Open any 1688 product page and you see a single ¥25 price tag — but the real cost depends on 4 hidden variables. Buy 200 units and you pay ¥25 each. Buy 1000 units and the unit price drops to ¥18 (a 28% discount). Buy 500 units and the unit price is ¥20. Buy 50 units and the supplier refuses the order (below minimum). Pick the wrong color/SKU from the matrix and your order splits across 3 SKUs at different prices — total cost swings by ¥2000+ on a single ¥10000 order. This article decodes all 5 numbers using a ¥25 phone case so you can read any product page in 30 seconds and quote accurately.
Number 1: The title price (¥25) — what it really means
The ¥25 number on the title is the "list price" — the price for a single unit at the lowest tier (usually tier 1 = MOQ). For our ¥25 phone case, the listing says "¥25 ≥ 2 pieces" — meaning MOQ is 2 units. Most casual buyers see ¥25 and assume that’s the cost. But that’s only true if you buy exactly 2 units. The moment you order 500 units, the unit price drops to ¥20. The ¥25 is the ceiling, not the floor.
Number 2: The tier ladder (¥25 / ¥20 / ¥18) — the real discount
Below the title price, every 1688 product shows a tier ladder — 3 prices max. For our phone case: "¥25 ≥ 2 pieces" / "¥20 ≥ 500 pieces" / "¥18 ≥ 1000 pieces". The math: 1000 units × ¥18 = ¥18000 (28% off the ¥25 list price). The rule of thumb: the highest tier (largest quantity) saves 20–35% off the list price. 1688 enforces a hard cap of 3 tiers per product — if a supplier wants more granular pricing, they must contact you directly. Always check the tier ladder before you buy — many buyers miss the ¥18 tier by ordering 999 units instead of 1000.
Number 3: MOQ (2 / 500 / 1000 pieces) — the order floor
MOQ = Minimum Order Quantity — the smallest number of units the supplier accepts. For our phone case, MOQ is 2 units (very low — common for small-ticket items). Many industrial supplies have MOQ 500–1000. The rule: MOQ is usually the same as the tier 1 quantity. If the title says "¥25 ≥ 2 pieces" and tier 2 says "¥20 ≥ 500 pieces", tier 1 (2 units) is also MOQ. Some suppliers enforce a higher MOQ than tier 1 — you must message them to confirm. Always verify MOQ before paying — placing an order below MOQ gets auto-cancelled with a 5–10% refund penalty.
Number 4: Per-SKU quantity (color/size mix) — the silent multiplier
For multi-color products (the SKU matrix is shown below the tier ladder), each color is a separate SKU. If you order 1000 phone cases split as Black 400 + White 400 + Pink 200, each color is its own order line. But the tier ladder applies per SKU, not per total — Black 400 falls under tier 1 (¥25 each, NOT ¥20). The rule: to qualify for tier 2 (¥20), each color must independently hit 500 units. Workaround: order 500 Black + 500 White + 0 Pink (skip Pink, lose 200 units of demand but save ¥5000). This is the silent multiplier that catches first-time buyers — a 1000-unit order can cost ¥20000 (tier 1) or ¥18000 (tier 3) depending on color mix.
Number 5: The SKU matrix (rows × columns) — the order spec
Below the tier ladder, the SKU matrix shows every color × size combination with its own price. For our phone case, the matrix is: iPhone 15 / iPhone 15 Pro / iPhone 15 Pro Max / Samsung S24 × Black / White / Pink = 12 SKU combos. Each combo has its own stock count and MOQ. The trap is "all variants have separate stock" — if iPhone 15 Black is out of stock but iPhone 15 White is in stock, you cannot substitute. The rule: before you commit to a color × size split, verify each combo has enough stock. Use 1688CMP to auto-detect the matrix from the product page and apply it to your sourcing agent quote — the agent needs the exact SKU code (often a numeric string like "9119969690H01") to place the order correctly. Wrong SKU = wrong color = unsellable inventory.
FAQ
Does the tier price apply per SKU or per total order?
Per SKU — always. Each color and size combination in the SKU matrix is an independent order line. If your order has 1000 units split across 3 colors, each color must independently hit the tier threshold. This is the #1 silent cost killer for new 1688 buyers — order 999 units in 2 colors and both fall under tier 1 (¥25 each, not ¥20 or ¥18). Workaround: consolidate to fewer SKUs (e.g., drop the lowest-demand color) so each SKU crosses the next tier.
Can I negotiate a custom tier between ¥18 and ¥20 for 700 units?
Yes — but not through the 1688 listing. The 3-tier cap is enforced on the listing page. To negotiate a custom tier, click "Contact Supplier" and message them with: your target quantity (700 units), your target unit price (¥19), and your shipping window. Many suppliers accept a 4th tier for repeat buyers (5+ orders) or large first orders (5000+ units). The downside: custom tier prices are not visible in your sourcing agent quote — your agent must manually verify the negotiated price before placing the order. Use 1688CMP to set your custom tier in the agent quote manually.
What if the supplier changes the tier price after I order?
Occasionally, and it helps to know where in the flow it bites. The price is agreed when the order is placed, so a supplier editing the tier afterwards affects your next purchase rather than the one already moving — but any mismatch between what was listed and what reaches the warehouse is exactly what quality-check photographs catch, before the parcel goes international. So the routine worth keeping costs ten seconds: screenshot the listing at the moment you order, capturing the tier ladder and the SKU codes, and keep it in your own records. We are not going to quote you a frequency for how often prices move. The extension runs in your browser and sends us nothing at all, which is precisely why nobody can produce that statistic from user data — ours included.
Do sourcing agents add their own markup on top of the 1688 tier price?
Every agent adds something on top of the tier price, but calling it a markup is misleading for four of the five, because they do not take a percentage. Supplyia is the only one that does: its 11 tiers run 10% below $500 through 9.5, 9, 8.5 and onward to 5% above $30,000, applied to the order value it sees. BuckyDrop takes no commission on 1688 and charges a flat ¥9.9 per fulfilled parcel, so on 1,000 phone cases at ¥18 that ¥9.9 is the entire service charge no matter how large the order gets. Superbuy and Oopbuy similarly add nothing beyond item and shipping. CSSBuy we leave unconfirmed, since its own pages disagree about whether 1688 carries a fee. Your landed cost is still assembled from four pieces — tier price, service charge, the domestic leg from the seller to the warehouse, and international freight — and the reason we always break them out rather than quoting one total is that the mix is what differs between agents, not the arithmetic.
Can 1688CMP auto-apply tier 3 price to a sourcing agent quote?
Yes — that’s the core feature. When you browse any 1688 product page with 1688CMP installed, the extension detects all 5 numbers (title price, 3-tier ladder, MOQ, per-SKU quantities, SKU matrix) and computes your real unit cost at each tier. For multi-SKU orders, the extension warns you if your color/size split drops you back to tier 1 — and suggests a re-split to maximize tier discount. Then you click "Compare 5 agents" and 1688CMP applies the correct tier price to all 5 sourcing agents in your quote. Total time savings: 15–30 minutes per order (vs manually opening 5 agents quote pages and entering the SKU + quantity + tier each time). The extension is free, no login required.