CathyKeshi
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2014
- Messages
- 4,673
Remulus, welcome to Pearl-Guide, and I look forward to your photos and trip report with great anticipation!
Going to Zhuji May 2016 and have many questions...
- Thread starter Remulus
- Start date
Caitlin
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2004
- Messages
- 8,502
Hi Remulus. I just found this thread today.
I hope you took lots of pix. Your story about Zhuji will live on forever in the internet, so I hope you tell all!
I love your enthusiasm for pearls. This is the right place to share that!
You probably already know people from pearl-guide.com go to Hong Kong at the big shows. They usually meet up together for food. I hope you go to Hong Kong next year and compare experiences. You may be able to do almost as well, but get to meet Jeremy, Hisano and perhaps others from P-G, too!
I hope you took lots of pix. Your story about Zhuji will live on forever in the internet, so I hope you tell all!
I love your enthusiasm for pearls. This is the right place to share that!
You probably already know people from pearl-guide.com go to Hong Kong at the big shows. They usually meet up together for food. I hope you go to Hong Kong next year and compare experiences. You may be able to do almost as well, but get to meet Jeremy, Hisano and perhaps others from P-G, too!
Hi again.
Have been working day and night with the custom declarations since last message.
It´s just not to go to China, Zhuji and Shan Xia Hu town. Fill some suitcases with the beloved pearls and go home and pass the green line. That could be very costly.
Have been working since last post with the filing of documents, scanning and e-mailing.
I´m landing at Copenhagen airport Denmark and need a transit for the goods to Sweden and need to prepare the custom declaration for Sweden custom too . It´s not allowed to make a transit for your own goods and you have to apply for it to a another part. You simply need someone else to accept your declaration, give the transit to you and register it in the system. In spite of that my company is in the EU custom regulation system, with a load of registrations as a import and export shiping company. We are allowed to our self (only me unfortunately) do all the other declarations.
My transit have just been approved without any corrections (first time), so I´m celebrating it with Chinese Brandy. (can not recommend it by the way, taste horrible)
The declaration is not just for the pearls either. I bought many clasps too, in silver and gold in Zhuj I+ many other things in Yiwu (pearl clasps too) that I´m bringing home I my suitcases.
For the more heavy stuff I send it in a split container with the help of a agent here in Yiwu and do not care a bit about the declarations. Door to door simply, but costly.
It would perhaps be much easier to ask a agent or shipping company to do it all and let them ship al of the merchandise, but my goal is to lower the costs to a minimum and compete with the lowest price on the Internet. To have almost the same prices in my shop. But It´s very hard and much work. A shop have much higher costs.
Perhaps a little tiring and boring update, but thats the life of a Swede in China right now.
But I give future promise to you all: Have loads of photos from the pearl market that I will upload when I´m back, and much to tell...
Thank you for the encouraging answers and have a nice day!
Have been working day and night with the custom declarations since last message.
It´s just not to go to China, Zhuji and Shan Xia Hu town. Fill some suitcases with the beloved pearls and go home and pass the green line. That could be very costly.
Have been working since last post with the filing of documents, scanning and e-mailing.
I´m landing at Copenhagen airport Denmark and need a transit for the goods to Sweden and need to prepare the custom declaration for Sweden custom too . It´s not allowed to make a transit for your own goods and you have to apply for it to a another part. You simply need someone else to accept your declaration, give the transit to you and register it in the system. In spite of that my company is in the EU custom regulation system, with a load of registrations as a import and export shiping company. We are allowed to our self (only me unfortunately) do all the other declarations.
My transit have just been approved without any corrections (first time), so I´m celebrating it with Chinese Brandy. (can not recommend it by the way, taste horrible)
The declaration is not just for the pearls either. I bought many clasps too, in silver and gold in Zhuj I+ many other things in Yiwu (pearl clasps too) that I´m bringing home I my suitcases.
