Polo shirts

[Lee Anthony]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I will make a trip to bangkok as I cannot find any quality polo shirts in Hua Hin at reasonable prices.

[Big Boy]

Please let us know how you get on.

[nomad127]

Considering many merchants here via BKK get most of their merchandise from China, why not go straight to the source:

www.alibaba.com or www.aliexpress.com where most ship for free worldwide.

[dtaai-maai]

Mrs D-M has a friend with a clothes shop in HH who goes to Pratunam Market every Friday. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratunam_Market

[Roel]

Ordering directly in China would make sense if you want 5,000 but not 50. Although it has been a few years since I visited Pratunam I clearly remember that it was indeed VERY cheap. As in maybe 20-25% of what you would pay in Hua Hin. I also remember that in all the shops everything was packed per dozen. So you could only buy at least 12 or a multiple thereof.

[nomad127]

Ordering directly in China would make sense if you want 5,000 but not 50. Although it has been a few years since I visited Pratunam I clearly remember that it was indeed VERY cheap. As in maybe 20-25% of what you would pay in Hua Hin. I also remember that in all the shops everything was packed per dozen. So you could only buy at least 12 or a multiple thereof.

Why would I want to buy 50 shirts in Thailand that were most likely made in China to begin with, then have to hassle with lugging them back and worrying about hitting weight limits on my luggage?

Also, you don't need to buy 500, you can buy as little as ONE and still get free shipping worldwide. http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2013-men ... 26589.html

[dtaai-maai]

Why would I want to buy 50 shirts in Thailand that were most likely made in China to begin with, then have to hassle with lugging them back and worrying about hitting weight limits on my luggage?

I don't think there's a weight restriction between Bkk and HH, which is what I think the OP intends. I don't think anyone is rubbishing your suggestion, nomad, it's another option for the OP to think about.

[STEVE G]

I remember visiting a warehouse in Indonesia once where they we selling tee shirts that were so cheap that they were sold by the meter. They were stacked in neat piles everywhere and they would measure off a meter of the pile with a wooden measure and that's what you got however many was in it.

[fach3003]

Hi All,

Great advice....I'll get my Bro to sort it out in Pratunam....
Gives me an excuse to meeting him and stay in Bangkok

Hope everyone is well

Regards

Fach

[Big Boy]

OMG my son needed a few (25) shirts making with specific information on. No problem I thought - buying 25 shirts won't be a problem, and it will be an OK sale for somebody.

We had a sports shop recommended to us that supplies kit to many local football teams, pool teams etc. I normally prefer a recommendation anyway.

We went down to the shop yesterday to make sure they could do what my son wanted. No problem whatsoever - 170 Baht per shirt. However, minimum order was 100 shirts. I knew that would be far too many for what my son needed. Lady insisted her minimum order was 100. I said my son needed 25. Any less than 100, and the price had to increase to 250 Baht per piece. My son was paying, so I agreed to the rip off price. I told her that I would go back today to finalise the order and pay the deposit.

I knew I was being ripped off because how many football teams or pool teams needed 100 shirts, however, as a Farang in Thailand, I know that I will be ripped off, even if I think I'm getting a good price. I've been to Bobae Market where she would buy the shirts, and I know bulk means 6, not 100. At least they could supply exactly what my son wanted, so I walked away happy - delivery would take 20 days, but that wasn't a problem.

I returned to the shop this morning with full details and money in hand. Suddenly everything was too difficult. Minimum order of 100 had been reinstated, but the cost would remain at 250 Baht/piece. I made a hasty retreat. I remember the old Thailand when people wanted to make a sale at any cost. I don't like the take it or leave attitude that has crept into much of Hua Hin - more often than not, I will leave it.

We tried several other places - some would only sell a minimum of 100, and others couldn't/wouldn't provide the necessary print. FFS, I was trying to spend my son's money, and people weren't interested. I wasn't trying to be a cheapskate, quite the contrary. Why do these people bother opening shops? I went home thinking I'd failed miserably.

I sat eating my lunch, and decided I would have to do it piece meal. I'd buy 25 (at least) similar shirts. I'd find somewhere who could do the screening, and we already had somewhere that could do the embroidery, Problem was where could we find 25 shirts in Hua Hin.

Then it came to Mrs BB and I at the same time. There's a street seller located across from Hua Hin Temple who has been supplying me with outsized shirts at normal sized prices for about 10 years. He normally gets a delivery from Bobae Market in Bangkok twice a week, and has often ordered especially for me.

Mrs BB did the talking, and it was a nodding head all of the way. He would get exactly what we wanted, but it would take a little longer because of Songkran - that wasn't a problem. Also, he could arrange the screening on the back of the shirts at minimal additional cost. This was fantastic. I didn't ask a price, because this guy has always been cheaper than anybody else anyway - he won't try to seriously rip us off.

What a fantastic attitude, and he turned a miserable old git from the earlier let down into a very happy bunny. It's so reassuring that there are some genuine traders left. He will phone with the price tomorrow.

[Dannie Boy]

A sign of getting old BB, you should have thought of him first time, still sounds like a good outcome is just a few days away.

[Big Boy]

Maybe, but I've always considered him a 'fatboy' supplier, not for normal sizes, which is obviously his bread and butter business,