Talk to enough Nigerian importers about sourcing from 1688 and you'll get two very different answers. Some wouldn't dream of placing an order without their agent handling it. Others have never used one and don't see the point. Neither camp is wrong exactly, they're usually just solving for different things. The honest answer to whether you need one depends less on what other importers do and more on where your business actually is right now.
What a 1688 Agent Actually Does
A 1688 agent typically handles the parts of the process that are hardest for a foreign buyer to manage alone. That includes placing the actual order on the platform, communicating with the seller in Chinese when needed, inspecting or consolidating goods before shipping, and sometimes handling the payment itself using funds you've sent them in advance. Some agents also help with quality checks and negotiate better pricing, since they often have more experience reading which sellers are reliable and which ones aren't.
When an Agent Makes Sense
An agent tends to make the most sense for a business that's new to sourcing from 1688 specifically, or one that doesn't yet have a comfortable way to communicate directly with Chinese sellers. If you're placing smaller or occasional orders, the fees an agent charges can be worth it just for the reduced risk of miscommunication or ordering from an unreliable seller. Agents can also be useful when you need help consolidating multiple orders from different sellers into a single shipment, which gets complicated to manage on your own.
When You Can Skip One
As a business becomes more familiar with 1688, and with sourcing from China generally, the case for an agent gets weaker. If you're comfortable using a translation tool to communicate with sellers, already have a way to fund a Chinese payment wallet directly, and are placing regular enough orders to justify learning the platform yourself, going direct gives you more control over pricing and communication without paying a middleman's fee on every transaction. Businesses that source frequently often find the agent fee adds up to a meaningful cost over time, one that direct buying eliminates entirely.
The Tradeoffs Either Way
Neither path is free of risk. An agent adds a layer of trust you have to extend to someone else, since they're often handling both your money and your order at the same time. Going direct removes that layer but puts more responsibility on you to vet sellers properly and manage communication without a buffer if something goes wrong. Most experienced importers land somewhere in between over time, using an agent for unfamiliar sellers or complex orders while buying directly from sellers they already trust.
How Payment Works in Both Cases
Regardless of which route you choose, the underlying payment step looks similar. You still need a way to convert Naira into RMB or yuan and route it either into your own wallet or to your agent, which we covered in more detail in How to Pay for 1688 Orders From Nigeria. The agent's decision changes who places the order and who talks to the seller. It doesn't change how the money gets from Nigeria into RMB in the first place.
Send Your First Payment Today
Whether you use an agent or go direct, the funding step stays the same, and getting that part right makes either choice a lot less stressful. Whichever way you choose to buy, fund your first 1688 order today at usezolan.com.