For the more heavy stuff I send it in a split container with the help of a agent here in Yiwu and do not care a bit about the declarations. Door to door simply, but costly.
It would perhaps be much easier to ask a agent or shipping company to do it all and let them ship al of the merchandise, but my goal is to lower the costs to a minimum and compete with the lowest price on the Internet. To have almost the same prices in my shop. But It´s very hard and much work. A shop have much higher costs.
Perhaps a little tiring and boring update, but thats the life of a Swede in China right now.
But I give future promise to you all: Have loads of photos from the pearl market that I will upload when I´m back, and much to tell...
Thank you for the encouraging answers and have a nice day!
CathyKeshi
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2014
- Messages
- 4,673
Look forward to your further reports and photos. Having just returned from a trip to the Mediterranean, my cumbersome, complicated and confusing VAT Tax refund paperwork for 4 items pales in comparison to what you're doing!
The strange thing is, that when you import and export as a professional company, you both get and can demand more help from the custom. You are paying quite a lot to the system simply.
A Tourist asking for VAT return (as I have done some times too) is sometimes regarded as an annoyance by the custom authority and do not give you much help.
I have a helpline number I can call, almost 24/7.
The import/export system is so complicated, that the help desk sometimes can not answer the questions them self directly.
My Company, and all the others, actually pay some heavy duty, tax and there wages and much more and can and do demand help. If you or anyone else is asking for VAT refund I man many others are paying there wages.
But, sorrily a tourist asking for VAT-return sometimes (often?) is perceived as something like a burden and unnecessary or annoying workload. But you can and shall demand help with if you have problems. It´s there work
A correction for my last post:
Everyone, even private persons can import and export goods too, but it must be below a certain value (around $10 000 or €10 000 ) else it is needed a Little more. At least wou mus fill in a ED-Document (demand help for this) if you ar on the red line do do give up Before it´s sorted out. You haveto pay duty and tax in cash or by credicard on the spot, all the time thought.
To be allowed to access the international Internet system of custom declarations filing and processing, VAT and duty cost credit and the permission to professionally import and export both your own goods and for other clients as we are, it´s need some (actually quite many) registrations and certificates to appy and be granted.
It was what I meant and just want to clearify it.
(the Chinese Brany is going up in my head a Little now, so forgive me if the is som gramatic and spelling errors)
Sleep Well all Pearls lowers, for that what I´m gonna do in at most five minutes. Its almost 2 AM here now.
Sweet Dreams Zzzzzzz
kelluvpearls
Consumer
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2008
- Messages
- 1,291
Thanks for sharing your story and looking forward to future photos!
Hi all!
Have not yet really “landed” from my trip to China and are still sorting all the more than 2000 photos taken of the trip. Not only from the pearl market but also from Yiwu.
Think I have to leave the report in at least four parts due to the time for writing and explaining the adventure fully:
1: Give information about how I got to the place. Can tell you that the trip solely to the pearl market was not at all easy and an adventure on its own.
2: Later I will post more pictures of a LOT! of pearls. Not at least the one I’ve bought, but also many of the pearls on the market.
3 Tell about the purchase process and haggling. Preparations to get the correct price from the vendors at the market.
4: The exportation of the pearls and many other tips for others considering to go there.
My camera, a Cannon OES 400D 28-50 mm, crashed in a slowly and unavoidable manner under the trip and totally during the flight home, but will naturally buy a new one in a few days to be able to photograph my purchases. Luckily I succeeded to restore almost all the photos taken.
Some of the photos taken in the beginning in the pearl market were set on a pre-programmed mode and the colours are not correct. Do not like image processing but perhaps need to do so in some cases, and will tell you if that’s done.
In a few hours I will post the first part with text and photo about how to get there.
Have not yet really “landed” from my trip to China and are still sorting all the more than 2000 photos taken of the trip. Not only from the pearl market but also from Yiwu.
Think I have to leave the report in at least four parts due to the time for writing and explaining the adventure fully:
1: Give information about how I got to the place. Can tell you that the trip solely to the pearl market was not at all easy and an adventure on its own.
