Ordinex Blog
Founder journey, sourcing tactics, and product updates.
Sourcing from 1688: a complete guide for new operators covering supplier selection, trial orders, landed cost breakdown, and shipping to Vietnam.
1688 import costs split into three layers: duty, VAT, and clearance fees. Learn to calculate each by HS code and product category before placing an order.
Seasonal buying vs year-round stocking from 1688: a practical risk and cash flow comparison by capital size and product type for Vietnamese shop operators.
Actual margin data for 1688 cosmetics on Shopee and TikTok Shop. SKU-level breakdown of lip balm, moisturizer, and serum after platform fees and return rates.
5 pre-order checks for any 1688 supplier: review history, chat behavior, factory verification, and sample protocol. Avoid scams and bad suppliers from day one.
1688 goods held at customs and unsure what to do next? Step-by-step: reach out to your forwarder, submit the right documents, and clear your shipment before.
Master CBM consolidation and order timing to lower 1688 per-unit shipping costs. Real math and a case study for operators importing 200-500 SKUs per month.
Sample from 1688 first or go straight to bulk? We break down real costs, dead-stock risk, and the break-even point every new importer needs before committing.
Not sure what to import from 1688? This framework helps shop owners pick product categories by margin, MOQ, and platform competition on Shopee and TikTok Shop.
1688 listing photos often look better than the real product. Read buyer video reviews, spot visual red flags, and request samples before placing a bulk order.
Ready-to-send Chinese message scripts, best timing to negotiate, and real discount figures by order size when sourcing from 1688. Apply on your next order.
What does sourcing from 1688 actually cost? A full breakdown of 7 cost layers, including China freight, customs duties, exchange rates, and hidden fees, with.
Sea, land, or air freight from 1688 to SEA? Compare cost per kg, transit time, and restricted goods by route in 2025.
Compare 3 payment methods for 1688 from Vietnam: real fees, FX spread, and dispute protection per method. Pick the right one to avoid losing money on imports.
Sourcing direct from 1688 cuts agent fees by 20-40%, but requires meeting 4 key conditions. Compare both models by capital scale to find the right fit for your.
New shop under 6 months? Learn how to convince 1688 suppliers to sell small quantities, and when paying a premium protects your first bulk order from going.
1688 suppliers set two types of MOQ: hard and soft. Learn how to calculate the right order quantity for your current budget so your first shipment does not tie.
Factor in full landed cost, 17-20% platform fees, 15-25% return rates, and ad spend before sourcing your first 1688 fashion haul to sell on TikTok Shop.
We calculated actual margins on 3 homeware SKUs sourced from 1688, covering freight, duties, and Shopee's latest 9.5% platform fee.
QC checklist for 1688 sourcing: require pre-payment inspection videos, set defect rate thresholds by category, and lock in return terms before you pay.
Decode 1688 supplier badges, diamond and crown rankings, and filter fake reviews. A 5-minute vetting checklist to source smarter and shortlist suppliers faster.
Spot 8 warning signs of unreliable 1688 suppliers before you deposit: stock photos, vague listings, odd responses. Read this before placing your next order.
Never ordered from 1688? This guide walks you through account setup, finding products, reading supplier specs, and avoiding 5 mistakes that drain your budget.
Step-by-step 1688 price negotiation, from first message to locking MOQ. Includes copy-paste Chinese chat scripts you can use right away with any supplier.
Calculate your true 1688 landed cost using 6 components: product price, sourcing agent fee, China domestic freight, consolidation warehouse, international.
You started 1688 sourcing in Excel. Now you need software. Framework for picking the right tool by business stage, not by marketing.
Revenue is not profit. Bank balance is not cashflow. How cross-border operators sourcing from 1688 should actually track cash each month.
Four questions to answer in 30 minutes before putting capital into a trending product, so you do not end up chasing the wave after it has passed.
Ordinex Orders is the second module of the Ordinex platform. It manages your entire purchase order workflow inside Ordinex, connected directly to your Scout sho
Scout v0.3 overhauls the entire import flow: drag and drop files directly into the browser, process multiple files at once, and auto-detect formats from various
Margin Engine is the latest feature in Scout. It calculates landed cost and net margin automatically from CNY purchase price, including logistics, platform fees
The formula (selling price - purchase price) / selling price is not wrong mathematically. It is just measuring the wrong thing. This post explains the most comm
One month after opening private beta, we have observed enough to draw real conclusions about how users use Scout, what works, and what does not.
We just opened private beta to the first group of shop owners outside our team. Here is what is happening and what comes next.
Most shop owners importing from 1688 never meet their suppliers. This post covers the practical signals for assessing supplier reliability remotely, before you
The purchase price on 1688 is just the starting point. This post lists every real cost between the supplier and your warehouse, and explains why ignoring them m
We ran over 50,000 product screens from 1688 through Scout. Here is what the data actually reveals about how shop owners source effectively.
Scout is the first module of the Ordinex platform, built to help cross-border operators screen 1688 products faster than any spreadsheet. It features keyboard-d
We run a cross-border commerce operation, sourcing from 1688 and selling on TikTok Shop and Shopee. We could not find software that matched how we actually work
1688 is the world's largest B2B wholesale platform and the primary sourcing channel for most cross-border e-commerce operators in Southeast Asia. This guide cov
