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Wholesale sources

Sourcing at volume: the four sources, wholesale edition

At case quantities, the source marketplace stops being trivia and becomes the whole model. Minimum order quantity, pack-out and unit price all follow from where a listing lives, and 1688 is where most case-level pricing actually comes from. Below, each marketplace is described in those terms — minimums and pack-out first, breadth second.

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Four sources, wholesale terms

Taobao, Weidian, 1688 and JD, read for quantity rather than for one-offs. 1688 dominates case-level pricing; the others fill gaps.

  • 1688where case-level pricing comes from
  • Taobaopiece by piece, or in small runs
  • Weidianboutique stock, needs confirming at volume
  • JDofficial shops, quick domestic restock

Marketplace rules, minimums and GTbuy's coverage all move. The platforms and GTbuy govern.

What each source does at volume

Grouped by what each marketplace is good for when you are ordering by the case.

  1. TaobaoRetail baseline

    The reference point for what a single unit costs, which is what makes it useful even when you intend to buy in bulk. Finish varies more between shops here than anywhere else, so judge each row on its photographs.

  2. WeidianSmall-batch sellers

    Where designs appear before they are widely copied. Runs are short, so GTbuy establishes that the quantity you want still exists before any money moves.

  3. 1688Volume pricing

    The tier that matters most on this board: figures quoted per carton, with the minimum and the case rate both printed. At quantity, a small gap per unit becomes a large gap per order.

  4. JDOfficial supply

    Authorised shops with paperwork and quicker inland transit — worth choosing when a bulk order has to land inside a window.

Reading a listing for wholesale signals

Which site a link sits on tells you the pricing model before you read a single number: per unit, per case, or with a minimum attached.

Quoted at wholesale

✅ What we commit to
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🔎 Confirm at quantity
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Compiled from public material for wholesale planning. Live prices, minimums and coverage sit on each marketplace and on GTbuy's own pages.

Want to test a case quantity?

Browse wholesale rows