2: Later I will post more pictures of a LOT! of pearls. Not at least the one I’ve bought, but also many of the pearls on the market.
3 Tell about the purchase process and haggling. Preparations to get the correct price from the vendors at the market.
4: The exportation of the pearls and many other tips for others considering to go there.
My camera, a Cannon OES 400D 28-50 mm, crashed in a slowly and unavoidable manner under the trip and totally during the flight home, but will naturally buy a new one in a few days to be able to photograph my purchases. Luckily I succeeded to restore almost all the photos taken.
Some of the photos taken in the beginning in the pearl market were set on a pre-programmed mode and the colours are not correct. Do not like image processing but perhaps need to do so in some cases, and will tell you if that’s done.
In a few hours I will post the first part with text and photo about how to get there.
Hi again!
Part 1 The trip:
I choose to fly from Copenhagen to Shanghai and then took the bus to Yiwu from the airport. It’s a 4 hour journey but the cheapest way to get there. The easiest way would rather be the maglev train or a taxi to Shanghai North or South and then the bullet train to Yiwu, but it will be a bit more expensive.
As told before, my budget for the pearls was limited, so I choose to make the trip as cheap as possible to save the money for the pearls.
Think I saved at least $100-200 to do it this way.
After a few days purchasing in Yiwu and a long talk with my agent about the pearl market , I decided not to pay for a pre-package tourist trip. Not even the offer from him to have an interpreter with me for the cost of around $80 a day + expenses of at least two reasons.
The costs and the problem that the whole pearl market knows exactly when the tourist busses arrive and is ready to lure some tourists. I did not either know if there was some hidden business connections with the interpreter or him, my agent, and the sellers on the market.
I suspected and later got proofed that the Agent and my interpreter had some connections with the factory order shops at the Yiwu market, but managed to go past it, but that’s another story...
I choose to travel incognito on my own and on the same time save at least $200-400 more.
I had a pre arrangement with the Bank Of China, and the day before withdrew 100 000 Yen (around $15 000) in cash. I knew beforehand that the only way to do business in the pearl market in the beginning is cash payment, and it was naturally a bit worrying.
In China the largest bill is 100 Yen and it was more than 1.2 kilo (almost 2.5 pound) of bills. But the strange thing is that I felt safe all the time carrying it. I also have a business insurance that covers the most of that money. It´s not either the first time I carry that amount of cash.
I prepared the cash by dividing them in different coloured paper envelope of 2, 4 and 10 000 Yen, to avoid showing the whole amount at any time.
Some days before I asked the hotel personnel to write me a note in Chinese with the place I was going to. Without this note it would have been impossible to do the trip. (Photo)
At 06.30 the 10:th of May I walked 10 minutes to the bus station in Yiwu, showed the note and pointed on the Chinese text and said Zhuji as good as I could in Chinese. I got the ticket for a cost of 20 Yen ($3). (Photo) The buss ride took little more than one hour. Good I thought. Now I’m in Zhuji and only a short walk to the pearl market.
But no. I needed to take a local bus (1.50 Yen) to another bus station In Zhuji. That’s the black text on the note that a very help some ticket seller wrote for me in the first Zhuji bus station with translation help from the only English-speaking Chinese out of perhaps 500 people at the station.
Another bus for 10 minutes (8 ?Yen) and a 5 minutes’ walk to another bus station. The note saved me again and a ticket was bought. 30 min bus ride later and I was in Shan Xia Hu town.
I could not see the pearl market at first, but after a while, after some 10 min walking I saw it.
(photo)
The trip back:
With a heavy suitcase full of pearls and almost no money left at around 17.30 and when the fair closed, I decided not to stay one more day as planned. I asked the last seller where the bus station was, and he walked with me for some 10 minutes to show where it was. These phenomena to walk beside someone for quite long distance just to show the way is not uncommon in China I noticed, but have never encountered it anywhere else in the world.
