How to Use This Glossary
Common terms from sourcing, trading, FBA, and Catalayer-specific vocabulary. Organized alphabetically. Use browser find (Cmd+F / Ctrl+F) to jump to specific terms.
A
Alibaba
China's largest B2B wholesale marketplace for international buyers. Focuses on export trade. Typically 30-60% higher prices than 1688 for the same products.
All Access
Catalayer's top subscription tier. Unlocks every product (Finder Plus + Monitor Plus + Market Intelligence + Sourcing Agent + Claim Pilot + Island). $39.99/month.
Amazon FBA
Fulfillment by Amazon. Amazon stores, picks, packs, and ships your inventory + handles customer service. Standard for scaled Amazon sellers.
Article Schema
Schema.org markup indicating a page is an article. Helps search engines display rich snippets (date, author, image).
B
BSR (Best Seller Rank)
Amazon's ranking of products within a category. Lower BSR = more sales. Ranks update hourly.
Boolean Monitor Rule
Monitor rule using AND, OR, NOT logic. Catalayer Monitor supports these for precise filtering.
Brand Registry
Amazon program for registered trademark owners. Unlocks A+ Content, Sponsored Brand ads, Brand Analytics.
BSCI
Business Social Compliance Initiative. European retailer-led ethical sourcing standard.
C
Catalayer AI
The analysis engine powering all Catalayer products — relevance scoring, news summaries, predictions, claim drafting. Not sold separately; embedded in every product.
Chinese New Year (CNY)
Major holiday disrupting China's factories for 2-4 weeks (typically late January to February). Freight rates spike before; production halts during.
Claim Pilot
Catalayer product for Amazon FBA reimbursement audit. Finds missing inventory, incorrect returns, dimension overcharges.
CIF
Cost, Insurance, Freight. Incoterm where seller pays for goods + freight + insurance to port of destination.
Content Security Policy (CSP)
Web security header defining allowed script/style sources. Catalayer uses strict CSP.
D
DDP
Delivered Duty Paid. Incoterm where seller handles everything including import duties. Simplest for buyers.
DHgate
Re-selling platform where small-order buyers can access 1688-style suppliers via intermediary. USD payment accepted.
Dropshipping
E-commerce model where inventory ships directly from supplier to customer. No warehousing required.
E
ETA
Estimated Time of Arrival (shipping).
ESG
Environmental, Social, Governance. Due diligence framework for supplier evaluation.
Extension (Chrome)
Source Finder's Chrome extension. Runs reverse-image search on product pages to match 1688/Alibaba suppliers.
F
FAQ Page Schema
Schema.org markup for Q&A content. Triggers Google "People also ask" features.
FBA Reimbursement
Money Amazon owes you for lost/damaged inventory. Manually requestable via Seller Central.
Finder Plus
Catalayer subscription unlocking unlimited Source Finder searches. $9.99/month.
FOB
Free On Board. Incoterm where seller delivers goods to the ship at port of origin. Buyer handles ocean freight forward.
Freelancer Monitor
Catalayer product for monitoring freelance job platforms (Upwork, Guru) in real-time.
G
Gold Supplier
Alibaba badge indicating premium supplier status (paid tier + verified).
Guru
Freelance platform (guru.com). Similar to Upwork with lower fees + lower competition.
H
HowTo Schema
Schema.org markup for step-by-step instructions. Triggers Google step-by-step rich results.
HTS Code
Harmonized Tariff Schedule. 10-digit product classification for customs. Determines duty rate.
I
IndexNow
Protocol for submitting URLs to Bing/Yandex/Seznam for fast indexing. Catalayer auto-submits new content.
Incoterms
Standardized shipping terms (FOB, CIF, EXW, DDP, etc.) defining buyer/seller responsibilities.
Island
Catalayer's macOS desktop app for native notifications on monitor alerts. Currently macOS 13+ only.
J
JobPosting Schema
Schema.org markup for job listings. Enables Google Jobs search eligibility.
K
Keyword Rules
User-defined filters on Monitor that match news headlines + sources + tickers.
L
Landed Cost
Total cost per unit landing at your warehouse: FOB + freight + duty + customs + last-mile.
Lead Time
Days from order placement to product ready for shipping. Typically 20-45 days for Chinese factories.
LTS (Long-Term Storage)
Amazon FBA storage charges on units aged >365 days. $6.90/cubic foot/month typical.
M
Market Intelligence
Catalayer capability (paid) providing AI analysis of news (relevance, summaries, predictions). $19.99/month.
MOQ
Minimum Order Quantity. Smallest batch a factory will produce. Typically 100-1000 units depending on product.
