What is Alibaba Scraper and how does it work?

Alibaba Scraper is a web scraping tool that enables you to extract product data from Alibaba using Alibaba's search filters.

For example, this is an Alibaba URL for the iPhone cases:
https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.the-new-header_fy23_pc_search_bar.keydown__Enter&tab=all&SearchText=iphone+case
So just add one or more Alibaba URLs in the input field and select the maximum number of items you want to scrape. Then download the data from the output schema.

Why scrape Alibaba products?

Scraping Alibaba can help you to:

➡️ Monitor the performance of categories and subcategories on Alibaba so you can put the performance of your products into context.

➡️ Discover up-and-coming brands and products to benchmark your performance within its category based on views, conversions, and reviews.

➡️ Fine-tune your advertising and messaging.

➡️ Use Alibaba data to give you an edge in competitive intelligence.

For more inspiration, check out how web scraping is transforming e-commerce analytics.

How many results can you scrape with Alibaba Scraper?

Alibaba Scraper can return over 100 000 results on average. However, you have to keep in mind that scraping alibaba.com has many variables to it and may cause the results to fluctuate case by case. There’s no one-size-fits-all-use-cases number. The maximum number of results may vary depending on the complexity of the input, location, and other factors. Some of the most frequent cases are:

• website gives a different number of results depending on the type/value of the input
• website has an internal limit that no scraper can cross
• scraper has a limit that I am are working on improving

Therefore, while I regularly run Actor tests to keep the benchmarks in check, the results may also fluctuate without my knowing. The best way to know for sure for your particular use case is to do a test run yourself.

How much will scraping Alibaba cost you?

When it comes to scraping, it can be challenging to estimate the resources needed to extract data as use cases may vary significantly. That's why the best course of action is to run a test scrape with a small sample of input data and limited output. You’ll get your price per scrape, which you’ll then multiply by the number of scrapes you intend to do.

Is it legal to scrape Alibaba?

It is legal to scrape publicly available data such as product descriptions, prices, or ratings. Read Apify blog post on the legality of web scraping to learn more.

How do I scrape products on Alibaba?

1. Open your browser of choice (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, ....)
2. Search www.alibaba.com and open it
3. Search the thing you want to scrape. For example iPhone case
4. If you want you can use filters. Like for example you want only cases under 30$. So you set that on alibaba.
5. Now you copy the URL in the browser. For example https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.the-new-header_fy23_pc_search_bar.keydown__Enter&tab=all&SearchText=iphone+case
6. You put the URL inside this scraper and click run.

Input options

When running Alibaba Scraper, you need to configure what you want to scrape and how it should be extracted. This input is provided either as a JSON file or in the editor on the Apify platform. Most input fields have reasonable default values.

Please note the following when using Alibaba Scraper:

• Sometimes data aren't provided by Alibaba so scraper will put null value.
• Alibaba always changes order of items so the order will be always a bit different

Sample output from Alibaba Scraper

1{
2	"title": "TechGuard premium quality accessories blue wireless magnetic with strap durable waterproof Phone Case for iPhone 16 ultra",
3	"product_url": "https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/TechGuard-premium-quality-accessories-blue_1600918833540.html",
4	"advertisement": false,
5	"top_sponsor": false,
6	"min_price": 4.99,
7	"max_price": 6.25,
8	"is_it_price_range": true,
9	"seller_name": "Shenzhen TechPro Innovations Co., Ltd.",
10	"sell_stats": "512 sold",
11	"age_of_seller": "3 yrs",
12	"country_of_seller": "us",
13	"store_rating": 4.7,
14	"review_count": 15,
15	"verified_supplier": true,
16	"product_image": "https://s.alicdn.com/images/product_image.jpg_300x300.jpg",
17	"shipping": "Free shipping",
18	"min_order": 3,
19	"min_order_type": "piece",
20	"min_order_full": "Min. order: 3 pieces",
21	"est_delivery": "Delivery by Aug 15",
22	"easy_return": true,
23	"delivery_by": "Delivery by Aug 15",
24	"money_back_guarantee": true,
25	"search_url": https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.the-new-header_fy23_pc_search_bar.keydown__Enter&tab=all&SearchText=iphone+case",
26	"page_id": 2,
27	"ranking_of_product": 59
28}

Integrations and Alibaba Scraper

Last but not least, Alibaba Scraper can be connected with almost any cloud service or web app thanks to integrations on the Apify platform. You can integrate with Make, Zapier, Slack, Airbyte, GitHub, Google Sheets, Google Drive, and more. Or you can use webhooks to carry out an action whenever an event occurs, e.g. get a notification whenever Instagram API Scraper successfully finishes a run.

Using Alibaba Scraper with the Apify API

The Apify API gives you programmatic access to the Apify platform. The API is organized around RESTful HTTP endpoints that enable you to manage, schedule, and run Apify actors. The API also lets you access any datasets, monitor actor performance, fetch results, create and update versions, and more.

To access the API using Node.js, use the apify-client NPM package. To access the API using Python, use the apify-client PyPI package.

Check out the Apify API reference docs for full details.

Your feedback

I am always working on improving the performance of my Actors. So if you’ve got any technical feedback for xxx or simply found a bug, please create an issue on the Actor’s Issues tab in Apify Console.