I took the bus to Zhuji and decided to take the train back to Yiwu for some reasons. I was heavy loaded and I thought that it could not be especially hard for a potential Chinese thief to figure out that a western with heavy load coming with a bus from ShanXia Hua town probably and likely have some valuables in the suitcase. Probably some pearls.
I stepped out of the bus and took a taxi to the train station in Zhuji. (pointed on the note and showed the taxi driver) Have planned beforehand for the train, but it was quite hard for me to buy the ticket No one talked English at all. 100% no one. Only Chinese, but I got my ticket at last.
(Photo)
After a 20 min trip with the bullet train (photo) and nearly missed the stop at Yiwu, I took the bus 801 from the train station 20 min to the center of Yiwu (1.50 yen) and a taxi (12 Yen) to the hotel.
At around 21.30 I was back and prepared a noodle soup in the hotel room with boiled water. When I was waiting for it to cool down I passed out in the bed and woke up 8 hours later. And yes, the noodle soup was then quite cold…
Some days after the exhausting trip, I asked my Agent if there are not easier way to go to the pearl market and yes there are. He proposed me to hire a private driver and a car for a day next time. To ask the hotel or the fixer´s outside (to be found outside almost all the hotels in china). This will cost around $250-300 and I´m today willing to say that it is wort every dime. Perhaps the best is to share and split the cost with someone else.
My trip to the market and back costed me around $20, but do not advice anyone to make it the way I did.
As told before, the program mode on the camera was on during the first photos, but luckily noticed it when I photographed only some of the pearls (some Edisons)
Photo 1: The note that made and saved both me and the whole trip.
2: All the tickets bought on the trip
The rest, just ask.
Part 1 The trip:
I choose to fly from Copenhagen to Shanghai and then took the bus to Yiwu from the airport. It’s a 4 hour journey but the cheapest way to get there. The easiest way would rather be the maglev train or a taxi to Shanghai North or South and then the bullet train to Yiwu, but it will be a bit more expensive.
As told before, my budget for the pearls was limited, so I choose to make the trip as cheap as possible to save the money for the pearls.
Think I saved at least $100-200 to do it this way.
After a few days purchasing in Yiwu and a long talk with my agent about the pearl market , I decided not to pay for a pre-package tourist trip. Not even the offer from him to have an interpreter with me for the cost of around $80 a day + expenses of at least two reasons.
The costs and the problem that the whole pearl market knows exactly when the tourist busses arrive and is ready to lure some tourists. I did not either know if there was some hidden business connections with the interpreter or him, my agent, and the sellers on the market.
I suspected and later got proofed that the Agent and my interpreter had some connections with the factory order shops at the Yiwu market, but managed to go past it, but that’s another story...
I choose to travel incognito on my own and on the same time save at least $200-400 more.
I had a pre arrangement with the Bank Of China, and the day before withdrew 100 000 Yen (around $15 000) in cash. I knew beforehand that the only way to do business in the pearl market in the beginning is cash payment, and it was naturally a bit worrying.
In China the largest bill is 100 Yen and it was more than 1.2 kilo (almost 2.5 pound) of bills. But the strange thing is that I felt safe all the time carrying it. I also have a business insurance that covers the most of that money. It´s not either the first time I carry that amount of cash.
I prepared the cash by dividing them in different coloured paper envelope of 2, 4 and 10 000 Yen, to avoid showing the whole amount at any time.
Some days before I asked the hotel personnel to write me a note in Chinese with the place I was going to. Without this note it would have been impossible to do the trip. (Photo)
At 06.30 the 10:th of May I walked 10 minutes to the bus station in Yiwu, showed the note and pointed on the Chinese text and said Zhuji as good as I could in Chinese. I got the ticket for a cost of 20 Yen ($3). (Photo) The buss ride took little more than one hour. Good I thought. Now I’m in Zhuji and only a short walk to the pearl market.
