Turn your Alibaba.com supplier account into an API

What you can build on Alibaba.com

• Get matching RFQs from the RFQ market

  Build this

  Reads the RFQ market in Seller Center for the keywords or category you give, with each request's quantity, specification and delivery needs.

  Takes

  Keywords or category, destination (optional)

  Returns

  Request title, product, quantity, specifications, customization, destination, delivery timing

• Get Trade Assurance orders

  Build this

  Reads your Trade Assurance orders and the terms in each online order: product, quantity, price, payment milestones and shipping date.

  Takes

  Status (optional), created since (optional)

  Returns

  Order number, buyer, product description, quantity, unit price, total amount, payment milestones, shipping date, status

• Get new product inquiries

  Build this

  Reads the product inquiries buyers sent to your store and whether each one has been answered.

  Takes

  Received since (optional)

  Returns

  Buyer, buyer country, product, message, received at, replied

• Submit a quotation to an RFQ

  Build this

  Opens one request in the RFQ market and submits your quotation with the price, quantity, lead time and terms you give.

  Takes

  Request, unit price, currency, quantity, lead time, shipping terms, message

  Returns

  Request title, quotation status, submitted at

Automate Alibaba.com with a workflow

A workflow runs your methods as one process, with nobody at the screen. A schedule or a call from your own system starts it, the steps run in order, and the result arrives in your inbox or in the systems you already use.

• New RFQs for your products, every weekday morning

  Build this

  Starts

  Every weekday at 8:00

  Step 1

  For each of your product keywords, get the matching RFQs from the RFQ market.

  Step 2

  Keep the requests that were not there on the last run.

  Step 3

  Email you the list grouped by keyword, with quantity, destination and delivery timing.

• Trade Assurance orders due to ship, sent to your ERP

  Build this

  Starts

  Every day at 7:00

  Step 1

  Get your Trade Assurance orders.

  Step 2

  Keep the orders whose shipping date falls in the next 7 days.

  Step 3

  Post order number, buyer, product, quantity, total amount and shipping date to your ERP webhook.

• Unanswered product inquiries, posted to your CRM

  Build this

  Starts

  Every 30 minutes

  Step 1

  Get the product inquiries received today.

  Step 2

  Keep the ones not replied to and not there on the last run.

  Step 3

  Post buyer, country, product and message to your CRM or Slack webhook.

You can run a workflow by hand on every plan, Free included. Schedules and webhook triggers come with the paid plans, from $29 a month.

Once built, one call from your code

Once you have built a method, it is one POST to /v1/runs from your backend, or a tool an AI agent calls over MCP. This is what “Get matching RFQs from the RFQ market” would look like.

curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "method": "login.alibaba.com/get_rfq_market_requests",
    "input": {
      "keywords": "stainless steel water bottle",
      "destination": "United States"
    }
  }'

{
  "status": "completed",
  "data": {
    "keywords": "stainless steel water bottle",
    "requests": [
      {
        "title": "Insulated stainless steel bottles with logo",
        "product": "Vacuum insulated water bottle, 750 ml",
        "quantity": "5,000 Pieces",
        "specifications": "18/8 stainless steel, powder coated, leak-proof lid",
        "customization": "Laser-engraved logo, custom gift box",
        "destination": "United States",
        "delivery_timing": "Ship by 2027-01-15"
      }
    ]
  }
}

An example with invented data, not a ready-made endpoint. The method exists in your organization once you build it, and its name, inputs and fields follow your request.

Alibaba.com’s own options

Alibaba.com's Open Platform offers APIs for products, product videos and seller transactions and fulfillment, but only to registered GGS developers whose application GGS admins approve and whom a seller authorizes. Everyone else works in Seller Center by hand, on a yearly supplier package.

Read on November 12, 2026: Alibaba.com Open Platform: Getting Started, Alibaba.com Open Platform: API reference, Alibaba.com US seller pricing.

Signing in to Alibaba.com

Suppliers sign in to Seller Center with their Alibaba.com account, through Alibaba.com's own sign-in page. With Fous you sign in once there with your own account. The login is sealed with AES-256, never returned by the API or written to logs, and code and AI agents never see it.

Worth knowing

The online order is the record

Trade Assurance protection rests on the online order's terms and on payment made through Alibaba.com. Product description, quantity, unit price, total amount, payment milestones and shipping date all sit in that order.

API access goes through a developer

The Open Platform needs a registered GGS developer, an application GGS admins approve, and each seller's authorization before an app can read that seller's data.

AI features depend on entitlement

Alibaba.com says Smart Assistant Agent functions for RFQs depend on the product version and account entitlement, and that AI-generated quotation details should be checked before sending.

Plans differ by region

The published package prices are for the U.S. market. Alibaba.com says plans and benefits vary by region.

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