China is one of the biggest providers of bags in the world. Along with many other products, apparel is something China specializes in. When it comes to wholesale bags from China, people will think of Guangzhou first. However, Guangzhou, Yiwu, and Baoding are also famous core areas of the bag industry.
In this article, we will first guide you on the main large-scale bag wholesale markets to learn their strengths and differences, so you can better conveniently choose the sourcing location and designs which suitable for your market. You will also learn how you can customize your bags and the details you should pay attention to.
1. Main Bags Wholesale Markets in China
The most professional wholesale markets for bags and suitcases are in Yiwu, Guangzhou, and Baigou city. The positioning of these 3 markets is different, they can meet the needs of different customers.
1.1 Yiwu International Trade City
The bags and suitcase district of Yiwu International Trade City occupied a very important position. There are over 1000 booths that supply all kinds of functions and designs of bags and cases in this area. The back of each booth is a factory, they are mainly from Zhejiang(Yiwu, Taizhou…), and part of them are also from Guangdong, Hebei, and other places in China. That’s why the Yiwu market is the largest distribution center, gathering the factories not only around Zhejiang but also the factories in other major bag industrial clusters across the country.
You can find the various materials of bags in the Yiwu market, canvas, nylon, straw, PU, polyester, and neoprene. As for handbags, the majority of the products are made of faux leather(we called PU), because it feels like genuine leather, but is cheaper at cost and easy to take care of.
Because of the appropriate quality and good price, attracting customers all over the world. However, the largest export area of Yiwu bags in South America and the Middle East, and the customers in these regions are more sensitive to the price.
The minimum order quantity for OEM is normally 200pcs-300pcs per design for handbags and backpacks, can pick 4-5 colors. For wallet, requests 600pcs-800pcs per mode for 4-5 colors as well.
Yiwu market suppliers, few of them have the ready stock product to sell. Basically need to place an order for production. So if you want to buy in small quantities but as many styles as possible, the following 2 markets will be a better option.
(These are 2 booths that specialize in the South American and Middle East markets)
(These are the suppliers focused on North American customers)
1.2 Guangzhou Guihuagang Handbag Market
Guangzhou’s handbag wholesale market is not concentrated like the market in Yiwu, they consist of 7-8 different smaller markets all located on a street called Guihuagang. They have a stock market and a duplicate bag market. The overall quality of the bags in Guangzhou is best to compare Yiwu and Baigou. It has a market that specially sells genuine leather bags, but most are also for PU bags. Compared to the Yiwu market, the material of handbags in the Guangzhou handbag market is less varied.
The factories behind the Guangzhou handbag wholesale market are basically from Shilin town, which is 1 hr drive from Guangzhou. Shilin town is famous for China’s biggest leather market gathering all the raw materials of the upstream and downstream supply chains of bag production. Thanks to the advantage of the proximity of the places of sale and production, suppliers in the Guangzhou handbag market can deliver the goods very fast and respond quickly to market needs and changes.
Overall, the quality of bags in the Guangzhou market is the best compared to Yiwu and Baigou. But the cost is also the most.
Most of the designs in the Guangzhou handbag market have ready stock and can be bought in very low quantities, 3-5pcs per color. But if you want to customize your own color or logo, will be still 200pcs-300pcs per design like the Yiwu market for bags.
(The supplier in Guangzhou Baiyun World Trade Center sells leather and duplicate bags.)
1.3 Baigou Hedao International Trading Center
Compared with Yiwu and Guangzhou, the Baigou bag wholesale market–Baigou Hedao International Trading Center is not as famous as theirs. Baigou’s industry is quite simple, mainly for bags, not like Yiwu and Guangzhou are comprehensive trade cities. But in fact, Baigou is the bag and suitcase distribution center in China, a brand incubation center, and also at the forefront of market conditions and trends of bags. Baigou’s bags are overall cheaper than Yiwu and Guangzhou. The suppliers in Baigou tend to use cheaper materials such as semi-PU and PVC. It is more focused on the lower markets. The biggest export region for Baigou bags is Russia because of the closer location. The biggest advantage of the bags in Baigou is most of them have ready stock. Only require 3-5pcs per color MOQ same as Guangzhou market. This is very nice for startups who want to enter the bag business.
However, the designs of Baigou stock bags are more for the domestic market not designed for overseas trends. So if you have your own design and want to do OEM, can try to work with the Baigou supplier.
(The supplier in Baigou Hedao International Trading Center)
The stock bags you can see in Alibaba and Aliexpress, the majority of them are from Baigou suppliers. If you used to buy from these platforms, we can help you to buy from a direct factory there, which can save you costs.
However, because of Covid-19, the customer is not able to come to China in person for their new collection. The sourcing agents act as your eyes and arms in China, helping develop new designs and look for new options. Choosing a good sourcing agent can save you time, share your workload, and save your budget.
1.4 Liaoning Nantai Wholesale Bags Market
Nantai Leather Goods Market is the largest leather goods wholesale market in the three northeastern provinces of China. One of the largest sales of high-grade brand-name leather goods market in the country with over 1500 suppliers. There are thousands of styles and patterns, with more than 120 self-developed brands, and most of the branded products have gone overseas, entering some regional and national markets such as the United States, Russia, and the Southeast.
1.5 Chendu Lotus Pond Bags Wholesale Market
From Lotus Pond Bag Market, developed thousands of brands of leather goods products, with a complete range of varieties and more than 2,000 manufacturers. On average, more than 80,000 bags are sold daily. In addition to supplying the western provinces and cities in China, some of the bags in the market are exported to many countries around western China as well.