But no. I needed to take a local bus (1.50 Yen) to another bus station In Zhuji. That’s the black text on the note that a very help some ticket seller wrote for me in the first Zhuji bus station with translation help from the only English-speaking Chinese out of perhaps 500 people at the station.
Another bus for 10 minutes (8 ?Yen) and a 5 minutes’ walk to another bus station. The note saved me again and a ticket was bought. 30 min bus ride later and I was in Shan Xia Hu town.
I could not see the pearl market at first, but after a while, after some 10 min walking I saw it.
(photo)
The trip back:
With a heavy suitcase full of pearls and almost no money left at around 17.30 and when the fair closed, I decided not to stay one more day as planned. I asked the last seller where the bus station was, and he walked with me for some 10 minutes to show where it was. These phenomena to walk beside someone for quite long distance just to show the way is not uncommon in China I noticed, but have never encountered it anywhere else in the world.
I took the bus to Zhuji and decided to take the train back to Yiwu for some reasons. I was heavy loaded and I thought that it could not be especially hard for a potential Chinese thief to figure out that a western with heavy load coming with a bus from ShanXia Hua town probably and likely have some valuables in the suitcase. Probably some pearls.
I stepped out of the bus and took a taxi to the train station in Zhuji. (pointed on the note and showed the taxi driver) Have planned beforehand for the train, but it was quite hard for me to buy the ticket No one talked English at all. 100% no one. Only Chinese, but I got my ticket at last.
(Photo)
After a 20 min trip with the bullet train (photo) and nearly missed the stop at Yiwu, I took the bus 801 from the train station 20 min to the center of Yiwu (1.50 yen) and a taxi (12 Yen) to the hotel.
At around 21.30 I was back and prepared a noodle soup in the hotel room with boiled water. When I was waiting for it to cool down I passed out in the bed and woke up 8 hours later. And yes, the noodle soup was then quite cold…
Some days after the exhausting trip, I asked my Agent if there are not easier way to go to the pearl market and yes there are. He proposed me to hire a private driver and a car for a day next time. To ask the hotel or the fixer´s outside (to be found outside almost all the hotels in china). This will cost around $250-300 and I´m today willing to say that it is wort every dime. Perhaps the best is to share and split the cost with someone else.
My trip to the market and back costed me around $20, but do not advice anyone to make it the way I did.
As told before, the program mode on the camera was on during the first photos, but luckily noticed it when I photographed only some of the pearls (some Edisons)
Photo 1: The note that made and saved both me and the whole trip.
2: All the tickets bought on the trip
The rest, just ask.
BAS
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 25, 2013
- Messages
- 1,944
What a wonderful account! Thank you for sharing the details, which are terrific. Making soup and then passing out only to awaken 8 hours later gives us, the reader, so much information about the trials of your day!
Now -- I'd love to see the pearls, of course!!!
Now -- I'd love to see the pearls, of course!!!
Luvglitz
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2015
- Messages
- 351
Remulus, I am enthralled with your story. You were so brave and determined as well as prepared. More details and pictures, please. I think many of us only dream of going to the source on our quest for the best and most beautiful pearls.
JerseyPearl
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2014
- Messages
- 5,884
Thank you for this wonderful account of your trip...I look forward to reading more!
Is that the Grace Pearl facility in the 6th photo?
Is that the Grace Pearl facility in the 6th photo?
Sorry. Don't know actually. It's A building close to the fair that I thought looked good and photographed it. Placed around 300 m from the fair.
CathyKeshi
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2014
- Messages
- 4,673
What an exciting report ... you are a brave and intrepid adventurer! So look forward to photos of your pearl treasures!!! Thanks for taking the time to report for us 
My family and I just returned from a 3 week travel adventure around the Mediterranean, along with our grandson, age 8. He was a great traveler, learning phrases in many languages, and a tireless companion ... UNTIL we got off the plane back in the US, and stopped in a local restaurant to eat before our 3 hour drive home. Somewhere between the first spoon of his soup and the second, his little head fell down on his mom's lap, sound asleep for the first time in three weeks, and we had to carry him to the car, and 3 hours later to his bed. The next morning, while we were all still jet lagged, he woke up at 5:30am, bright eyed, and went off to school to tell his friends off his adventures LOL!
