Supplymo research edition
Original research from the supply side
61 of 120 1688 toy product-detail API responses omitted shippingTimeGuarantee
We sampled 120 first-page toy results through 1688's English cross-border keyword API, then requested a product-detail response for each result. 59 responses returned productShippingInfo.shippingTimeGuarantee and 61 omitted it. The omission count varied across the twelve search terms.
It cannot establish what a rendered 1688 website, app, product description, other API surface or supplier conversation contained. The study queried one product-detail API response per sampled result.
Liam Cai · Founder, Supplymo
Published 18 August 2026 · Collected 2026-08-12 · Yiwu, China
Evidence figure · Toy listing field visibility
61
of 120
shippingTimeGuarantee omitted
- Returned shipIn48Hours
- 54
- Returned shipIn24Hours
- 5
n = 120 product-detail API responses. Collected 2026-08-12. Non-random sample: 12 toy keyword searches, 10 first-page results and product-detail API responses each. API field omission says nothing about other surfaces or supplier conduct.
Collected
2026-08-12
Evidence
Version 1 · 120 product-detail API responses
Sample status
Non-random · method and row unit stated
Reuse
CC BY 4.0 · 11 stated limits
Study reading
Omission varied by search term
water gun and slime kit each had nine omissions among ten product-detail API responses. building blocks and magnetic toys had at most two omissions among ten. The calls used the same API family, collection day and per-keyword denominator.
That contrast is a useful description of this sample, not an estimate for the whole toy category. The keywords were chosen deliberately and each split contains only ten responses, so the data cannot establish why the difference appeared or whether it persists over time.
Study reading
Returned values used two documented strings
Among the 59 product-detail API responses that contained shippingTimeGuarantee, 54 returned shipIn48Hours and 5 returned shipIn24Hours. No other value appeared in this sample.
The official 1688 response schema places shippingTimeGuarantee under productShippingInfo. This study records the returned key and value only. It does not test production completion, international transit, customs, destination delivery or performance on an actual order.
Study reading
How a buyer can use a response-level gap
When the sampled API response omitted shippingTimeGuarantee, that data source could not answer the dispatch-timing question. A buyer can close the gap by requesting a current written production and dispatch date tied to the exact product, variant, quantity and order terms before payment.
Keep the API observation and the supplier confirmation as separate evidence. One records what this response contained on 2026-08-12; the other records the commercial term agreed for a specific order. Neither should be substituted for the other.
Research boundary
What this study cannot tell you
- BoundaryIt cannot establish what a rendered 1688 website, app, product description, other API surface or supplier conversation contained. The study queried one product-detail API response per sampled result.
- BoundaryIt cannot establish seller intent, policy or performance. A missing key is an API-response observation, not a conclusion about a supplier or an actual order.
- BoundaryIt is not a toy-safety assessment. The sample did not inspect materials, test reports, standards, age grading or destination-market requirements.
- BoundaryThe per-keyword figures use ten product-detail API responses each. Nine out of ten describes this non-random draw; it is not a category-wide prevalence estimate.
- BoundaryThe 120 rows are sampled product results and responses, not 120 distinct suppliers. Seller identity is not published, so the sample cannot be de-duplicated by shop.
- BoundaryThe 40 refund-rate values returned as numeric zero are not interpreted as zero actual refunds. The direction check was inconclusive, and the field's unit, denominator and missing-data convention were not independently verified.
Questions readers ask
Read the finding without over-reading it
What is the one-line finding?
In a Supplymo non-random sample of 120 first-page toy results from 1688's English cross-border keyword API, 61 product-detail API responses omitted productShippingInfo.shippingTimeGuarantee; the water gun and slime kit searches each had nine omissions among ten sampled responses. This is a response-level field-presence result collected on 2026-08-12, not a claim about any other 1688 surface or supplier conversation.
What does an omitted shippingTimeGuarantee key prove?
Only that productShippingInfo in the sampled product-detail API response did not contain shippingTimeGuarantee. We did not treat omission as evidence about a rendered website, app, description, other API surface, supplier terms or actual order performance.
Why did water gun and slime kit stand out?
Each search had nine omissions among ten sampled product-detail API responses, compared with at most two among ten for building blocks and magnetic toys. These are descriptive splits from one non-random draw; the sample does not establish a cause or estimate category-wide prevalence.
Does this result say anything about toy safety?
No. The sample did not inspect materials, test reports, standards, age grading or destination-market requirements. API-field presence and product safety are separate questions.
Can I reuse the figures?
Yes, with attribution to Supplymo and a link to this page. The sanitized row-level CSV and evidence JSON are published under CC BY 4.0, together with the method and every stated limit.