anniecald

Hello, I'm new here and need your advice. I have a small shop and the winter i'm planning go to India or Indonesia, so i thought that it would be great idea to buy things such as : clothes, shoes, handbags and silver jewellry for my shop for yhe summer season. This is my first trip at these countries and i wonder if you could help me and suggest me places to buy the above items. Also can you please tell me where is better for shopping India or Indonesia and what season is better to go there? Thanks for your help

rhkkmk

you mention thailand in your title...so i can speak to that....there are many things that are good and reasonable in thailand....clothing, purses, jewerly, knick nacks, decorative items, cloth, wall hangings....bangkok is a shopping mecca....

so is india and so is indonesia....i visited bali this spring and found it very reasonable for clothing and for straw things as well as lots of handi-crafts....


the problem often is the shipping which can be very expensive...

hobbes

Am a bit confused with heading and text so will assume both correct. IMO both Thailand and India will provide you with far more variety than Indonesia for the items you mentioned - could be simply a factor of size. In terms of season winter i.e. Nov-Feb is best for all - I assume in India u would be going to Delhi. Let me outline some differences in what is available. In terms of silk the heaviest ply silk I have seen is Thai silk. Indian silk is lower ply. This reflects in the price as well - Ind silk is cheaper than Thai silk. In Bkk silver jewelry is available qute reasonably but IMO the variety just does not compare to what you get in India. I found Bkk best for contemporary designs and great Tiffanys, Links copies. Indian jewelry is more ethnic, more "crafty", with traditional Indi techniques like minakari - so depending on your customer base you can factor that in. In both cities the govt owned emporium is a decent place to start to get an idea of what's available - in Bkk it is called Narai Phand and in Delhi Cottage Industries.

Kathie

You'll find wonderful buys in any of those three countries: Thailand, India and Indonesia. For "crafty" items, the best place I've seen is in Jogjakarta in central Java. The crafts in each place are different from each other. It's true that in Thailand you'll find many more items that are replicas of Western items, though I doubt that is what you're looking for. Thailand also has lovely local crafts. Indonesia has wonderful fabrics (silk, cotton and rayon). A couple of my local specialty clothing shops buy all of their fabrics from Indonesia.

Cicerone

In terms of climate, India is much cooler and drier in the winter months, generally late October through mid-March. After that, north India becomes extremely hot and then the monsoon breaks. South India is pretty much hot and humid all year, and if you don't like heavy rain, avoid the monsoon months, which are generally June - September, but along the east coast the rain lasts through November. India has a vast array of handicraft and other items. Good places to look are Delhi, Jaipur and Hyderabad. Other large cities like Mumbai and Chennai also would have a lot on offer.

Indonesia has a hot and wet tropical climate except for high mountain areas. It is a vast country in terms of geography, so the wet season differs from place to place. If you are thinking specifically of Bali, then the driest months are April through October. However, you may find hotels cheaper in the wet winter months, and if you are going to buy for your business rather than purely a vacation, the wetter months may not bother you as much. The other places in Indonesia where you would find handicrafts and other items would be Jakarta and Jogyakarta. Jakarta is a huge city, like 13 million people and has all the pollution and dirt you would find in any large city. Jogykarta is more of an artistic center, and is probably a better choice. You probably will also find better prices here for goods than you would in Bali, as there are many fewer tourists in general and certainly over the past few years.

Not sure if you are intending to go to Thailand. If so, then Bangkok and Chiang Mai are obvious choices. I would recommend you buy a map called "Nancy Chandler's Guide to Bangkok" , and her other guide to Chiang Mai. These are maps of each city with recommendations for where to shop, where to find certain items, etc. You can it buy it on the web from her website Nancychandler.net.

You also need to look into US customs regulations for bringing goods back in. I assume you would not carry it all back but would ship some, and also as this is for your business, you would need to expense or deduct customs duties and shipping costs from store profits for tax purposes. There are some exemptions on duty for handicrafts which are imported. Take a look at customs.ustreas.gov.

Finally, bear in mind that the expertise of this thread is travel, and really does not extend to business advice. Where I shop to buy one or two items is probably not where you should be buying to resell in your own shop, you want a wholesaler or the artisan who makes the item. If you are buying in bulk, you probably want to hook up with an exporter or wholesaler in the countries you are considered to save on shipping and other costs. I would suggest you contact the US Commercial Service in those countries you re interested in. The Commercial Service is a department of each US Embassy. While their primary task is to promote US business abroad, they do provide advice on doing business in each country. Take a look at the following websites

http://www.buyusa.gov/indonesia/en/
http://www.buyusa.gov/india/en/
http://www.buyusa.gov/thailand/en/
http://www.buyusa.gov/home/export.html

Websites for the US Embassies in the countries you are considering are:

Bangkok bangkok.usembassy.gov
Delhi usembassy.state.gov/posts/in1/wwwhmain.html.
Jakarta: http://jakarta.usembassy.gov/

Another useful source of help would be the American Chambers of Commerce in the countries you are planning to visit. Some useful website there are:

India: http://www.amchamindia.com/amcham/home/home.xml
Indonesia: http://www.amcham.or.id/
Thailand: http://www.amchamthailand.com/acct/asp/

I imagine that there are books about importing from Asia, setting up contacts with wholesalers, etc. Run a search on the web.

anniecald

Thanks a lot for your answers. I wonder if someone here can recomend me shops who are shelling clothes, handbags shoew and silver jewelry, in India, Thailand or Bali. Thanks again once more for your help

indie

anniecald

If you click on Cicerone's name you will come across a posting where he has listed various stores in Delhi for clothing and jewellery.

hobbes

Have no idea of your budget or what kind of clothes you want but here goes - am suggesting places which have crafty stuff unique to the region :

India - New delhi
Clothes
FabIndia, Greater kailash I
Cottons, Greater Kailash I
Anokhi, Khan Market
Soma, Green Park
Tulsi, Haus Khaz Village
Ritus, Hauz Khas market - for crepe silk and silk outfits, tops
1, MG Road, The Mall - where all India's leading designers have stores

Handbags
Finesse, Greater Kailash I (beaded eve bags)
Cottage Industries (plain silk clutches)

Silver
Khazana, Taj Mahal Hotel
Cottage Industries
Jass Jewellers, South Ext

Traditional Ind footwear
Shops on Janpath

Will post again for Bkk.

anniecald

I want to thank you all once more. I have one more question, you see this will be my first trip, where is better for shopping in India, Delhi or Jaipur?

hobbes

I would say variety is far more in Delhi. Rajasthan in general and Jaipur in particular is famous for one type of textiles - block printed, earthy tones. These run thru clothes, bags, satchels, etc. Again, in Jaipur I can reco maybe 3 silver shops - in Delhi there are probably 3 dozen. IMO, to get a good variety go to Delhi - shopping there is frankly amazing.