Guangzhou Shoe Market

Today I went to one of the many shoe markets in Guangzhou.

The Pearl River Delta is one of the China's major manufacturing centres for clothing, shoes, watches, car parts, everything. Guangzhou is the biggest city in the area, so a lot of the industry is here.

The PRD has become China's production powerhouse for many reasons, but one is because the area is close to Hong Kong and their gigantic shipping port. Guangzhou has many factories making many different things.

One cannot buy products directly from the factories though, you must go through their representatives first. The factories' representatives are located in the many markets around Guangzhou. There are clothing markets, watch markets, leather markets, numerous shoe markets, jewlery markets, and toy markets.

Today, I went to one of the shoe markets, one of thirteen such markets in a central area, close to the main train station. It's estimated that three out of every ten pairs of shoes that are shipped out from China originate from this cluster of shoe markets.

The shoe markets, or at least the one I was in, are located in big warehouse-like buildings. Inside is a warren of hallways and small shops. All the shops are selling shoes, and each have hundreds of shoes on shelves that start at the floor and go all the way to the ceiling.

These are the shops that represent the factories, and the shoes in their shops represent what is available to order. The shops are small, probably at most twenty feet by twenty feet, although some shops were smaller. More than three people in these shops is too many, since often there are crates of shoes all over the floor.

As a shoe buyer, what you would do is go to the different markets, and find the shoes you you wish to export back to your home country, or to your store elsewhere in China. You will look at the different models, then discuss prices and shipping details with the sales person. You don't need an appointment. You just show up and start making deals. You will haggle for prices reletive to the number of pieces you want to buy, the quality you want, and other factors.

Most of the shops had only a few sample shoes, in a few sizes. Since I have a big foot by Chinese standards, it was hard to find anything that fit me. The stores are very small, and the space is taken up by individual models, with no room left for stock.

Most shoe markets will only deal with large orders, and you need to buy a minimum number of pieces (I've heard that number is twelve) to deal with them. The market I went to had a floor where you could buy single pairs, which is a novelty in Guangzhou I guess. My friend Jon gave me directions since he knows I like shoes.

Before I went, I knew what I was looking for. I kept to my gameplan, and didn't overspend, as it would have been really easy. There were so many shoes! I've never seen so many Nike and Adidas sneakers in one place.

A lot of them are fake, and the fakes have different classes. I was told in one shop that this is a "Class 1" model, meaning it's of the highest quality, without being authentic. There wasn't even a question of whether the shoe was a fake or not, but rather just how good a fake it was.

Some of the stores sold real shoes though, so it was fun to find the shoes that I thought were real and which were fake. It's very hard to tell the difference. It seems that the factories work on a contract basis. For example, Factory 1 might make 1 million Nike running shoes, while Factory 2 makes 500 000 Nike basketball shoes.

I have heard that sometimes the factories will produce the number of pairs required for the contract, then keep the factory pumping for another few shifts and produce product they can sell on their own, to make more money. Sometimes the only thing that constitutes a fake shoe is whether the factory was "on the clock" or if they were moonlighting when it was made. The same forms, materials, workers, and process are used.

I have been interested in the shoe-boot pictured at the top of this post for awhile, ever since I saw someone wearing it. I found it on the internet, and saw that it was imported from China. It is selling for 120 Canadian dollars at Mountain Equipment Co-op.

I told myself if I found it, I would buy it if it was priced right. Since 30% of all China's shoes come from the area I was going, I thought the chancers were OK that I could find what I was looking for.

Turns out I found the shoe! I even found it in a size that fit me. It's a sweet shoe, and I got it for 160 RMB, which at $20 CAD, is the price of two medium pizzas (one medium pizza if you're in Whistler.)

It's a great shoe, and I really like the external stitching. Plus, it's leather so it's a bit more classy for times when a skate shoe isn't appropriate, but a dress shoe would be too much.

After I bought them, I was cruising around more, looking at all the shoes. There were so many it was almost too much. From the hallway, I spotted a DBU (Danish Football Union) crest at the back of one of the stores. I went in, and sure enough there was a Denmark football t-shirt there!

I asked how much it was (this is all in Chinese) and was told me 100 RMB, a price that was only a bit less than what I had paid for my shoes. I really wanted the shirt, but didn't want to pay that much for it. I told him it was too expensive, but he wouldn't budge. I even tried walking out, but he didn't care and wasn't having any of it.

Three minutes later I returned, and again asked how much, and suggested that I wanted to pay 50. He didn't deviate at all from his original price. I then said his shirt was too expensive, because it's only a bit less than what I paid for these shoes, and I brought them out of the bag to make my point.

The two workers and one friend at the store started telling me I got ripped off, paying that much for these particular shoes. I countered, saying they're good shoes. They all started looking at the shoes...poking and prodding, looking inside, outside, testing seams, and giving them the "Is it fake?" once-over.

After a few seconds and murmurs of approval, they said the shoes were very good and I got a good price. They're not fake, but are "hen hao". We all had a good laugh, giving eachother the thumbs-up a lot, and I bought the Danish shirt for the full price.

I knew I was going to buy the shirt anyway, no matter what the price. A Danish shirt in China must be purchased! It turned out well though, because this way I got my shoes authenticated by those who know and live the trade. I doubt they were lying to me, but you never know! The shoes smell like leather, feel good on my feet, and don't look cheap. That's good enough for me.

Here's the shirt, which is fantastic:





It has the national crest on right, with "1992 European Champions" written underneath. The back of the shirt says "Danish Dynamite" and has a picture of some exploding dynamite sticks. Just awesome!

So, that was my trip to the shoe market. I found many shoes I liked there, but was happy that I only bought one pair. Beware buying shoes on Ebay, because they are probably coming from markets like this where your product might be a copy, or could be real.

At this market I could have bought ten pairs of fake Nike Air Jordans or twenty pairs of faux Gucci loafers, brought them home, and unloaded them on Ebay. I bet there are 100 people doing the same thing right now.

Don't get ripped off!