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Notes from the wholesale districts
What I have learned buying clothing in Istanbul since 2014: how the trade actually works, what it costs, and the things nobody tells you before your first trip.
Should you go to Istanbul in December?
No Turkish public holiday falls in December, and Christmas Day is an ordinary working day in Merter. What that is worth, and what the rain costs you.
How to get a better price from a Turkish supplier
Haggling on the unit price is the smallest lever you have. The 10% VAT you cannot reclaim, what is actually inside the seri, and cash against terms.
Where to stay in Istanbul when you are here to buy
Pick the district before the hotel. What actually matters on a buying trip, the airport bus that now stops in Merter, and the four hotels I have used since 2018.
Where to sit with a laptop near Merter, Laleli and Osmanbey
Most cafés in the wholesale districts are built for tea and leaving. The places where you can actually work between showrooms, and how not to get the look.
Krep, penye, triko: the Turkish fabric words on every supplier’s feed
Thirty words from Turkish wholesale captions, the ones that are false friends in English, and the one question to ask before you order.
When to fly to Istanbul to buy stock — and when not to
Turkish holidays, the factory summer break and the season rhythm, month by month to October 2027. The weeks to book, and the four that will waste a flight.
Istanbul is getting a luxury outlet. Should a wholesale buyer care?
Turkey’s first designer outlet opens 17 September, one metro stop before the airport. What is confirmed, what it is not, and why it is still worth an hour.
How to message a Turkish supplier so you actually get a reply
The four lines that get answered, in Turkish and English, what to send instead of "what is your best price", and how to read the reply you get back.
Turkey or China for wholesale clothing in 2026?
The EU ended its €150 parcel exemption on 1 July. What actually changed, what each country costs a small buyer now, and when China is still the right answer.
Can you buy wholesale at the Grand Bazaar?
The short answer is no. What it actually is, why the prices are what they are, and where the real trade sits five minutes downhill.
Istanbul wholesale districts: where to buy what
Merter, Osmanbey, Laleli, Zeytinburnu and the rest. What each one sells, what it costs, and which two to walk on a first trip.
How much money do you need to start buying wholesale in Istanbul?
Flights, hotel, what a garment actually costs wholesale, cargo and VAT. Real numbers, and what you can genuinely do with 500 euros.
10 mistakes first-time buyers make with Istanbul clothing suppliers
Misreading a seri, trusting the photo, forgetting the A.TR. The ten expensive things a first buying trip is usually built out of.