With the development of the market, the commodities of Lotus Pond Market have gradually developed in the direction of high-grade and branding, in addition to maintaining the characteristics of popularization. This market gradually changed the impression that it used to be a distribution center for low-grade goods, counterfeit goods, and three-no products (no factory name, factory address, and trademark).
2. How to wholesale Bags from China?
Well, here you have a general understanding of the main wholesale market for bags in China. So what should you do if you want to wholesale bags from the Chinese market?
Define your requirements: First, determine the style and type of bag you want to buy and the quantity you want to purchase. This is because the style, price, and quantity will determine which route is suitable for you to purchase.
Research sources: According to your requirements, research the regions or cities in China that are famous for producing bags. Cities such as Guangzhou, Yiwu, and Baiguo are known for the bag industry, as we discussed above. Find potential suppliers through online platforms such as Alibaba and Global Sources, or through trade fairs such as the Canton Fair.
Evaluate suppliers and samples: Evaluate potential suppliers based on their product range, quality, production capacity and experience in exporting to your country. And check their sample quality and ask for their certifications, and customer testimonials, and request samples to assess quality.
Place orders: Start with smaller trial orders to test the supplier’s reliability and product quality. This will also help build relationships and evaluate logistics processes.
Quality control: Consider hiring a third-party inspection service to perform quality checks prior to shipment. Especially for the first-time cooperation. This ensures that the product meets your standards and specifications.
3. How to customize your bags in China?
When you are not satisfied with the existing styles and designs from ordinary wholesale suppliers and want to build a brand. Then you need to start thinking about exclusive design models. Customized bags in China offer a unique opportunity for brands to differentiate their products and cater to specific market needs. Whether it is a modification of an existing design or the creation of a completely original concept. By utilizing China’s manufacturing capabilities, brands can create customized bags that are both distinctive to them and responsive to their customers’ needs.
Modifying an Existing Design: If you are interested in customizing a bag based on a supplier’s existing design, start by choosing a style that better matches your vision. Discuss with the supplier the modifications you wish to make, such as changing materials, colors, sizes or adding your brand logo. Provide detailed specifications and, if possible, visual references to ensure clarity. Negotiate terms, including pricing, maximum order quantities, and delivery times. Request samples of revised designs for approval before proceeding with a full order.
Create Original Designs: For completely original designs, develop a comprehensive design brief including sketches, dimensions, materials, colors, and the presence of any special features. Find a supplier with experience in custom manufacturing and the ability to produce your design. Share your design concepts and work closely with the supplier’s design team to refine them. Conduct initial prototyping to evaluate the samples and study if any improvements need to be made. Once samples are approved, negotiate production requirements and place an order.
4. What should be paid attention to on the customized bag?
To create your own handbag collection, you should make some iconic changes to make your bag stand out and be recognized. Some details cannot be ignored as well.
Design your logo
Nothing identifies a brand more than the logo. To make the logo on your bags, you can try the following methods.
Metal Plate
A metal plate is a popular method often used when it comes to handbag logos. A metal plate logo can improve your brand image and make your bag more high-grade.
A metal plate logo normally needs 10,000 per plating color to produce (the cost of the metal plate is around 0.1-0.2 USD normally, depending on the size). If you do not want to make that many quantities, the supplier still can do it but will require you to pay the mold fee. The mold fee is less than 100 USD.
If you don’t want to make their logo on the metal plate, can try to add the logo on the zipper pull, which is also a great idea for many clients.
Sewing Label
A woven label is also a very common way to make the brand logo. Woven labels are normally sewn on the lining of the bag or the seams of the bag’s body. The MOQ for making a woven label is a few thousand pieces and the cost is around 0.05-0.07 USD, based on the material of the label you want to use and the workmanship.
Screen Printing
One of the most commonly used techniques for creating a logo is screen printing, it is cost-effective and easy to operate. As for your customized order, screen printing your logo is normally at no extra charge if the size of your logo is not big and do one color printing, the factory will do it for free. As long as your quantity meets the factory’s MOQ for producing the bags.
Embossing
Embossing logo is widely used on PU and leather bags. You can emboss the logo directly on the bag, also can emboss it on a piece of leather fabric(matching the fabric of the body of the bag), and then sew it on the bag. Embossing a logo is low cost, and more unique than screen printing, so more and more clients choose this way for their logo.
Embroidery
Embroidery is a traditional way, relatively speaking, this method will be applied to some high-end bags. As it still relies more on manual labor which is slow inefficiency and high in cost. So the utilization rate is relatively small at present.
5. Tips for customization of your bag
If you are new in the bag business when you try to OEM your own bag, may feel confused. Here are some details you should pay attention to in the process of customizing your package. Pay attention to the following aspects and your product will be better and perfect.
Choose high-quality hardware
Good hardware will make your bag last longer. Especially the metal zipper, having a good zipper is important for your bag’s quality, as this part is used the most.
If the rest of your handbag is fine but the zipper stops working or the metal buckle drops off the other features can be useless.
Hardware protective film
For medium and higher-grade bags, hardware protective film is necessary. It keeps the zipper pull and a metal plate from rusting and scratching. If your market is for higher-end, please don’t forget to let your factory use a protective film on your products.
Put the desiccant pack inside the package
Ocean freight is the main transportation for bag shipping. Because of the longer shipping time and higher humidity, putting the desiccant bag inside each bag is necessary. It can help to prevent mildew on the bags.
Pay attention to the edge painting
Edge painting is an important craftsmanship in the production of PU and leather bags. The quality of edge paint is also a key standard to evaluate the quality of the bag. The edge paint needs to be clean and neat and has to be fully dried before packing.
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All You Need To Know About Yiwu Bags Wholesale Market
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