I have been going to trade fairs for almost 10 years, I try not to miss even one, especially the more interesting ones. Through the years I have made friends and “suki”s in these events and its great to see them and their products evolve.

Here are some things you can do to enjoy trade fairs and really maximize your “adventure”, because it’s really like travelling the whole Philippines on a budget. Being the Filipinos that we are, everywhere we go, one of the first things we do is to ask where we can buy pasalubongs, diba? Because chances are, these pasalubongs are the best that region can offer.

1. Always bring cash or have your ATM ready

You never know what you’ll find in these exhibits, really, you never know. 99% of the time, they just accept cash.

As a rule, I try to minimize the amount of money that I have in my wallet when I go on these journeys, because I usually max it out. Like today, at the National Trade Fair, at the end of the day, which was just at 3pm, I only have less than P20 in my wallet when I got home! no kidding! If I had more… no telling what I would have brought home.

2. Bring your own recycleable bag, the bigger the better, the more the best.

Like I said, you never know what you’ll find. There was a time, I found myself lugging around wood magazine racks, stationary sets, and even decorative shelves.

Today, I forgot that and had a very challenging commute home with my sleeping 3 y.0. , while holding on to my flimsy-sando-bagged goodies and praying I don’t have to scramble to get it back if it tears apart.

3. Always get their calling cards

I would bet you’ll love the cookies, delicacies and accessories you brought home, so it would be best to keep track of who you bought it from. They say it’s OTOP (One Town, One Product), but not everything is created equal, so hold on to those great finds, you’ll see them around again and it cuts through the costly trial and error.

4. Befriend the tindera / booth owner /helper

Nothing different from haggling with our favorite suki at the wet market, being genuinely friendly with them will get you more than what you pay for. I have found some very good suppliers because of it and sometimes, I don’t have to haggle anymore, its a given that I get a different price, hahahaha! Thank you dear suppliers.

5. Be systematic

When a trade fair is so big, like 3 tradehalls full, its best you go through it row-per-row so you’ll have a pretty good picture where you saw that fabulous pillow case or that one-of-a-kind lamp.

6. Remember to go back to that interesting find

Sometimes when there’s just too many exhibitors, you really get overwhelmed, you just leave and forget to go back to that great find. At worst, I’ve found myself going back for several days because I did forget, and it would be a shame if you can’t.

7. Get extra

Usually what you find in these exhibits are really great and at great prices so they make great Christmas, birthday, or what-have-you gifts through the year. But some exhibitors don’t join other exhibits, so the next time you’ll see them again would be next year. It would be great if they would join other exhibits, because it’s also quite expensive to do so, but what if they don’t… sayang. One really great find I found today, last joined the exhibit in 2004.

8. Ask if they would be willing to ship / send your additional orders

Some of them would gladly ship whatever the quantity, some won’t because they are really exporters and they usually only entertain bulk orders. They join trade fairs to unload their inventories or to find new wholesale buyers. But it never hurts to ask.