> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.agentkey.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# 1688 wholesale product data for AI agents

> Search 1688 wholesale listings by keyword and read a listing's public detail by item ID — for supplier sourcing and catalog research — through AgentKey.

1688 is Alibaba's domestic wholesale marketplace, where factories and
distributors list the offers behind much of what sells at retail elsewhere.
Sourcing teams live on it, but it is Chinese-language, login-walled and
hostile to automation. Through AgentKey your agent reads public 1688 listings
the same way it reads everything else — `find_tools`, `describe_tool`,
`execute_tool` — and can hand a retail product straight to a wholesale
search.

## What you can ask

* *"1688 上搜 '不锈钢保温杯'，列出前 20 个货源和价格。"*
* *"Search 1688 for 'silicone phone case' and shortlist suppliers worth contacting."*
* *"Open this 1688 listing and summarize the offer."*
* *"Find a 1688 wholesale source for this product I found on Amazon."*

## What's covered

**Search**

* Keyword search of wholesale listings — discover candidate products or
  suppliers during sourcing and market research

**Listing details**

* The public detail of a wholesale listing by item ID — review a known offer
  during sourcing or catalog research

Not covered today: supplier company profiles, reviews, order placement and
anything behind a buyer login. To check how a candidate product sells at
retail, pair this page with [Taobao / Tmall](/capabilities/ecommerce/taobao-tmall)
or [Amazon](/capabilities/ecommerce/amazon).

## How to use it

Pass the request in plain language and let the router pick the tool:

```text theme={null}
find_tools(q="1688 上搜不锈钢保温杯的货源")
find_tools(q="wholesale suppliers for silicone phone cases on 1688")
find_tools(prefix="ecommerce/1688")         # browse everything for 1688
describe_tool("<returned Provider/Operation>")
execute_tool("<Provider/Operation>", { ...params })
```

Prices come back in yuan, as the listing shows them, not converted. Always
`describe_tool` before executing: it shows the exact parameters, the item ID
the detail lookup expects, and the per-call cost.

> [!NOTE]
>
> **Building with code?** The same capability is available as fixed-contract
> [Scenario Methods](/api-reference/scenario/overview) with automatic provider
> failover:
> [`ecommerce.1688.product.search`](/api-reference/scenario/methods/ecommerce-1688-product-search),
> [`ecommerce.1688.product.get`](/api-reference/scenario/methods/ecommerce-1688-product-get).

## FAQ

> **Do I need a 1688 or Alibaba account?**
>
> No. AgentKey holds the upstream access; your agent only needs your AgentKey
> subscription.

> **What exactly comes back for a listing?**
>
> The public detail of the listing as 1688 presents it. Which fields a given
> offer carries depends on the seller, so run `describe_tool` for the
> parameters and try one item before relying on a specific field.

> **How fresh are prices?**
>
> Every call goes to 1688 at request time; nothing is served from a stale
> archive. A price is what the listing shows at that moment, in yuan.


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.