SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR BUSINESS MODEL

One API, three ways to deploy — pick the model that matches your operation and scale up as order volume grows.

02Business models

New & small purchasing agencies

Just starting out or running a small team: you need to receive customer orders and place Taobao/1688 orders fast, without a dedicated engineering team.

How it works

Your staff look up products and preview the total cost in one screen, without opening extra Taobao tabs or translating descriptions by hand. Once an order is placed, shipment status updates in the same screen.

Deployment level

Runs at Level 1 — a faster order desk, on the process you already run.

A good fit when

+ Free tier to run trials before committing budget
+ Up and integrated in 1–2 days with our support team
+ One operator handles the workload of an entire group

See the account & authentication guide

Large ordering companies

Already have your own web/app and operations team: eliminate manual ordering, reduce headcount on repetitive tasks and keep the full order flow inside your system.

How it works

Your system calls the API to preview cost, create and cancel orders — no manual screen in between. Webhooks push every status change to your system the moment it happens, no polling required.

Deployment level

Runs at Level 2 — orders run end to end, staff only step in for exceptions.

A good fit when

+ 100% automation: orders run end-to-end without human touch
+ Webhooks push status updates the moment they occur
+ Staff only handle exceptions, never routine orders

See the order & webhook docs

Cross-border commerce platforms

Marketplaces, proxy-shopping apps or logistics platforms: you need a stable product-data and order-execution layer to embed directly into your product.

How it works

The API returns price, stock and attributes in real time so you can embed them directly into your platform's own search experience. Each partner runs on its own account configuration, with every call logged.

Deployment level

Runs at Level 2 — order execution scales with partners, not headcount.

A good fit when

+ 99.94% uptime and 312 ms median latency in real operations
+ Five languages: Vietnamese, English, Chinese, Korean, Thai
+ Isolated configuration per partner with full audit logs

See the product lookup docs

03Order flow

HOW AN ORDER RUNS ON THE API

From your system looking up a product to the package status updating — every step is an API call, with no manual step in between. All six stages are detailed on the Features page.

See the six order stages

04Order transparency

SUB-ACCOUNTS — TRACK ORDERS DIRECTLY ON TAOBAO & 1688

For ordering companies and agencies: Elimapi can issue sub-accounts so you can follow your orders directly on the official Taobao and 1688 platforms — more visual, convenient and secure.

+ See original order status directly on Taobao / 1688, no waiting for aggregation
+ One dedicated sub-account per partner or customer, with clear permissions
+ No sharing of main login credentials — safe for both sides

05FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is Elim a purchasing agent competing with me?: No. Elim is a technology platform. We run no retail storefront, take no customers directly and never approach yours. For your system to place an order with a single API call, order execution runs through Elim's infrastructure — a technical requirement for automation, not a parallel service. You still set your own prices, policies and customer experience.
How is this different from scraping?: Scraping has to simulate a browser session, so it eventually runs into IP blocks, captchas and the risk of a suspended buying account — and it breaks every time a marketplace changes its layout. An API returns structured, stable data, faster, without touching anti-bot defenses.
How is the order execution cost calculated?: A small fee sits inside the exchange rate applied at confirmation. You see the full cost at the order preview step, before you decide — nothing is added later. That fee is deliberately kept low: it only needs to cover running the execution layer, and it is not our main revenue. Our main revenue is the platform subscription.
Do I have to automate everything?: No. Many agents start by keeping their process as it is and simply speeding up their order desk, then automate one step at a time.

06Next step

Same team, many times the orders

Features Pricing