# Taobao Category Bestsellers Scraper (`apt_marble/taobao-category-bestsellers-scraper`) Actor

Rank any Taobao category by real sales and get the true bestsellers in order, with price, promotions, shop and images. Spot trends early or find winning products to sell. No account, no login.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/apt\_marble/taobao-category-bestsellers-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Hamza](https://apify.com/apt_marble) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$1.20 / 1,000 bestseller scrapeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Taobao Category Bestsellers Scraper

Find what really sells on Taobao before you stock it, source it or compete
with it. Point at any category and get its sales-ordered bestsellers — rank 1
is the product the site itself ranks first by sales — with price, promotions,
shop and images attached. Spot trends early, validate a niche, or pull a
ranked shortlist of winning products. No account and no login are needed.

### What you can do with it

- **Find winning products.** Sales-ordered category lists are the raw material
  of product research: what leads, at which price, from which shops.
- **Validate a niche.** Compare the leaders across neighboring categories
  before committing stock or ad spend.
- **Track trends.** Re-run weekly and watch products climb or fall out of the
  ranking.
- **Map the competition.** Every row carries its shop, so a category scan
  doubles as a competitor map.
- **Feed a spreadsheet or dashboard.** Every field is a plain column — export
  to Excel, Google Sheets, CSV or JSON in one click.

### What you get

One row per product, in sales-rank order. Abridged real example:

```json
{
  "categoryId": "50064014",
  "categoryName": "礦泉水/純淨水",
  "rank": 1,
  "itemId": "842645269114",
  "title": "【經典原味】泰國進口泰象（Chang）蘇打水325ml*24瓶 曾舜晞同款",
  "url": "https://world.taobao.com/item/842645269114.htm",
  "price": 88,
  "promoLabel": "特價秒殺",
  "currency": "CNY",
  "shopId": "67597230",
  "shopName": "天貓超市",
  "shopUrl": "https://world.taobao.com/dianpu/67597230.htm",
  "serviceScore": 4.88,
  "imageUrl": "https://img.alicdn.com/imgextra/O1CN017nsCWl27j76ab4paI_!!6000000007832-2-yinhe.png",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z"
}
```

### Input reference

| Field | Type | Default | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `categories` | list of text | *(example category)* | Category links (`world.taobao.com/category/…`) or bare numeric category IDs. Up to 20 per run. |
| `maxResultsPerCategory` | number | `20` | How many bestsellers to collect per category, in sales-rank order (maximum 20). |
| `minPrice` | number | — | Keep only collected bestsellers at or above this price, in yuan. Leave empty for no floor. |
| `maxPrice` | number | — | Keep only collected bestsellers at or below this price, in yuan. Leave empty for no ceiling. |
| `maxConcurrency` | number | `3` | How many categories to work through at the same time (1–5). |

### Output fields

| Field | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `categoryId`, `categoryName` | text | The category these ranks belong to. |
| `rank` | number | Sales-rank position inside the category (1 = the site's top seller). |
| `itemId` | text | The product's identifier on the site. |
| `title` | text | Product title. |
| `url` | text | Direct link to the product. |
| `price`, `promoPrice`, `promoLabel`, `currency` | number / text | Selling price in yuan (always `CNY`) plus promotion details when advertised. `promoPrice` stays empty when the promotion matches the selling price. |
| `onPromo` | true/false | Whether the site advertises a promotion on the product. |
| `shopId`, `shopName`, `shopUrl` | text | The shop behind the product and its link. |
| `freeShipping` | true/false | Whether the product ships free. |
| `serviceScore` | number | The seller's description-match score, as the site publishes it. |
| `imageUrl` | text | Main product picture. |
| `scrapedAt` | text | When the row was collected. |

### Pricing

You pay per ranked product returned — nothing else, and nothing for a
category that comes back with nothing.

| What you pay for | Price |
| --- | --- |
| Each bestseller row | $1.20 per 1,000 |

**Worked example.** Ten categories × 20 bestsellers each = 200 rows = **$0.24**
for the run. A daily trend watch on five categories costs about $0.12 per run.

### Limits & what this actor cannot do

- Each category returns the site's own sales-ordered first screen — 20
  products. Ranks are the site's ordering, reported exactly; per-product sales
  totals are not published on this surface, so ranks are returned and totals
  are not.
- Rankings are a snapshot at the moment of collection. The order keeps
  shifting afterwards, so two runs days apart can order the same products
  differently.
- Price bands narrow the collected ranking to matching products; ranks are
  then the order within that narrowed list.
- A category ID that does not exist returns nothing, costs nothing, and is
  reported as empty in the run summary.
- Speed depends on the size of the job and on the source site's own response
  times; no fixed throughput is promised.
- The source site's terms govern automated access. You are responsible for
  using the data lawfully and in line with those terms, and for handling any
  personal data in line with applicable privacy law.

### FAQ

**Do I need a Taobao account?**
No. Nothing is signed in to and nothing is bought.

**How do I find a category ID?**
Open the category on the site and copy the number from its page address — or
just paste the whole category link.

**Is rank 1 really the top seller?**
It is the product the site ranks first in its own sales ordering at the
moment of collection. Re-run on a schedule to see how stable the top spots
are.

**Can I track a category over time?**
Yes. Save the categories as a task and run it on any schedule Apify supports,
then compare rankings week by week.

# Actor input Schema

## `categories` (type: `array`):

Category links (world.taobao.com/category/…) or bare numeric category IDs. Up to 20 per run. To find an ID, open the category on the site and copy the number from its page address.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

How many categories to work through at the same time. Higher is faster; lower is gentler on the source site.

## `maxPrice` (type: `number`):

Keep only collected bestsellers at or below this price, in yuan. Applied to the ranking after collection; leave empty for no ceiling.

## `maxResultsPerCategory` (type: `integer`):

How many bestsellers to collect for each category, in sales-rank order. The site publishes the category's first screen of 20.

## `minPrice` (type: `number`):

Keep only collected bestsellers at or above this price, in yuan. Applied to the ranking after collection; leave empty for no floor.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "categories": [
    "https://world.taobao.com/category/50005050.htm"
  ],
  "maxConcurrency": 3,
  "maxResultsPerCategory": 20
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `bestsellers` (type: `string`):

Every bestseller collected in this run, in sales-rank order per category.

## `runSummary` (type: `string`):

Counts per category, including any category that could not be read.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "categories": [
        "https://world.taobao.com/category/50005050.htm"
    ],
    "maxConcurrency": 3,
    "maxResultsPerCategory": 20
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("apt_marble/taobao-category-bestsellers-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "categories": ["https://world.taobao.com/category/50005050.htm"],
    "maxConcurrency": 3,
    "maxResultsPerCategory": 20,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("apt_marble/taobao-category-bestsellers-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "categories": [
    "https://world.taobao.com/category/50005050.htm"
  ],
  "maxConcurrency": 3,
  "maxResultsPerCategory": 20
}' |
apify call apt_marble/taobao-category-bestsellers-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,apt_marble/taobao-category-bestsellers-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/GRDiKNPsnPjRMAzik/builds/5kKpIQZVM5TVr6vHq/openapi.json