Alibaba supplier shortlist to Google Sheets with n8n

Method

1. Get an Apify token

   Sign in to Apify and copy a personal API token from Console: Settings, API and integrations. The workflow keeps it in an n8n credential, never in the file.

2. Import the workflow

   In n8n choose Workflows, Import from file, or paste the JSON onto an empty canvas.

   • Run by hand
   • Every day
   • Run Apify Actor
   • Keep main fields
   • Send to Google Sheets

   n8n workflowalibaba-supplier-shortlist-to-sheets.n8n.json

   Copy Download Actor on Apify

   Show the file (176 lines)

   {
     "name": "Alibaba supplier shortlist to Google Sheets",
     "nodes": [
       {
         "id": "ad7766b2-7bbe-49f6-aec9-46eb6dbf94f7",
         "name": "Run by hand",
         "type": "n8n-nodes-base.manualTrigger",
         "typeVersion": 1,
         "position": [
           0,
           0
         ],
         "parameters": {}
       },
       {
         "id": "2bff9d72-2298-4540-a44d-8dcd9eb646d7",
         "name": "Every day",
         "type": "n8n-nodes-base.scheduleTrigger",
         "typeVersion": 1.2,
         "position": [
           0,
           200
         ],
         "parameters": {
           "rule": {
             "interval": [
               {
                 "triggerAtHour": 8
               }
             ]
           }
         },
         "notes": "Activate the workflow to run on this schedule."
       },
       {
         "id": "93e5dc46-613b-406d-a11f-4098b55d62a3",
         "name": "Run Apify Actor",
         "type": "n8n-nodes-base.httpRequest",
         "typeVersion": 4.2,
         "position": [
           260,
           100
         ],
         "parameters": {
           "method": "POST",
           "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/vexaloom-labs~alibaba-com-wholesale-sourcing-and-supplier/run-sync-get-dataset-items",
           "authentication": "genericCredentialType",
           "genericAuthType": "httpHeaderAuth",
           "sendBody": true,
           "specifyBody": "json",
           "jsonBody": "{\n  \"mode\": \"searchProducts\",\n  \"keyword\": \"LED lights\",\n  \"tradeAssuranceOnly\": false,\n  \"verifiedSupplierOnly\": false,\n  \"sortBy\": \"relevance\",\n  \"maxItems\": 3,\n  \"maxPages\": 1\n}",
           "options": {
             "timeout": 310000
           }
         },
         "notes": "Actor: vexaloom-labs/alibaba-com-wholesale-sourcing-and-supplier. Select a Header Auth credential: name Authorization, value Bearer + your Apify token. Edit the JSON body to change the input.",
         "notesInFlow": false
       },
       {
         "id": "5c48dc82-a69f-45f0-af08-24e953f90623",
         "name": "Keep main fields",
         "type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
         "typeVersion": 2,
         "position": [
           500,
           100
         ],
         "parameters": {
           "jsCode": "// Keeps the Actor's main fields as flat, spreadsheet-safe values.\nconst columns = [\"title\",\"price\",\"productUrl\",\"minOrder\",\"supplier\",\"supplierLocation\",\"tradeAssurance\",\"priceMin\",\"priceMax\",\"supplierRatingValue\",\"supplierYears\",\"supplierVerified\"];\n// A dotted name such as author.name reads the nested value.\nconst read = (obj, key) => (key in obj ? obj[key] : key.split('.').reduce((v, part) => (v && typeof v === 'object' ? v[part] : undefined), obj));\nreturn $input.all().map((item) => {\n  const row = {};\n  const present = columns.filter((key) => read(item.json, key) !== undefined);\n  // A record shaped differently from the published schema keeps its own fields rather than arriving blank.\n  for (const key of present.length >= 2 ? present : Object.keys(item.json)) {\n    const value = read(item.json, key);\n    row[key] = value === null || value === undefined ? '' : typeof value === 'object' ? JSON.stringify(value) : value;\n  }\n  // A tracker appends one row per record per run: the observation time tells the runs apart.\n  row.checkedAt = new Date().toISOString();\n  return { json: row };\n});"
         }
       },
       {
         "id": "8f57f18a-9716-4700-ac87-7405c3c98bf7",
         "name": "Send to Google Sheets",
         "type": "n8n-nodes-base.googleSheets",
         "typeVersion": 4.5,
         "position": [
           740,
           100
         ],
         "parameters": {
           "operation": "append",
           "documentId": {
             "__rl": true,
             "value": "",
             "mode": "list",
             "cachedResultName": ""
           },
           "sheetName": {
             "__rl": true,
             "value": "Sheet1",
             "mode": "name"
           },
           "columns": {
             "mappingMode": "autoMapInputData",
             "value": {},
             "matchingColumns": [],
             "schema": []
           },
           "options": {}
         },
         "notes": "Pick your spreadsheet. The tab is set to Sheet1; change it if yours has another name. Add these headers in row 1: title, price, productUrl, minOrder, supplier, supplierLocation, tradeAssurance, priceMin, priceMax, supplierRatingValue, supplierYears, supplierVerified, checkedAt."
       },
       {
         "id": "e5f4974a-6f54-4374-a8ee-8cfd8fba5d63",
         "name": "Setup",
         "type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
         "typeVersion": 1,
         "position": [
           0,
           -370
         ],
         "parameters": {
           "content": "## Alibaba.com Wholesale Sourcing & Supplier Vetting Finder\n\nSource: [vexaloom-labs/alibaba-com-wholesale-sourcing-and-supplier](https://apify.com/vexaloom-labs/alibaba-com-wholesale-sourcing-and-supplier) on Apify.\n\n1. In **Run Apify Actor**, create a Header Auth credential: name `Authorization`, value `Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN` with your token.\n2. Open **Send to Google Sheets** and connect your Google Sheets account.\n3. Edit the JSON body of **Run Apify Actor** to change the input.\n\nGenerated by recipeforagents.com. Validated, not executed: runs are billed to your Apify account.",
           "height": 340,
           "width": 460,
           "color": 6
         }
       }
     ],
     "connections": {
       "Run by hand": {
         "main": [
           [
             {
               "node": "Run Apify Actor",
               "type": "main",
               "index": 0
             }
           ]
         ]
       },
       "Every day": {
         "main": [
           [
             {
               "node": "Run Apify Actor",
               "type": "main",
               "index": 0
             }
           ]
         ]
       },
       "Run Apify Actor": {
         "main": [
           [
             {
               "node": "Keep main fields",
               "type": "main",
               "index": 0
             }
           ]
         ]
       },
       "Keep main fields": {
         "main": [
           [
             {
               "node": "Send to Google Sheets",
               "type": "main",
               "index": 0
             }
           ]
         ]
       }
     },
     "pinData": {},
     "active": false,
     "settings": {
       "executionOrder": "v1"
     },
     "meta": {
       "templateCredsSetupCompleted": false
     },
     "tags": []
   }