My family and I just returned from a 3 week travel adventure around the Mediterranean, along with our grandson, age 8. He was a great traveler, learning phrases in many languages, and a tireless companion ... UNTIL we got off the plane back in the US, and stopped in a local restaurant to eat before our 3 hour drive home. Somewhere between the first spoon of his soup and the second, his little head fell down on his mom's lap, sound asleep for the first time in three weeks, and we had to carry him to the car, and 3 hours later to his bed. The next morning, while we were all still jet lagged, he woke up at 5:30am, bright eyed, and went off to school to tell his friends off his adventures LOL!
JerseyPearl
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2014
- Messages
- 5,884
There is a photo of the Grace Pearl facility on their website: http://www.gracepearl.com/en/index.asp
JerseyPearl
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2014
- Messages
- 5,884
Cathy your trip sounds like it was delightful! Biggest regret as a parent: not pulling my kids out of school for trips abroad that my mother wanted to take them on when they were younger...don't know what DH and I were thinking there!
Thanks Cathy for your respond. Think your grandson and me have some experiences in common except that I did not even get a single spoon of food that evening
Part 2:1
The pearls and the market.
Will post more pictures later as part 2:2.
When I entered the building, the first impression was that this would be almost impossible to get a grip of the more than 1200 vendors, small shops owned by the producers, loaded with pearls everywhere, in only one or two days.
The first thing I did was to walk around for almost an hour, and actually got a little grip of the fair at last. It´s big, Yes, but not enormous like the fair in Yiwu. Perhaps the size of a football field. Did not photograph in the beginning either. Would not like to be perceived as a tourist.
I then visited some of the largest vendors to hear about the pricing. I had done some preparations in Yiwu before, to get a sense of the price and began to ask for it here. I talked with an owner of a large producer and presented me as a wholesale buyer from Sweden and got some prices. After a while I was trying to press the prices really hard and told him that I represent more than 30 goldsmith shops in Sweden. Just to see how much he could adjust the prices.
What I told was not all untrue, but some of it. Sorry… I´m little ashamed. The truth is that if I can get cheap pearls of good quality to Sweden, it would not be especially hard to sell them to some of the 30 other shops I know well. We cooperate today through our insurance company that we, 31 goldsmith shops own together, and that we always help each other with some hard to get goods. And, to get good pearls in Europe is not only hard, it´s impossible I have learned from this trip.
After a second visit at another producer I was ready to both photograph and buy. I had a reasonable idea of the pricing. Will tell more about this later. Was threatened by the owner in the second test to be escorted out from his shop by a security officer after haggling a bit too hard.
Another worry was the language. Was told that not many spoke English, and that’s true, but the shops helped each other. They called for help from another vendor´s. The language barrier was actually not a big problem strangely enough.
If the seller did not speak any English, the haggling and pricing was made through a calculator where the price and bid was typed or by help from others. Almost every seller knows one English phrase and can ask you the question: Retail or wholesale. You have to answer the question before you get any prices.
If they do not ask the question you must tell them what you are.
Wholesale is a floating limit of a purchase of at least 2-5000 Yen. Retail is lower. If you answer wholesale and buy for say 2000 you will get a very angry seller and no chance of any bargain or haggling what so ever. They could also ask you to leave the shop and refuse to sell, which they actually did to me once when I was trying to buy silver clasps for 2500 Yen.
I later got back and made the deal by buying some more clasps for a little more than 5 000 yen (around $800) but he was NOT happy about the deal. The MOQ (minimum order quantity) or rather in this case, shopping quantity as wholesale, was 10 pcs each model and at least 200, but I manage to buy 5 each model and totally 130 and haggle down the price a little.
