What is the difference between Alibaba and AliExpress scrapers?

Alibaba and AliExpress are different marketplaces serving different purposes, and you'll need separate scrapers for each.

Key differences

Alibaba (alibaba.com)

B2B marketplace: Wholesale and bulk purchasing
MOQ focus: Minimum order quantities (often 100-1000+ units)
Supplier-centric: Direct manufacturer/supplier connections
Pricing structure: Per-unit pricing for bulk orders, often negotiable
Trade assurance: Business-to-business protections

AliExpress (aliexpress.com)

B2C marketplace: Retail and small-quantity purchasing
No MOQ: Buy single units or small quantities
Product-centric: Consumer product listings
Pricing structure: Fixed retail prices with discounts
Buyer protection: Consumer purchase protections

When to scrape Alibaba

Use the Alibaba scraper when you need:

Wholesale pricing and MOQ data
Supplier research and evaluation
Bulk purchasing options
Manufacturer contact information
Custom product capabilities
Trade assurance verification

When to scrape AliExpress

Use the AliExpress scraper when you need:

Retail product pricing
Dropshipping product research
Consumer reviews and ratings
Single-unit availability
Consumer trend analysis

Use both for complete intelligence

Many businesses use both scrapers:

Alibaba scraper for sourcing and supplier research
AliExpress scraper for retail pricing and consumer trend analysis
Compare wholesale vs retail pricing strategies
Identify products to source in bulk and sell retail

Bottom line

These are separate marketplaces with different data structures, so you need separate parsers. Choose based on whether you're doing B2B research (Alibaba) or B2C research (AliExpress).