If it were not for frequent trips to Guangzhou, I would not be aware of the commodity trends on the market. It is from these trips that I learn about what's selling to customers and why. I also note that from these trips I learn to tell counterfeit from genuine. Overall, they are fruitful learning experiences. My visit to the Onelink Plaza combined all my experiences said above.
The Onelink Plaza is a 7 floor wholesale mall compacted with hundreds and hundreds of vendors. It can be difficult to navigate through as the layout is messy and there are just too many things to look at. There is also a lot of people wandering in the mall in addition to vendors stationed at their store fronts. You have local businesses that are coming in to collect or order goods, tourists like me that are exploring the place and also foreigners that are interested in procuring these goods. Some reviews left on TripAdvisor said that security was a little lax and some people had been pick pocketed. It wasn't like that for me. Yes, there may have been shady looking people and maybe not a lot of uniformed guards on each floors, but rule of thumb, just keep an eye on your surroundings.
Each floor is dedicated to a theme. for instance if you are interested in jewellery and accessories, these would be concentrated on the first and second floors. Remember when I said I learned to tell counterfeit from genuine? Do expect a lot of counterfeit products floating around in each stand. My tip is to come prepared with research and buy things that you are familiar with. I came across quite a few castings of Chrome Hearts that were poorly made and some pieces that look like Pandora jewellery. The metal was already oxidizing and it felt like a very malleable alloy as opposed to something durable. They were selling it at 40 RMB (5.85 USD) a piece. Sorry, but my 15 RMB (2.23 USD) ring was even nicer. Because I took my phone to calculate prices and looked serious enough, a few vendors thought I was looking to buy a few batches to sell in my shop.
I was at Onelink hoping to look for wholesale beads and findings. I may not have mentioned this in my old blog posts, but one of my side hobbies is making jewellery. I was sick and tired of browsing through expensive bracelets and necklaces when I thought, "You know what? Fuck this. I'm making my own. I don't care if it's fake." As it turns out, making your own stuff is a whole lot cheaper even after buying various tools and supplies. I have a thing for beads so I often visit places like Michael's for beads. I know for a fact that a lot of jewellery makers turn to Chinese suppliers for beads because they are often times so cheap. At Onelink however, I saw that they did not carry wholesale beads of any sort. I was disappointed, but that's always gonna be the case when you expect something. Another tip for traveling is to never hold expectations. Anything can happen and don't be disappointed when something doesn't go your way. I suspect that most people probably turn to wholesale sites online like AliExpress for stuff like this.
I progressed upwards to see what else the mall has to offer. If you don't have an aim, you will be wasting your time browsing each floor. It is best to have a clear idea of what you want. There are simply too many things in this mall ranging from electronics, gadgets, toys, home accessories and novelty items. The one thing that this mall doesn't sell are clothing. You can find accessories like watches and bags, but not clothes. I was really tired from all the walking and went back downstairs. Then I saw a sign leading to a ground floor.
The ground floor was very quiet as most people prefer to browse upstairs. The ground floor's vendors are stationary and plushie concentrated. Hence most of the clientele are young girls and guys. I saw that a couple of foreigners have made their way down here and were in the process of bargaining for plushies. They had huge selections of plushies, especially Pokemon plushies. Pokemon Go being the craze at the time, Pokemon themed items dominated the stands. I was tempted to look at a couple, but I remembered I have a Rilakkuma and Kiirotori plushie waiting for me at home. The one thing I didn't bother to look through was stationary because I had no need for it. However next time if I ever go back to it, I buy some stuff for my friends. Instead I went to vendor that sold reusable shopping bags. I desperately needed a bag anyways. I bought two foldable shopping bags, one Pikachu themed and one Gudetama themed, at 15 RMB (2.23 USD) each.
To conclude this post, I will impart you with my tips on navigating Onelink Plaza. First, have a target of what you will be browsing for. Second, have enough knowledge of the item you are purchasing before actually purchasing it. Third, is to always bargain. Fourth, is to have a good grasp of the Chinese language. Speaking just English will not get you very far. Fifth, is that if you are unable to do at least two of the aforementioned things, do not shop at Onelink. You are better off shopping someplace else.
Tune in next time to another adventure, this time ... lost in the rain!
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Places Visited
Onelink International Plaza 万菱广场
39 号，解放南路，一德路，广州市，广东省，中国，510000
39 Jiefang S Rd, YiDeLu, Yuexiu Qu, Guangzhou Shi, Guangdong Sheng, China, 510000
Take Line 2 to 海珠广场 Haizhu Square and use Exit B1 一德路.
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