1688 hosts millions of products, and a significant share of suppliers there are selling goods they do not own the rights to: counterfeit branded items, copies of registered industrial designs, or products carrying logos they have no license for. If you import these into Vietnam and list them on TikTok Shop or Shopee, the risk does not stop at quality complaints. Listings get taken down, shipments get held at customs, and brand owners file intellectual property complaints that can suspend your account.
Why this is a real risk, not a remote one
A lot of sellers assume counterfeits only matter for luxury goods or large operations. That assumption is wrong. A phone case carrying an overseas brand's logo, a toy that copies a registered Japanese design down to the exact molding, a water bottle printed with the imagery of a well-known outdoor brand: all of these are infringements, even at a retail price of a few dollars.
Both Shopee and TikTok Shop have moderation teams and accept takedown requests from brand rights holders. One removed listing costs you the revenue from that day. A seller account flagged for repeated violations loses trust score, runs into trouble with paid ads, and risks a full ban. Worse, if a shipment is flagged at customs for suspected trademark infringement, the whole batch can be seized with no recovery from the 1688 supplier.
This risk is entirely avoidable if you know where to look before placing an order.
Red flags in the product listing
When browsing products on 1688, several details in the listing itself are worth pausing on.
- Recognizable foreign brand logos in product photos. If the images clearly show Nike, Adidas, Lego, Stanley, Anker, or any label you recognize immediately, this supplier is not selling licensed goods. Real branded goods from major labels do not flow to Vietnamese importers through open wholesale listings on 1688.
- Brand names used as keywords in the title. Many suppliers insert well-known brand names into their titles or descriptions to catch search traffic: "Nike-style backpack", "Stanley-type water bottle", "Apple-inspired earbuds". This is a clear signal.
- Product photos that look like they were taken from the official brand site. If the imagery looks too polished relative to the supplier's size, or you can find the exact same photo on the brand's own website, the image was taken without authorization and the product is not genuine.
- Descriptions comparing to or imitating the original. Phrases like "same quality as X", "designed like Y", "same function as Z" typically travel with copied goods.
Red flags in the supplier profile
The product listing is just the surface. The supplier profile tells you more about what they are actually running.
- Product range that is too wide and spans too many different brands. A real factory tends to specialize in one product line. If a shop sells Samsung phone cases, Adidas replica shoes, and fake Casio watches all at once, they are a trader aggregating copies from multiple sources, not a factory.
- No real factory photos. Legitimate suppliers generally include photos of their production line, warehouse, or staff. If the supplier introduction has only product photos, no facility images, or facility images that look pulled from a stock photo site, be cautious.
- No legal documents or certifications. A legitimate supplier can usually upload their business license, quality certificate, or brand authorization document. If that section is empty or shows only unrelated certificates, ask before ordering.
- High review count with generic responses. Real reviews tend to mention specific details: product condition on arrival, packaging, delivery speed. Reviews that only say "good", "fast", "OK" with nothing specific are often purchased reviews and tell you nothing about actual product quality.
Design copies without a logo
A less obvious category of infringement: products that copy a registered industrial design but carry no brand name. The line here is thinner, but it is still recognizable.
Industrial designs can be registered and protected. If a product on 1688 looks identical to a well-known product, down to the exact shape, texture, and button placement, with no logo at all, there is a reasonable chance it is a design copy. When sold into international markets, the original brand owner can still file a complaint.
How to check: search the original product name in English, look at the brand's own site, and compare. If the likeness is close enough that a buyer could mistake one for the other, the risk is real.
Direct questions to ask the supplier
Beyond observation, asking directly is a fast filter. When messaging a supplier on 1688 (use a translation tool if needed), you can ask:
- Is this product manufactured by your own factory or sourced from elsewhere?
- Do you have a license or authorization to use this brand or design?
- If I export this to another market, are there any intellectual property concerns?
A supplier selling legitimate goods will generally answer clearly and can provide documents. A supplier selling copies will usually deflect, give vague answers, or pivot to reassurances about quality rather than legal standing.
Unbranded goods still carry risk
Choosing products with no brand logo is safer than picking obviously branded copies, but it does not eliminate the risk entirely.
Some suppliers sell logo-free products whose shape still copies a registered design. In other cases, a supplier agrees to ship unbranded goods but a portion of the batch arrives with counterfeit labels mixed in from the wrong shelf or through deliberate padding. To reduce this, state clearly in your chat messages: no brand logos, no brand imagery, no protected trademarks on any item. Then inspect the first shipment carefully before listing anything.
Categories where this comes up most often
Some product categories on 1688 have a higher concentration of infringing suppliers than others. This is not an exhaustive list, but these are the areas that warrant more scrutiny:
- Electronics accessories: earbuds, chargers, cables, phone cases. A large share carries logos from major brands (Apple, Anker, JBL, Sony) without any license.
- Toys: this category has many registered designs (Lego, Hot Wheels, Barbie, anime characters). Copies are common and brand owners in this space are active.
- Sportswear and footwear: Nike, Adidas, Puma replicas are very prevalent, and these brands are among the most aggressive about filing complaints on platforms.
- Water bottles and outdoor gear: Stanley and Hydro Flask have been two of the most widely copied designs in recent years.
- Watches and accessories: Casio and DW are two brand names that appear frequently in cheap replica form.
For these categories, prioritize suppliers selling unbranded goods or their own factory label with documentation, rather than the cheapest listing with no explanation.
Bottom line
Counterfeit and infringing goods on 1688 are not a small edge case. They sit in normal search results and sometimes price noticeably lower than legitimate alternatives. But the downside when you import them is disproportionate: a removed listing, a seized shipment, or a suspended account are not problems you recover from quickly. Spending an extra ten to fifteen minutes checking logos, reading the supplier profile, and asking a few direct questions before you order is the cheapest time investment you can make.