Time for some pearl photos:
Lovely just to see them, but even greater feeling to be able to touch and hand pick them before they buy. Bought some of them to make earrings (studs).
Drop formed pearls of the highest quality (not the shape thou) that I bought to make some gold earring and pendants:
Bought some white pearl neclaces to match and make a full set with the white earrings and pendants above. At least AA quality.
Bought a pair of 15 mm Edison from the same vendor to make gold earings (Had a costom order on that):
More Edison from the same vendor, but I did not bought it:
Bought 10 of these strings in different colors.
And a LOT of these in low quality and different sizes and colors, just to earn money for the bread and butter:
Will post more photos later. Promise!
Part 2:1
The pearls and the market.
Will post more pictures later as part 2:2.
When I entered the building, the first impression was that this would be almost impossible to get a grip of the more than 1200 vendors, small shops owned by the producers, loaded with pearls everywhere, in only one or two days.
The first thing I did was to walk around for almost an hour, and actually got a little grip of the fair at last. It´s big, Yes, but not enormous like the fair in Yiwu. Perhaps the size of a football field. Did not photograph in the beginning either. Would not like to be perceived as a tourist.
I then visited some of the largest vendors to hear about the pricing. I had done some preparations in Yiwu before, to get a sense of the price and began to ask for it here. I talked with an owner of a large producer and presented me as a wholesale buyer from Sweden and got some prices. After a while I was trying to press the prices really hard and told him that I represent more than 30 goldsmith shops in Sweden. Just to see how much he could adjust the prices.
What I told was not all untrue, but some of it. Sorry… I´m little ashamed. The truth is that if I can get cheap pearls of good quality to Sweden, it would not be especially hard to sell them to some of the 30 other shops I know well. We cooperate today through our insurance company that we, 31 goldsmith shops own together, and that we always help each other with some hard to get goods. And, to get good pearls in Europe is not only hard, it´s impossible I have learned from this trip.
After a second visit at another producer I was ready to both photograph and buy. I had a reasonable idea of the pricing. Will tell more about this later. Was threatened by the owner in the second test to be escorted out from his shop by a security officer after haggling a bit too hard.
Another worry was the language. Was told that not many spoke English, and that’s true, but the shops helped each other. They called for help from another vendor´s. The language barrier was actually not a big problem strangely enough.
If the seller did not speak any English, the haggling and pricing was made through a calculator where the price and bid was typed or by help from others. Almost every seller knows one English phrase and can ask you the question: Retail or wholesale. You have to answer the question before you get any prices.
If they do not ask the question you must tell them what you are.
Wholesale is a floating limit of a purchase of at least 2-5000 Yen. Retail is lower. If you answer wholesale and buy for say 2000 you will get a very angry seller and no chance of any bargain or haggling what so ever. They could also ask you to leave the shop and refuse to sell, which they actually did to me once when I was trying to buy silver clasps for 2500 Yen.
I later got back and made the deal by buying some more clasps for a little more than 5 000 yen (around $800) but he was NOT happy about the deal. The MOQ (minimum order quantity) or rather in this case, shopping quantity as wholesale, was 10 pcs each model and at least 200, but I manage to buy 5 each model and totally 130 and haggle down the price a little.
Time for some pearl photos:
Lovely just to see them, but even greater feeling to be able to touch and hand pick them before they buy. Bought some of them to make earrings (studs).
Drop formed pearls of the highest quality (not the shape thou) that I bought to make some gold earring and pendants:
Bought some white pearl neclaces to match and make a full set with the white earrings and pendants above. At least AA quality.
Bought a pair of 15 mm Edison from the same vendor to make gold earings (Had a costom order on that):
More Edison from the same vendor, but I did not bought it:
Bought 10 of these strings in different colors.
And a LOT of these in low quality and different sizes and colors, just to earn money for the bread and butter:
Will post more photos later. Promise!
