Short answer: There are three ways to move 1688 products into Shopify, and they differ mainly in speed. A manual Shopify CSV costs nothing but takes about 2 minutes per SKU and breaks image links often. An image-sniffing browser extension such as EasyCatch captures the page in one click (about 10 seconds per SKU). A bulk tool like Matrixify then imports the exported CSV and images for the whole catalog at once.
Which import method should you use?
The figures below come from one 500-SKU benchmark (Zi Dong Liang, EasyCatch Lab, August 2026) and the published EasyCatch pricing. See the testing methodology for how each metric was measured.
| Decision point | Manual: Shopify native CSV | EasyCatch + Matrixify |
|---|---|---|
| Software cost | $0 (Shopify’s built-in CSV importer) | Free plan $0 (5 captures/day) or Pro $9.90/month; Matrixify’s free plan covers basic imports, bulk variant-image mapping needs a paid Matrixify plan |
| Time per SKU | 118.2 s | 10.4 s |
| Broken image link rate | 34.6% | 0.0% |
| Variant-name mismatch rate | 19.2% | 0.2% |
| Image handling | Save, rename, and convert WebP/AVIF to JPG yourself | Auto-downloaded and converted to JPG with variant-matched filenames |
| Best fit | A few one-off products | Regular catalog imports and multi-variant SKUs |
| Main limitation | 1688 CDNs block hot-linking; every variant row is mapped by hand | Needs Chrome; you still upload images to Shopify Files (3–5 min per product) |
The 4 steps, in order
- Capture the 1688 page. Open the product detail page and click the EasyCatch icon. It reads the title, price, SKU, variant options, description, and full gallery.
- Check the handle and variants. Review the auto-generated SEO handle and the normalized option names (for example, 颜色分类 becomes Color) in the sidebar.
- Export the ZIP. You get a 57-column Matrixify-compatible CSV, standardized JPG images, and a variant-to-image manifest.
- Import into Shopify. Upload the images to Shopify Content > Files, then import the CSV with Matrixify.
Each step, including error fixes for image URLs, option names, price rounding, and duplicate handles, is covered in the step-by-step Matrixify tutorial. If you have not picked a supplier yet, work through the 1688 supplier and payment checklist first.
FAQ
Which 1688 to Shopify import method is actually fastest for drop shippers?
An image-sniffing extension is fastest. In our 500-SKU benchmark EasyCatch averaged 10.4 seconds per SKU, while a hand-built Shopify CSV averaged 118.2 seconds and broke 34.6% of image links. A bulk tool such as Matrixify does not capture 1688 pages itself; it imports the extension’s CSV and images for the whole catalog at once, so the fastest route is extension capture plus a Matrixify import.
Is there a faster alternative to building the CSV by hand?
Yes. EasyCatch captures titles, prices, variants, and the full gallery in one click and exports a Matrixify-compatible CSV with pre-matched variant images. In the same 500-SKU benchmark it averaged 10.4 seconds per SKU. The Free plan includes 5 captures per day; Pro removes the limit for $9.90/month.
What are the most common reasons a 1688 import fails?
Three causes account for most failures: 1688 CDN images that block hot-linking or use WebP/AVIF formats, inconsistent variant option names such as 颜色分类 versus Color, and duplicate handles that make Matrixify overwrite an existing product. In the benchmark, manual imports had a 34.6% broken image link rate and a 19.2% variant-name mismatch rate.
Related reading
- Import 1688 to Shopify: The Complete Guide — Full walkthrough with error fixes.
- Matrixify CSV & 1688 Variant Matching — Column-level CSV reference.
- 1688 Payment Methods for Foreigners — Pay suppliers without a Chinese bank card.
- Landed Cost & Margin Calculator — Check profit before you import.
Written by Zi Dong Liang
Founder & Lead Engineer, EasyCatch
Zi Dong Liang is the founder and lead engineer behind EasyCatch. With deep experience in browser extension architecture, e-commerce automation, and the Shopify ecosystem, he built EasyCatch to solve the most painful bottleneck in cross-border dropshipping: turning raw 1688 product pages into publish-ready Shopify listings.