-match the URL, screenshot, or keyword to the right listing
- Certificates needed for your category are available
- Supplier MOQ vs your first-order quantity
- Whether MOQ applies per SKU, color, or size
- First-batch cash exposure against expected margin
- Carton dimensions, weight, and CBM / volumetric weight
- Air vs sea vs consolidation route fit
- Receiving, prep, and 3PL/FBA handoff readiness
- HS / HTS / TARIC code and covered products
- Destination import duty and VAT/GST (official-source, not a fixed rate)
- Who pays freight and duty under the Incoterm (FOB, DDP)
- Restricted-product, platform, and carrier review
- Batteries, liquids, magnets, branded/IP, child or food-contact risk
- China receiving photos and warehouse evidence plan
Questions to answer
- What evidence supports Visible company name and business scope?
- What evidence supports Shop history, transaction record, and response behavior?
- What evidence supports Payment stays on-platform (no personal-account transfer)?
- What evidence supports Willing to share samples, certificates, or production photos?
- What evidence supports Material, function, and variant match your target product?
- What evidence supports Source-match the URL, screenshot, or keyword to the right listing?
- What evidence supports Certificates needed for your category are available?
- What evidence supports Supplier MOQ vs your first-order quantity?
Assumptions
- Buyer-reported checklist state
Next action
Collect the missing evidence before continuing to Product Check.
Stop signals
Red flags that should pause payment
The checklist above records evidence status. These six flags should pause payment until they are explained; each maps to a review question or an available supplier/product signal.
Asks you to pay off-platform
A request to wire money to a personal account, WeChat, or another channel outside the platform changes the payment evidence and dispute path. Pause and verify the order and payee before proceeding.
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
A listing far below the available comparable set may be a different specification, an accessory, a tier price, or an incomplete listing. Price alone does not prove a scam or a true match.
How it gets checked
Compare the offer against the available match set and verify specification, tier, MOQ, and included parts.
Quality return rate worse than peers
A return or after-sales signal that is materially worse than relevant peers deserves investigation, but no universal percentage predicts the outcome of your order.
How it gets checked
Compare available peer signals, then request a sample, acceptance criteria, and China-side QC evidence.
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.
Landed Cost & Margin Calculator
Real freight, real duty, and your margin before you pay a 1688 supplier
Result
Fill the fields and press Estimate. Freight scenarios, duty, and VAT come from the same engine as our reports.
Landed Cost & Margin CalculatorSee it applied
Illustrative, de-identified decision examples
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
Go deeper
Trust guides behind the checklist
Is Alibaba legit?
The honest platform-vs-seller answer, and what Trade Assurance really covers.
Read the guide
The 7 scam patterns
How each scam plays out, the tell, and the check that kills it.
Read the guide
Verify a Chinese company
The free official-registry check, field by field.
Read the guide
Pre-shipment inspection
What a real China-side check covers before goods fly.
Read the guide
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.