# Taobao 1688 Agent Search CNFans, Hoobuy, OOPBuy Links (`teodor_banea/taobao-1688-agent-search-cnfans-hoobuy-oopbuy-links`) Actor

Search Taobao and 1688 by keyword through shopping-agent APIs (OOPBuy, CNFans). Get English titles, CNY prices, images, sales and MOQ, plus ready-to-open links for 9 agents — CNFans, Mulebuy, ACBuy, Hoobuy, OOPBuy, Superbuy, CSSBuy, AllChinaBuy, Sugargoo. No login, no browser, pay per result.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/teodor\_banea/taobao-1688-agent-search-cnfans-hoobuy-oopbuy-links.md
- **Developed by:** [Banea Teodor](https://apify.com/teodor_banea) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.40 / 1,000 results

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?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## 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.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Taobao & 1688 Agent Search — CNFans, Hoobuy, OOPBuy Links

### What does Taobao & 1688 Agent Search do?

It searches **Taobao** and **1688** by keyword through China shopping-agent APIs and returns
clean product data: the original Chinese title, an **English machine translation**, the CNY
price, the product image, and — the part that saves the most time — **ready-to-open links
for 9 shopping agents** (CNFans, Mulebuy, ACBuy, Hoobuy, OOPBuy, Superbuy, CSSBuy,
AllChinaBuy, Sugargoo). No login, no China IP, no browser extension needed.

### Why use this Actor?

- **Search in English, get English titles back** — the agent API translates both ways.
- **Build spreadsheets fast**: every row ships with links for all major agents, so your
  list works for any community regardless of which agent people prefer.
- **1688 wholesale mode** returns raw numeric offer IDs, direct marketplace URLs, and
  minimum order quantities — sourcing research without Alibaba's login walls.
- **Honest results**: if a keyword returns fewer products than you asked for, the run
  says so explicitly instead of quietly under-delivering.
- **No proxy setup**: proxies are managed internally (datacenter first, automatic
  residential escalation only when needed).
- **Two independent sources**: OOPBuy's search API leads for Taobao and CNFans' for
  1688; when one fails or returns nothing for a keyword, the run switches to the other
  automatically, so one agent having a bad day does not break your workflow. Every row
  says which source served it.

### How much does it cost?

You pay per product returned — nothing else. At **$2.50 per 1,000 products**, a typical
run of 3 keywords × 100 products costs **$0.75**, and the default first run (1 keyword,
20 products) costs **$0.05**. Proxies and compute are included in that price.

### Input

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `keywords` | array | Search terms, one per line. English works; Chinese gives the best recall. |
| `platform` | string | `taobao` (retail, default) or `1688` (wholesale). |
| `maxResults` | integer | Products per keyword (default 50, max 2,000). |
| `generateAgentLinks` | boolean | Include the 9-agent link matrix on every product (default true). |
| `searchProvider` | string | `auto` (default: OOPBuy first on Taobao, CNFans first on 1688, failover to the other), `cnfans`, or `oopbuy`. |

### Output

One dataset item per product:

```json
{
    "platform": "1688",
    "productId": "1024518226585",
    "rawUrl": "https://detail.1688.com/offer/1024518226585.html",
    "titleCn": "LULU家同款平替scuba连帽华夫格休闲卫衣夹克",
    "titleEn": "Lulu's Same Style Affordable Alternative Scuba Hooded Waffle Casual Sweatshirt Jacket",
    "priceCny": 58.0,
    "imageUrl": "https://cbu01.alicdn.com/img/ibank/example.jpg",
    "sales": 1200,
    "minOrderQuantity": 2,
    "agentLinks": {
        "cnfans": "https://cnfans.com/product?id=1024518226585&platform=ALI_1688",
        "mulebuy": "https://mulebuy.com/product/?shop_type=ali_1688&id=1024518226585",
        "acbuy": "https://www.acbuy.com/product?id=1024518226585&source=AL",
        "hoobuy": "https://hoobuy.com/product/0/1024518226585",
        "oopbuy": "https://oopbuy.com/goods/details?id=1024518226585&channel=1688",
        "superbuy": "https://www.superbuy.com/en/page/buy/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdetail.1688.com%2Foffer%2F1024518226585.html",
        "cssbuy": "https://www.cssbuy.com/item-1688-1024518226585.html",
        "allchinabuy": "https://www.allchinabuy.com/en/page/buy/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdetail.1688.com%2Foffer%2F1024518226585.html",
        "sugargoo": "https://www.sugargoo.com/products?productLink=https%3A%2F%2Fdetail.1688.com%2Foffer%2F1024518226585.html"
    },
    "keyword": "连帽衫",
    "source": "cnfans",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-09-07T14:30:00.000Z"
}
```

