How to Source Reliable Bag Suppliers in China? -5 Top Bag Manufacturing Cities in China

Bags are everywhere in our daily life. Probably every family member has his/her own bags. It makes a huge and potential market either in eCommerce or a brick and mortar store. From google trends, it also shows a sustainable demand for them. To own a successful bags business, whether you are in wholesale or retail, it’s important to go to the right place and source the right products. This article is to offer you a comprehensive guide to sourcing bags from China.

1. Types of Bag

The bag is also a category with huge styles of products. Are you going to have a niche store or a general shop with all types of bags? Before deciding, let’s have a look at the different types of bags.

There are style bags, material bags, function bags,  and cases. Style bags include women’s bags, men’s bags, kids’ bags or school bags, handbags, travel bags, mountaineering bags, etc. The material bag divides into cloth bags, leather bags, PVC bags, EVA bags, canvas bags, non-woven bags, PU bags, etc. Function bag has computer bags, briefcases, digital bags, photographic bags, medical bags, cosmetic bags, musical instrument bags, fishing bags, etc. And cases can be divided into trolley cases, tool cases, luggage, suitcases, EVA cases, etc.

Obviously, no one categorizes bags like this when they are sourcing the products. But this can be helpful to have a clear direction to go when you just start out. And it’s always easy to turn a niche store into a general shop.

2. Manufacturing Cities

It’s hard and unnecessary for us to dive into each category of bags. In this section, we will have a look at the different manufacturing cities or wholesale markets of bags and cases in China.

2.1 Sourcing Leather Bags in GuangZhou City

Guangzhou has the largest domestic distribution, the largest trading volume of various levels of luggage market. And it’s known as the “world bag city”.

2.1.1 Shiling Town, Guangzhou

狮岭, in pinyin shī lǐng.

Shiling, a small town located in Huadu district, Guangzhou city. It is 15 km away from the Guangzhou Baiyun airport and has over 300,000 residents. It’s also known as “the Capital of Chinese leather products” owning more than 10,000 leather products manufacturers. The annual production of leather cases and bags account for one-third of the national leather output. There are women’s bags, men’s bags, wallets, boxes, and other categories. From the raw materials to the packaging, the production of luggage and bags is well developed with a complete supply chain.

The leather products wholesale market in Shiling located in No. 71-74, Hehe Road, Lingnan Industrial Zone, Shiling Town, Huadu District, Guangzhou. (In Chinese:广州市花都区狮岭镇岭南工业区合和路71-74.) Enterprises in Huadu district exported boxes and bags worth 3.1 billion yuan to 142 countries and regions in the first five months in 2019.

2.1.2 Guihuagang, Guangzhou

桂花岗, in pinyin guì huā gang.

Guihuagang is another leather product area located in No.1107, Jiefang North Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou. (In Chinese: 广州市越秀区解放北路1107号.)

The scale of Guihuagang leather products wholesale market is even bigger than the one in Shiling. 12 separate leather products wholesale buildings gathering together, makes Guangzhou Guihuagang leather products wholesale market the largest and the highest level in-country and abroad. There are more than 5,000 brands at home and abroad, more than 20 categories of luggage products. Statistically, over 1.4 million people working in the leather products line in Guangzhou, and around 900,000 pieces of leather products are exported daily from Guangzhou.

Apparently, leather made the bag is the advantage of the wholesale market in Guangzhou. So, what’s the difference between Shiling and Guihuagang? Both places are professional for leather products, especially leather bags and cases. Guihuagang has a comparatively higher standard and cost. And Shiling can offer you a better rate of leather products. Around 30% of the suppliers there have their factories of large and small scales. There is no problem with buying small quantities. Some suppliers are willing to sell one piece as well. If you wish to make tiny changes in their designs, the MOQ would be around 100 pieces. And 300-500 pieces to make your own designs.

The two markets are around 50 km away from each other. And the markets’ opening hour is from 9 am to 6 pm every day. Even though the transportation is very convenient in Guangzhou, you will still find it crowded. You’d better plan enough time there to have a great bag shopping experience in Guangzhou.

2.2 Sourcing Trendy Bags in Baigou Town

白沟, in pinyin bái gōu

Baigou, located in Gaobeidian City, Baoding City, Hebei Province (In Chinese: 河北省保定市高碑店市白沟). Baigou bag industry is one of the top 10 ten regional featured industries in Hebei Province. The bag wholesale market in Baigou has a coverage of 150, 000 square meters. Started from the year of 2006, it now has over 10,000 bag enterprises and becomes the largest bag production and marketing base in China. Products are not only sold throughout the country but also in Russia, Yugoslavia, France, Australia, and more than 100 countries and regions.

Bags manufactured in Baigou has a share of 35%. The advantages of Baigou wholesale market are new styles, huge varieties, and cheap price. It has a wide range of products including traveling bag, leisure bag, school bag, tool bag, men’s bag, women’s bag, wallet, belt, trolley case, etc. And the price is from a few yuan to a few hundred yuan.

The suppliers in Baigou support OEM. If you wish to make tiny changes in their designs, the MOQ would be around 100 pieces. And 500 pieces to make your own designs.

2.3 Sourcing Luggage in Pinghu City

平湖, in Pinyin Píng hú.

Pinghu is a county-level city in Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province. It has been awarded the title of “China’s tourism luggage capital”, “China’s luggage industry base. Thousands of large-scale luggage factories developed all kinds of bags, suitcases into hundreds of varieties. And they focus on making high-end suitcases of material in ABS, PC, PU, and leather, etc.

