| Hi Morna,
You are really looking for a factory, not a farm. A farmer is not likely to help you, and you would not want to buy the pearls raw. You need them processed, I do not just mean bleached. They should be matched, drilled, graded, etc. For this you need a factory. Any factory will sell you as little as you need, but you must understand that your prices will reflect that. If you are buying less than $15k-20k, I would strongly suggest just staying at the show.
The factories worth visiting are not too close to Hong Kong. The Akoya areas are closer than the freshwater areas, but the Akoya areas are more remote and much more difficult to reach. Your best bet would be to hit the areas around Shanghai and visit freshwater factories. You will still need a few days, however, and the flight from HK is about 2 hours to Hangzhou, and then a drive of an hour and a half after that.
Yes, the prices are more expensive at the HK show. But the prices at the HK shows are always better than those at the US shows. What you lack in low pricing, however, is made up in selection. You can literally buy anything you need at the show. This is good when you are looking for a small amount of inventory.
The US dollar can be used easily in HK, RMB (local currency) is preferred on the Mainland. I would recommend enlisting the assistance of the vendor to ship your goods home. But, if you have just spent a few hundred dollars, you are better off just carrying it. They will not be too keen to do the extra work for a small sale.
You will always be 'able' to select the strands that you like. But if selecting from a hank, or selecting individual pearls from a lot, you will be required to pay 'selection' pricing. Which, depending on the quality mix of the hank or lot, can be a substantial premium.
Always, always, always negotiate. If you accept the price they initially offer, you have just made then very happy! |