### Tips and tricks

- **Use Chinese keywords for Taobao.** English works and titles come back translated,
  but the upstream search maps some English words loosely — `hoodie` on Taobao returns
  mostly T-shirts, while `连帽衫` returns hooded sweatshirts almost exclusively. Multi-word
  English terms (`denim jacket`, `cargo pants`, `backpack`) work well.
- **Every keyword returns something.** The search is semantic: a nonsense or misspelled
  keyword still returns a handful of loosely related products, and those are billed like
  any other result. Check your spelling before large runs.
- **Taobao product IDs are opaque tokens** — that's how the upstream feed serves them,
  on every agent. Those rows still include a working link for the agent that issued the
  token (CNFans and Mulebuy for CNFans results, OOPBuy for OOPBuy results), while
  `rawUrl` and the other agents' links are `null`. 1688 always returns real numeric IDs
  with the full 9-agent link matrix.
- **`sales` and `minOrderQuantity` are 1688-only.** Taobao search results carry no sales
  data, so both fields are `null` on Taobao instead of a misleading constant. OOPBuy
  reports monthly sales but no minimum order quantity, so `minOrderQuantity` is `null`
  on OOPBuy-sourced rows.
- Prices are always **CNY** (the marketplace currency) — convert downstream if needed.
- Searching **Weidian by keyword is not supported by any agent API**; Weidian is
  link-only across the ecosystem.
- Keep `maxResults` at what you actually need — billing is per product returned.
- If a search page fails on every provider, the run continues and lists the failed
  pages under the `ERRORS` key of the run's key-value store; the final status message
  reports the shortfall per keyword.

### Integrations

Connect the dataset to Google Sheets, Zapier, Make, or fetch it via the Apify API
(`GET /v2/datasets/{datasetId}/items?format=csv`) to feed spreadsheet-builder workflows,
Discord bots, or price monitors.

# Actor input Schema

## `keywords` (type: `array`):

Enter one search term per line (max 200 characters each). English works — titles come back translated — but Chinese terms give noticeably better recall on Taobao (e.g. 连帽衫 for hoodie).

## `platform` (type: `string`):

Select the marketplace to search. Taobao for retail listings, 1688 for wholesale prices and MOQs.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many products for each keyword.

## `generateAgentLinks` (type: `boolean`):

Add ready-to-open product links for 9 shopping agents (CNFans, Hoobuy, OOPBuy, Superbuy, CSSBuy, ...) to every product.

## `searchProvider` (type: `string`):

Select which shopping agent's search API to use. Automatic uses OOPBuy first for Taobao and CNFans first for 1688 (the only one reporting minimum order quantities), and switches to the other when a provider fails or returns nothing. Both serve the same marketplaces; only the agent links on Taobao results differ.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "keywords": [
    "denim jacket"
  ],
  "platform": "taobao",
  "maxResults": 20,
  "generateAgentLinks": true,
  "searchProvider": "auto"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `products` (type: `string`):

Products found per keyword: Chinese and English titles, CNY price, image, sales, MOQ, the search provider that served the row, and ready-to-open links for 9 shopping agents (CNFans, Mulebuy, ACBuy, Hoobuy, OOPBuy, Superbuy, CSSBuy, AllChinaBuy, Sugargoo).

## `productsCsv` (type: `string`):

The same products as a CSV download for spreadsheets.

## `errors` (type: `string`):

Search pages that failed on every provider (keyword, page, provider, error, timestamp). Only present when something failed; the run's status message reports the shortfall per keyword.

# 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 = {
    "keywords": [
        "denim jacket"
    ],
    "maxResults": 20
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("teodor_banea/taobao-1688-agent-search-cnfans-hoobuy-oopbuy-links").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 = {
    "keywords": ["denim jacket"],
    "maxResults": 20,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("teodor_banea/taobao-1688-agent-search-cnfans-hoobuy-oopbuy-links").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 '{
  "keywords": [
    "denim jacket"
  ],
  "maxResults": 20
}' |
apify call teodor_banea/taobao-1688-agent-search-cnfans-hoobuy-oopbuy-links --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,teodor_banea/taobao-1688-agent-search-cnfans-hoobuy-oopbuy-links"
        }
    }
}
```

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/Qgr4wM69eYDuLsIyX/builds/qdoL7deee6ylfDHoF/openapi.json