A relatively green method for synthesizing 1-thioalkyl glycosides has been developed, where sodium alkanethiolates were used to react with per-O-acetylated sugars instead of odorous alkyl mercaptans in the presence of BF3·Et2O without the use of solvents under mild conditions. Furthermore, we found that 1,2-trans-β-thioglycosides can be converted into corresponding 1,2-cis-α-thioglycosides in the presence of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid in nonpolar solvents under mild conditions. This provides a simple and efficient new approach for synthesizing challenging 1,2-cis-α-thioglycosides.