Most of 1688 is not counterfeit — it is unbranded factory output, often from the same factories that make branded goods. What actually hurts buyers is three other things: products carrying a brand you have no licence to sell, traders who look like factories, and quality that does not match the listing. Six checks before you pay, and you avoid nearly all of it.
They get called “fake” together, but they need completely different handling.
| What people call fake | What it really is | What it costs you |
|---|---|---|
| Branded lookalikes | Goods carrying a trademark you are not licensed to sell, often described as surplus, overruns or export leftovers | Seizure at customs, marketplace takedowns, frozen seller accounts — the worst outcome on this list |
| A trader posing as a factory | A reseller using workshop photos and the word “manufacturer” | Higher prices, no control over production, and nobody who can actually fix a defect |
| Quality below the listing | Thinner material, weaker components, sloppier finishing than the photos suggested | Refunds, bad reviews, and a customer who never comes back |
The third is the most common by far. The first is the only one that can cost you the entire shipment.
| Red flag | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| A known brand’s name or logo, at a fraction of retail | Unauthorised goods. Do not touch it, whatever the story about surplus stock |
| Payment requested by private transfer, outside the platform | No protection, no evidence, no recovery |
| Refuses a sample order, or pushes you straight to bulk | They know the sample will not survive inspection |
| Refuses to confirm the factory address or allow a visit | There is probably no factory |
| Listing photos are studio renders or lifted from elsewhere | You are not buying what you can see |
| Registered scope does not match the product | Compliance risk that surfaces at customs, not at checkout |
| Pressure to confirm receipt quickly | Confirming receipt starts the clock running out on your claim window |
| Price far below every comparable listing | Usually a different material, a thinner specification, or a bait listing |
No amount of badge reading replaces holding the item. A one-piece sample order is cheap, and it answers the questions a listing cannot:
Buy two samples from two shortlisted suppliers and compare them side by side. That comparison teaches you more in a week than a month of reading listings.
Everything is still cheap to fix while the parcel is in China, and expensive once it has flown. Before you release a bulk shipment:
No. The bulk of 1688 is unbranded or white-label output from Chinese factories, including factories that also produce for well-known brands. That is not counterfeit. The genuine risks are different: products carrying a brand logo you have no licence to sell, traders presenting themselves as factories, and goods whose materials or workmanship do not match the listing. Treating every listing as suspect and every factory as honest are both wrong.
Check the badges and the registered company behind them, then confirm the company independently on the national enterprise credit register, where you can see whether the licence is live and whether the registered business scope covers what you are buying. Look at repeat purchase rate and refund rate rather than headline sales. Ask for compliance certificates for regulated categories. Keep every question and answer inside the platform chat so it can be used as evidence later.
Only with written authorisation from the brand owner. Listings described as original order surplus, factory overruns or export leftovers of a known brand are the highest-risk category on the platform: they are frequently unauthorised, they can be seized by customs on arrival, and marketplaces can remove them and freeze your seller account. If you want to build a brand, buy unbranded goods and put your own label on them.
Act while the order is still open. Film yourself opening the parcel, photograph the differences against the listing, keep the chat history and the order snapshot, and raise the claim inside the platform before the confirm-receipt window closes. Paying through the platform rather than by private transfer is what makes any of this enforceable.
Want someone to run these checks for you? Send me the links you are considering. I verify the company behind the shop, get a sample in my hands before you commit to quantity, inspect the bulk order against that sample, and photograph it packed — so what leaves China is what you agreed to buy.
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