Summary and Background
When market is good and products are selling well. Nobody would care the 0.002 Euros or 0.003USD price difference when ordering from Yiwu market.
When customers are paying more attention about their pocket, products are not selling easily. Buyers are considering everywhere to cut cost if possible.
Hopefully, this article can help you, somehow, to have a most cost-effective purchasing tour in Yiwu.
Stay In A Small Hotel Close To Market
There are dozens of small hotels close by the market, rating from 100CNY to 200CNY per night, don’t need to book in advance actually. These hotels are not that comfortable of course. But they can make your purchase easy and cost effective.
* Let’s compare the cost:
5 nights in a 4 star hotel in Yiwu costs from 2000 to 2500 CNY. The taxis back and forth from market to hotel costs another 250 to 500CNY. Total cost would be 2250CNY-3000CNY.
If you stay in a small hotel close by market for 5 nights, cost you just 500CNY to 1000CNY. You save 220%+!
Further more, it’s just so easy if you stay within walking distance to your working place.
Walk The Market By Yourself For Most Of The Time
Walk with your agent people/translator ONLY when necessary. Leave most of the time to yourself.
Here is what we usually suggest for our small buyer customers:
If you’re new to Yiwu market, then we have one staff walk with you in the market for the 1st day to show you directions and guide you with the procedure.
If you know the market, you can just walk for the first round by yourself.
After you have all the potential supplier’s cards and prices etc. We just send out a staff to go with you to confirm the orders.
The benefits are obvious:
#1 You save your agent people time and cost. Though, your agent may offer you free service. You know well enough, whenever there are cost, your agent would manage to add to your account. Labor cost is not cheap in China now.
#2 You’re free to compare. This market is HUGE. If you have enough time. You can always have a better supplier for products and cost. In our recent case, our customer found a much better supplier for his foam print bags. This new supplier offered a 30% cheaper price and better quality. Just because they’re more professional.
You can’t expect your agent people search everywhere to find YOUR quality with a much better price. A lot of time, your agent people are not really professorial with your products, nor pay enough attention to your products.
#3 You can also bargain a bit if possible. 0.002EUR or 0.003USD is not a big difference, but it’s still a difference. When situation is good. You may probably can’t be bothered.
There can be communication problems in this way. Like they quote a price just based on one condition. Then price may change (most of time it’s increase)for another occasion. Don’t get mad at every increase.