Where to buy stock in Bangladesh

Islampur Road, Old Dhaka

Cloth by the thaan. Cotton, georgette, chiffon, silk, linen, and lining. Both local and imported.

Estimate: 90 to 400 taka a yard for common cotton and georgette. Silk and imported goods go much higher.

Go in person. Most shops open around 10am and shut by 8pm, and Friday is quiet. Take cash and be ready to walk to three or four shops before you buy.

Chawkbazar, Old Dhaka

A bit of everything. Toys, cosmetics, plastic goods, stationery, kitchen items, party supplies, and imported odds and ends.

Estimate: the cheapest wholesale in the city for small goods, often 30 to 50 percent under retail. Quality moves around a lot at that price.

Very crowded and hard to move through in the afternoon. Go early. Check what you are handed before you pay, because returns here are rare.

Keraniganj, across the Buriganga

Ready made clothes made in Bangladesh. Shirts, pants, panjabi, kids clothes, and jeans. Also stitching to order.

Estimate: shirts from 200 taka, jeans from 350 taka, in bulk. Prices drop again for larger orders.

The biggest ready made clothes market in the country. Most shops want a minimum order, often a dozen pieces. Ask about stitching your own design before you assume they will not.

Nawabpur Road, Old Dhaka

Electrical goods, wiring, tools, hardware, motors, pumps, and machine parts.

Estimate: well under retail on tools and electrical fittings. Ask about the warranty, because a lot of it is sold without one.

Shops are packed close together, which is good for comparing prices. Nothing much is labelled, so ask the price of the same item at three shops before you decide.

New Market, Dhanmondi side

Clothes, saree, shoes, bags, cosmetics, and household things. Some shops sell wholesale at the back.

Estimate: closer to retail than the old Dhaka markets. Worth it for small quantities and for seeing what is selling.

Good for a first buying trip because it is easy to reach and easier to walk than Chawkbazar. Ask directly for the wholesale price, it is not offered.

Mirpur 10 and 11

Benarasi, katan, and jamdani saree, woven locally.

Estimate: 2,500 taka up for a simple katan, far higher for real jamdani. A very cheap jamdani is not jamdani.

Weavers and shops sit side by side, so you can order a design and a colour. Busiest before both Eids and Pohela Boishakh, so go early if you want a wedding season order.

Nayabazar and Islampur edge, Old Dhaka

Cartons, poly bags, bubble wrap, courier bags, tape, and paper bags.

Estimate: courier poly bags from about 3 taka each in bulk. Printed cartons cost more and need a minimum order.

Ask for a sample before you order a thousand. Bag thickness is where the cheap ones cut corners, and a bag that splits costs you the parcel.

Fakirapool, Motijheel side

Stickers, labels, visiting cards, boxes, leaflets, and printed tape.

Estimate: a thousand stickers from a few hundred taka depending on size and finish.

Nearly every press here works to order. Take your design as a file and ask to see the paper before printing. Ask what the price is with and without lamination.

Bangabazar, near Gulistan

Export leftover and factory surplus clothes. T shirts, jackets, kids clothes, and winter wear.

Estimate: the cheapest clothes in Dhaka, but sizes and quality are mixed within the same lot.

Sold in bundles, so check a few pieces from the middle of the bundle rather than the top. Best in winter, when the jacket stock arrives.

Reazuddin Bazar, Chattogram

Clothes, cosmetics, electronics, shoes, and imported goods. The main wholesale market of the city.

Estimate: similar to Chawkbazar in Dhaka. Imported goods can be cheaper here because the port is close.

The place to start if you are buying in Chattogram. Ask for the wholesale floor, it is not always the shop you first walk into.

Khatunganj, Chattogram

Rice, pulses, sugar, oil, spices, dry fish, and other food in bulk. The country's main commodity market.

Estimate: the prices set here move the prices everywhere else. Sold in sacks and drums, not packets.

For food sellers buying in real quantity. Payment terms matter as much as price here, so agree them before you order.

Tanti Bazar and around

Yarn, thread, hosiery cloth, and knit fabric.

Estimate: mill prices on knit and hosiery if you can take a full roll.

An hour from Dhaka. Best if you already know what weight and count of cloth you want, because there is little point going to browse.

Baburhat, Narsingdi

The largest cloth market in the country. Cotton, shirting, suiting, three piece sets, and lungi.

Estimate: cheaper than Islampur on the same cloth if you buy enough, because you are closer to the mills.

The market runs on set days, usually from late Saturday night into Sunday and again midweek. Check the day before you travel, because on the wrong day it is shut.