As some of you know , I am on a trip to China to source and see the quality of various items that most of us laser engravers use or buy.
I have come to see and buy and visit factories that produce
Trophies , Metal cups , crystal awards , acrylic awards , medals , marble bases , wood shields and plaques , trophy trimming, fittings, laser engraving laminates , perspex sheets , Co2 lasers, Yag and fibre lasers and some creative art stuff like statues , ornate woodwork, blown Glass , leds , magnets and any other stuff I consider a good opportunity
I flew 15000 km to get here - a 24 hour trip including a stopover of 5 hours in Dubai (It's no shopping mecca , its pretty expensive)
I ,landed in Guangzhou at midnight so saw nothing of it and flew internally to the market city of Yiwu - local airline wasnt bad.
Let me tell you right now - China is not backward and cheap cheap quality is not the watchword here right now - perhaps a few years ago .. but not now!!
Anyway I landed in Yiwu which is the melting pot of the world for those wishing to buy just about anything under the sun. It is one HUGE wholesale markets with 10 of thousands of factories and other industries having permanent showrooms. Apart from the many many off market offices , there is a market/fair as well.
To describe this as a market is rediculous , it is a city within a city of 3-4 million people, there are 5 districts (huge buildings , bigger than 100 malls) each with 4 floors and on each floor you will find about 5-8000 manufacturers "showrooms" (they are small)
You can find anything here - from jewellery to rubber bands to whatever.
Anyway , I am spending a week here looking for trophies , acrylic , crystal , awards, creative arts etc - primarily for trophies
From Monday to Wed I have been visiting various factory showrooms of trophy factories and it has been an eye opener.
Metal cups: You get 3 classes , low quality , medium and high. Low quality is perfectly acceptable for the price , its actually pretty good for the price, medium quality is actually "exceptional" quality and high quality is not that much better than medium , but a lot more expensive.
Actually low quality is not the same type and range of medium and high , medium consists of high polish and very thick metal and plated items , high quality is also similar but over the top designs and thick gold or silver or polished stainless steel finishes.
The pricing is rediculously low for any trophy in $ terms , a 15" plastic trophy (a large cup with a lid) on a heavy plastic (filled with plaster of paris) base is under $2. a "low" quality metal bodied cup with a metal final and smaller plastic stem on a decent base , 20" high and really big is about $7-9. HUGE high quality trophies , gold plated , 30" high (massive cup type things) are around $60 (they would sell for at least 5x that)
PDU type figurines and wreaths of "ok" quality are 30-50c
Medals , 3" diameter , heavy (50 grams) and thick , with superb detail and HEAVY and beautifully polished plating (I have not seen such good quality before) , Round 70c
Crystal stuff abounds , also at rediculous prices , innovative designs , stuff I have never seen before , at prices like $5 for 10-12" examples, heavy stuff!!
Plastic components , like tubing , cups , pdu type stuff etc is so cheap that I can't even credit how it is made at those prices , I'm not really looking at that type of stuff as it's "old hat" and you can get better trophies and awards fully assembled for a little more.
I have visited around 15 trophy supply houses , who sell directly from factory and am suffering from product/information overload , the variety is so vast and the ranges so extensive , I don't know what to order or where to start placing one.
These places also stock acrylics, plaques from ordinary to extremely ornate , cast frames , trays , badge fittings and so on.
I have catalogues for most of these places and have taken a zillion pictures and inspected the items for flaws and for quality.
Most of the people manning the market/showrooms dont speak english , but the agent you appoint in China/Yiwu provides a translator and someone to show you around , find the places etc for $35 a day.
You have to have an agent , they pick you up from the airport , meet you at the hotel , translate , take you to the places and factories you need to see , help place orders , find the best prices , deal with the factories , do the quality control , disburse funds only if the factories deliver the right stuff , warehouse the various factories stuff as they deliver , see its the right stuff , pack the container/s and ship for you , for 3% of your order amount. They probably get kick backs from the factories and make up some money in other ways ..but they are essential. Most of the factories have high minimum order quantities , some as low as 12 pieces of one design and size to 100+ pieces and 500/1000 piece orders for stuff like figurines. You can buy from a reseller type agent at about 15-30%higher and order much lower quantities - like 1's
Yiwu itself is mental and mind boggling , it is packed with people , there is nothing to see and do apart from shop..it is a town of high rises , huge markets , and huge retail markets - like the night market which starts at 6pm and ends at 4 am , the biggest flea market you have ever seen and then x that by 100.....
Traffic is mental , traffic lights , pedestrian crossings , scooter drivers and other cars are ignored , its like one huge racetrack/bumper derby - no one indicates and ppl change lanes at will , there is a constant blare of hooters and despite about 100 near misses , I havent seen any accidents , normal people cannot drive there and crossing a road is taking your life in your hands. Taxis are cheap .. a 5 mile journey will cost you $2 or less.
Food at supermarkets is cheap too - a can of coke is 40c , I bought some stuff at a supermarket , snack type stuff (like twinkies) and a huge bag including 2 packs of 20's marlborough came to about $15. It must be said , the snacks especially the chocolate covered stuff wasnt the best tasting..ok , but not as rich or flavoursome as nice western snacks.
Ppl smoke anywhere and everywhere in China..
Here are some pics....
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Originally Posted by Rodne Gold