   Validated, not executed: 11 of 11 checks pass

   • It has a nodes array and a connections object
   • Every node has a name, type, typeVersion, position and parameters
   • Node names are unique
   • Every node type is a known n8n core node (or the Apify node)
   • Every node uses a typeVersion that n8n ships
   • Every connection points at an existing node
   • At least one trigger starts the workflow
   • Every working node is reachable from a trigger
   • Apify calls use POST and a credential for the token
   • Actor input matches the Actor's published input schema
   • No token or credential value is embedded

3. Add the Apify credential

   Open Run Apify Actor. Under Credential, create a Header Auth credential with the name Authorization and the value Bearer, a space and your token.

4. Set the input

   The request body holds the Actor input. It starts from the Actor's Store prefill; change mode, keyword, tradeAssuranceOnly to match your search.

   {
     "mode": "searchProducts",
     "keyword": "LED lights",
     "tradeAssuranceOnly": false,
     "verifiedSupplierOnly": false,
     "sortBy": "relevance",
     "maxItems": 3,
     "maxPages": 1
   }

   Every input field is documented on the Alibaba.com Wholesale Sourcing & Supplier Vetting Finder page.

5. Connect Google Sheets

   Open Send to Google Sheets, select your Google credential, then pick the spreadsheet from the list. The tab is set to Sheet1; change it if yours has another name. Put these headers in row 1 so the columns map automatically: title, price, productUrl, minOrder, supplier, supplierLocation, tradeAssurance, priceMin, priceMax, supplierRatingValue, supplierYears, supplierVerified, checkedAt.

6. Every run adds a dated row

   This is a tracker: each run appends one row per record with a checkedAt time, so you can chart how values change from day to day. Filter or pivot on checkedAt to compare runs.

7. Run once, then turn it on

   Click Execute workflow and check the first records in Google Sheets. When they look right, activate the workflow so the daily trigger runs it at 08:00 in your instance's timezone.

Where it breaks

• Prices are the ranges suppliers publish; real quotes depend on quantity, shipping and negotiation.
• Rows are appended on every run, so the same product appears each day; filter by the timestamp column for the latest list.
• Supplier ratings and years come from Alibaba's profile badges and can be missing for new suppliers.
• The workflow uses Apify's synchronous endpoint, which waits up to 300 seconds. Bigger runs answer HTTP 408: lower the limit or switch to an asynchronous run.
• Each run is billed to your Apify account at the Store price ($0.99 per 1,000 results (pay per event)).

Bigger runs: the long-run workflow starts the run, waits for it and reads the dataset, so it never hits the 300-second limit.

If the workflow fails

Why does the workflow or script stop with HTTP 408?

The synchronous endpoint waits at most 300 seconds. After that it answers 408 while the run keeps going in Apify. Lower the result limit, or start the run asynchronously, wait for it to finish and then read its dataset.

Source: Apify API: run Actor synchronously and get dataset items

What do 400, 401, 402 and 403 from the Apify API mean?

Read error.type in the response body. 400 is invalid Actor input. 401 (user-or-token-not-found) means a token reached Apify but it is wrong or revoked. 402 with x402-payment-required means no token reached Apify at all: the n8n credential or the Authorization: Bearer header is missing, and Apify is offering its pay-per-run x402 route for agents instead; any other 402 is an exhausted usage limit on the account that pays for the run. 403 is a token without permission for that Actor or storage.

Source: Apify API: authentication; Apify documentation: agentic payments with x402; Apify API: run Actor synchronously and get dataset items

n8n says Install this node to use it after import. Why?

The workflow names a node or node version your instance does not have, usually a community node. The workflows here use only built-in nodes at versions n8n has shipped since 1.80, so they import on n8n Cloud and older self-hosted instances without community nodes.

Source: n8n issue: unrecognized node type after import

Why does the HTTP Request node time out before Apify answers?

Set the node's Timeout option to at least 300000 ms so n8n waits as long as Apify's synchronous endpoint. The workflows here already set 310000. A failure at exactly 30 seconds points to a proxy in front of n8n.

Source: n8n HTTP Request node documentation

Every fix in one place

Same data in an agent

Want Claude, Cursor or ChatGPT to call the Actor directly instead of on a schedule? The Alibaba.com Wholesale Sourcing & Supplier Vetting Finder page has MCP configs for eight clients and a SKILL.md. The Alibaba.com MCP server bundles every Alibaba.com Actor in one URL.