1688 overseas may start full hosting mode

It is said that the cross-border version of 1688 has started trial operation in Vietnam and Kazakhstan, and plans to open 15 national sites within 2025.

The way to enter is simpler. You only need to hold a domestic 1688 store, register with the back-end cross-border Choice with one click + international version of Alipay certification, and you can start selling.

The operation mode is also extremely simple and crude. Sellers only need to prepare goods to the designated domestic warehouse, and the platform will take care of the whole process of delivery.

From the perspective of operation process, the overseas version of 1688 (1688overseas) is almost the same as the full hosting mode of TEMU and SHEIN.

The key differences are reflected in two aspects: first, the pricing power. Although the specific details have not yet been announced, according to Alibaba’s past practice, it is expected that pricing will be dominated by sellers, and even free pricing may be allowed, which is crucial.

Secondly, the target customer groups are different. 1688 Cross-border Edition focuses more on B-end customers overseas, including local retailers and cross-border e-commerce sellers, while TEMU and SHEIN are directly targeting C-end consumers. However, it is worth noting that the boundaries of this customer group are likely to become blurred in the future, because in the domestic market, individual consumers can also purchase on the 1688 platform.

The biggest advantage of 1688overseas is that it inherits the strong genes of 1688 and surpasses TEMU and SHEIN in the supply chain integration capabilities of most commodity categories. Therefore, it can be foreseen that in the future, more factory-type sellers will be able to connect to 1688overseas directly through the 1688 platform, so as to enter the cross-border e-commerce field more quickly and smoothly.

In terms of payment period, 1688overseas shortens the industry’s conventional 30-day payment period to 15 days, which directly doubles the seller’s payment speed and capital turnover rate.

In addition, the launch of a new platform is usually accompanied by a large number of subsidy policies. According to Alibaba’s usual practice, it is expected to invest huge funds in promotion, thereby attracting a large amount of free traffic. For sellers, this wave of bonuses is undoubtedly very attractive.

In summary, 1688overseas can be regarded as an upgraded version of the full hosting model – full hosting 2.0.