Monitor / Monitor Plus
Catalayer product for creating custom alerts on news + signals. Plus tier ($19.99/mo) allows 5 active monitors.
MSMS
Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price.
N
News (Catalayer)
Real-time global news feed across 13 language regions + 50+ sources. Free tier.
NewsArticle Schema
Schema.org markup identifying a page as news content.
O
OEM
Original Equipment Manufacturer. Factory that produces goods for other companies to brand.
ODM
Original Design Manufacturer. Factory that designs + produces (you brand their existing design).
P
PingPong
Cross-border fintech enabling USD↔RMB transactions for international trade.
Private Label
Brand-your-own sourcing model. Factory produces generic product, you apply your branding.
Product Page
Public SSR landing page on Catalayer (/news, /monitor, /source-finder, etc.). SEO-optimized.
Q
QC (Quality Control)
Inspection of products before shipment. Standard services: SGS, Asia Inspection, QIMA.
R
Relevance Score (0-10)
Catalayer AI's estimate of a news story's likelihood to move prices. 9-10 = rare, high-confidence; 3-4 = noise.
REACH
EU chemicals regulation. Required compliance for most goods imported into EU.
Reimbursement
Amazon FBA owes-you money for lost/damaged/incorrect inventory. Claim Pilot catches these.
RFP / RFQ
Request for Proposal / Request for Quote. Corporate/government procurement documents.
RoHS
EU restriction on hazardous substances. Required for electronics imports.
S
SAMR
State Administration for Market Regulation. Chinese regulator for antitrust, consumer protection.
Schema.org
Structured data standard used across web. Catalayer implements Article, FAQPage, HowTo, NewsArticle, JobPosting, Organization, SoftwareApplication, WebSite, BreadcrumbList.
Seller Central
Amazon's seller management portal. Where FBA sellers manage listings, inventory, ads, reimbursement claims.
Signal Channel
Catalayer curated feed combining refined monitor rules + manual curation. Examples: Freelancer Sourcing, Supply Chain Alerts.
Source Finder
Catalayer product matching products on any page to 1688/Alibaba suppliers. Chrome extension + web workspace.
Sourcing Agent
Catalayer product (early access) guiding sourcing workflow from brief to supplier shortlist to RFQ.
SKU
Stock Keeping Unit. Unique product identifier per variant.
SPC / Six Sigma
Statistical quality control frameworks used in manufacturing.
T
Telegram Integration
Catalayer routing Monitor alerts to Telegram chats via @CatalayerAlertsBot.
TOC
Table of Contents. Catalayer guides auto-generate sticky TOC from H2 headings.
Trade Assurance
Alibaba's escrow/buyer protection program for orders placed via Alibaba platform.
Traditional Chinese
Chinese writing system used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, some diaspora communities. Different from Simplified Chinese used in mainland.
Trial (Catalayer)
7-day All Access Trial granted to new accounts. Full product access for 7 days.
U
UFLPA
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. US law restricting imports of Xinjiang-sourced goods.
Upwork
Largest freelance platform. Catalayer Freelancer Monitor tracks new job postings.
V
VAT
Value Added Tax. EU/UK import tax on (FOB + Freight + Duty).
Verification
Process to confirm supplier legitimacy. Includes business license check, video factory tour, third-party audits.
W
WCO
World Customs Organization. Sets HTS classification standards.
WebSite Schema
Schema.org markup enabling Google Sitelinks Search Box.
WordFirst
Cross-border fintech for USD↔RMB payments. Owned by Ant Group.
X
X-App-Sig
Catalayer's request signing header. Rotates hourly; resistant to simple scraping.
Xueqiu
Chinese social investing platform (雪球). Source for Chinese retail investor sentiment.
Y
Yandex
Russian search engine. Accepts IndexNow submissions like Bing.
Z
Zero-Sum (in trading context)
A trade where one party's gain equals another's loss. Relevant in futures/options markets.
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Catalayer-Specific Acronyms
AA = All Access subscription
MP = Monitor Plus subscription
FP = Finder Plus subscription
MI = Market Intelligence subscription
CA = Catalayer AI (analysis engine)
CS = Catalayer Signals (curated channels)
FAQ
Q: Why don't you have entries for X, Y, Z?A: This glossary focuses on terms directly relevant to Catalayer use. For broader finance/e-commerce terms, Investopedia or Wikipedia have deeper coverage.
Q: Can I suggest additions?A: Yes. Email [email protected] with term + definition. We update this guide quarterly.
Q: Is there a Chinese version?A: Not yet. Demand-based prioritization; let us know if you need it.