#1688.com

[heckyeahponyscans]

Expectation versus reality.

STRETCH EM

[clnclm]

[heckyeahponyscans]

I was trawling around Chinese wholesale sites when what should I come across but the factory that gave the Celestial Ponies their signature stripes! (Dongguan Qiaotou Huihong Plastic Electronics Factory.)

Alas, I was unable to get any prototypes. The listing was not for the ponies themselves but for the process that makes them stripey, which I think is called water transfer printing. In other words, you provide them with objects (like ponies in this case) and they apply a water transfer. The video is from the listing.

[heckyeahponyscans]

An amazingly accurate G3 Fashion Styling size Rarity fakie found on 1688.com! Not only is bootleg Rarity very close to her genuine self (albeit with less hair colors), but they even replicated her accessories! (See genuine version on the right.)

They did give her hooves, though.

[heckyeahponyscans]

If you are wondering how to order from Taobao and Alibaba if you don't live in China, the best way is to use a proxy buyer.

The proxy buyer is located in China, you give them money and they order the goods. The items are stored in their warehouse until you choose to have them shipped to you.

My proxy buyer is BaseTao, I've been using them since 2017 and they've been great! Their site has a reverse image search, and they will take pictures of all arriving items for free, which not all proxies do.

[heckyeahponyscans]

In case you're wondering what 1688.com is, it's a Chinese selling site like Taobao, but with a higher percentage of bootlegs. It also has a lot more wholesalers who will have extremely cheap prices but you have to buy a minimum of 1,400 of an item or whatever.

I only recently discovered it via BaseTao (my proxy buyer's) reverse image search.

[clnclm]

[1688order]

1688.com is a Chinese e-commerce platform similar to Taobao, but it has a higher occurrence of counterfeit products. It primarily features wholesalers who offer very low prices, although you often need to purchase a minimum quantity of 1,400 units of a product, or a similar amount. Recently I discovered his alternative platform, 1688order. This platform has the same functions as 1688 and is even more complete than it. I bought a pony I like on it！I heard that you can try it for free now, so go and try it!