It's Been A Long Week

It's been a long, dry week without any posts. The reason; I just came back from a week in Guangzhou vacationing.
 

You may have heard before of the wholesale markets in Guangzhou, there is one for everything there; clothes, shoes, mobile phones and (of course) most importantly, watches! Of course, a WIS like me had to check this place out if I had to put my life on the line to visit the place.
 

Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of the place itself. It is quite a hectic place; cramped walkways, lots of people to bang into with every other step you take, you get the idea. This place however, rewards those who can tolerate it.
 

  

I bought a bunch of 10 NATO straps in assorted colors, and guess how much this amounted to; an unbelievable price of SGD10, but that's not all! A single NATO strap in the Guangzhou Watch Wholesale Market can go for as low as $0.50 if you buy in large enough quantities. This might give you an idea of how much NATO strap sellers on eBay or your local watch shop makes per NATO strap they sell.
 

There is a huge assortment of other types of straps as well, every type and design of rubber (most probably silicone-based) and  leather strap you could possibly find on the Internet, you can find them here as well.

 

Some of the the more enterprising shopkeepers here are quite possibly famous eBay sellers like Helenarou, etrade2012ee, watchesu571 and the like. Of course, the prices you pay on eBay are going to be much higher. I bought a Parnis Submariner and Explorer II (pictures soon!) for around SGD68 each. I'm looking at the exact same thing on etrade2012ee's eBay store now, and it's going for SGD104, without shipping.

 

Whether you're into Parnis watches or thinking of setting up an online shop to sell watch straps, Guangzhou Wholesale Watch Market is a place not to be missed.