Finder SpreadsheetKeyword search and the manual order form
Two routes move a find into an order: a keyword the search engine understands, or a form you fill yourself. Both run on Chinese fields worth reading first.
What keyword search reaches
The captured platform guide says keyword search covers Taobao, Tmall, 1688 and JD.COM. A failed keyword result does not prove a seller has no stock. Try the exact seller URL, or ask whether the link needs the manual form; confirm the current service and restrictions before paying.
English keywords work for common nouns because marketplaces auto-translate popular queries, but precision costs: towel finds towels, while a nuanced term like 斜挎包 (xiekuabao, crossbody bag) may produce more useful matches when searched in Chinese. The dictionary exists exactly for that jump.
Image search, the camera icon in the bar, looks for visually similar results and shines when you have a screenshot and no words at all.
Keyword grammar that sellers index
For a practical starting query, combine a category noun with one useful attribute: 黑色 卫衣 means black hoodie, while 纯棉 adds a pure-cotton claim. Word order and matching vary across search engines; these words help narrow results, not verify materials. Read the returned listing’s specification and composition label.
Commercial modifiers are their own vocabulary: 现货 in-stock rows, 新款 new-season cuts, 工厂直发 (gongchang zhifa, factory direct) factory direct. Start with a category and one useful attribute. Remove terms or try synonyms if results become too narrow.
When a keyword returns nothing useful, the official advice from the catalogue article applies verbatim: contact customer service for help. Support can chase article numbers and source links beyond the public index.
The manual form, field by field
For links the crawler cannot parse, the Fill & Buy form takes over, and its fields mirror the Chinese ones this site decodes. Product Link accepts the third-party URL; Product Name wants the listing title; Specifications is the manual stand-in for 颜色分类 (yanse fenlei, the variant picker), and the form’s own placeholder asks for colour and size here.
The fee block has one documented trick: when the price is unknown, the form’s helper text says to fill in 1 yuan and wait for the purchase supplement; the real price arrives later as a 补款 (bukuan, shortfall) request. Domestic Shipping wants the seller’s courier fee to the warehouse, which the source listing states.
The captured manual form lists a 3 MB limit and GIF, JPG or PNG formats. Use a clear image of the exact option alongside the seller’s text, and follow the current form’s upload instructions if they differ.
What the manual route gives up
The form’s own disclaimer is the risk budget, and it is worth reading in full once. Third-party links mean the agent can locate the seller but cannot verify quality or authenticity, after-sales service does not exist for those platforms, and once payment completes, refunds, cancellations and mid-process changes are unsupported.
Before using a restrictive manual route, resolve the exact specification, quantity, final price and seller acceptance. A seller’s reputation does not remove the form’s restrictions, and the ordinary eligible return guarantee should not be assumed to apply. If those unanswered questions would change your purchase, ask before payment.
One useful precaution: paste the seller’s own variant text, in Chinese, into the Specifications field. Copied characters survive the relay to the buying team; a paraphrased colour may be ambiguous. Confirm the exact option before payment.
Read the manual form as a new purchase request
Copying a URL does not establish the exact variant, final price or return terms. Include the seller’s option text and a clear image of that option. The older official manual screenshot contains legacy labels; confirm current form limits and service terms before submitting.
The unit belongs in the manual specification
件 can describe a piece, 套 a set and 箱 a carton. Write the selected unit and the number of units, then ask how many physical pieces each contains. “Quantity 2” is ambiguous when the listing sells cartons.
For a wholesale request, keep the quantity tier, unit price and domestic-delivery quote together. The captured 1688 rules warn that carton handling may count boxes without guaranteeing the contents of each box. Read the wholesale quantity checks before treating a large sales counter as a per-piece promise.