It has a huge advantage in its location closing to Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Shanghai. E-commerce is well developed in Hangzhou; Ningbo and Shanghai are coastal cities with the biggest ports in China. Therefore, foreign trade takes up the most part of the sales. Statistically, 90% of the finished products are exported to over 100 countries and regions like the United States, Australia, the Middle East, South America, etc.

If you own a luggage business and wish to develop your own brands, Pinghu is the best place to go. And suppliers there don’t ask for high quantity to brand your own products. It takes 5-7 days to make a sample as per your design. And the delivery time takes about 20-25 days depending on the order quantity.

2.4 Sourcing School Bags in Shaodong City

邵东, in pinyin Shào dōng.

Shaodong is also a county-level city in Hunan Province. It’s famous for the manufacturing of school bags, lighters, and hardware tools.

The schoolbag is a seasonal product, but the demand from the market is steady. And a peak season sale may be comparable to your full-year sale. Shaodong school bags are of huge variety, good quality, and are very popular in Russia, Brazil, Italy, Israel, Southeast Asia, etc. The sales of schoolbags accounted for 70% of the national market share. Over 50% of the bags in the Yiwu Wholesale market are from Shaodong city.

If you are looking for school bags for kids, you must know Shaodong. You don’t really need to visit the area if it’s not a huge production order. Because Shaodong school bags are also available in Yiwu city. And some Shaodong manufacturers have their shops in the Yiwu market as well.

2.5 Sourcing Cosmetics Bags in Yiwu City

Yiwu city has the world’s largest wholesale market in the world. Over 1,200 bag shops exhibits in Yiwu wholesale market. And the number of workshops and factories is far more than that. Most of the suppliers in the Yiwu market are wholesalers. And some of them are coming from Guangzhou and Baigou. So, the price of the bags from Guangzhou and Baigou in Yiwu will be slightly higher than its original place because of the transportation cost. However, Yiwu also produces leather made bags and luggage, and it is especially famous for manufacturing lunch bags and cosmetics bags which are normally made of polyester, nylon, PU, PVC, etc.

Yiwu is a great place if you are looking for multiple products. Some of the suppliers have cooperation with many factories, you can have one-stop shopping for many different types of bags and luggage. Even if you are buying 10-50 pieces of each design, the price will be with a huge discount. And suppliers in the Yiwu market accept OEM as well. But suppliers only speak limited English. It’s better to hire a Yiwu market guide to help in the communication and control the whole ordering process.

Actually, a sourcing agent is not only necessary in Yiwu wholesale market but also in Guangzhou, Baigou and other wholesale markets. A sourcing agent or a market guide can save your time, assist in the communication, control the ordering process, solve the issues after production and arrange the shipping from China, etc.

3. Sourcing Bags from Online Platforms

Introducing the manufacturing cities is to help you understand where you can find the right suppliers and products. You may not want to visit China to source and you don’t have to. All the bags mentioned above can be easily sourced from online platforms like Alibaba.com, DHgate.com, AliExpress, 1688.com, etc.

Sourcing from Alibaba.com, you will find that most of the bag sellers are wholesalers. As a result, the price will be around 10%-20% higher than the price from the real factory. If you know a bit of Chinese and are willing to take some challenges, 1688.com deserves a try. Simply translate the keywords into Chinese using google translate and source from 1688.com, you will find exactly what we discussed here that bags suppliers are mainly from Guangzhou, Baigou, Pinghu, and Shaodong, etc.

If you own a dropshipping business, and you just want to try different types of bags in a small quantity, AliExpress and DHgate are the best platforms.

4. How to customize bags?

Customization of bag & luggage can be easy after known the manufacturing cities. If you find a supplier from the manufacturing cities, their professional knowledge will guide you have a successful bag & luggage business. To customize the bag or luggage, customers normally start from the following points：

Logo. The logo for bag & luggage has many types like engraved logo, sewing label, printing logo, embroidery logo, and metal logo, etc. You’d better discuss with the manufacturers as the material will also have an impact on the logo.

Material. You can have a brand-new bag or luggage by changing the material. Consequently, the quality and price will be changed accordingly.

Lining. The lining or interior design is also important. Because a huge number of customers would have a look at the interior design before buying it.

Accessories. Accessories include zippers, handles, wheels, etc.

Add-ons. You can make some add-ons as a small gift or just for decoration. It serves the appetite of the young generation.

5. How to Check Quality of Bags?

6. How to Ship Bags?

Leather bags are very heavy. And luggage is taking a lot of space. The shipping cost of bag & luggage is varied from the material and the destination. Shipping bags by air may cost a lot. But a container of bags is a lot of quantity. Therefore, it is suggested to ship an LCL if the order volume is more than 2 cubic meters and less than 14 cubic meters. And if the volume is more than 14 cubic meters, you can compare the price between an LCL and an FCL. Or you can choose other products to fulfill one full container.

If you are tired of going through the whole process. MindenSourcing offers a turnkey solution from bags sourcing to shipping. We will run the legs for you here in China.

Conclusion

Bag and luggage are necessary for our daily life. Start a bag niche store or general store, the bag manufacturing cities and wholesale markets in China will make sure you get the best price. If you own a brick and mortar store, it’s worth a try to get some bags to your store. If you don’t own a business yet, start dropshipping business in a few hours. Don’t hesitate to take action. Any questions concerning product sourcing from China, feel free to message us.