As I’ve just tweeted on Twitter, I think coming over to Hong Kong for the Mega Show was probably the best time investment (the show is free) I’ve made all year.

The Hong Kong Mega Show packs thousands of product manufacturers (the top of the food chain) into the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (as seen above) for two 3 day exhibitions.

Today I attended “Part One” of the show (which lasts for 3 days) and features thousands of companies who produce “Gifts and Premiums”, “Housewares & Home Décor” and “Toys”. The second part of the show, which is due to start on 28th October features “Giftware and fashion accessories”, “Home interiors and home improvement” and “office and stationary”.

So what was it like?

If you can market products online, you’ll no doubt feel like a kid in a candy store here, just as I did today. Everywhere I turned, I saw opportunities.

Most companies exhibiting at the show were from mainland China, although there were many international exhibitors there too. The set-up was like most expos in that companies had rented little booths they used to display their products in. The level of English spoken was also pretty good.

Most of the product manufacteurs I spoke to required a minimum order quantity of 100 or 1000, however the prices were extremely competitive; so much in fact that there was a couple of occasions where I had to ask twice to double check!

I’ve never sold any physical products online before, but after visiting the Mega Show in Hong Kong today, I can see this will probably change very quickly.

By the end of the day I was knackered! You end up doing a lot of walking. I also ended up collecting what seems like a kilo of business cards and product brochures, and now have the daunting task of doing market research on the products I’m interested in over the next few weeks.

I plan to be back for the Hong Kong Mega Show 2011, but next time around I’ll be better prepared. If your considering checking out the show next year, here are my 4 top tips:

1. Bring business cards. I didn’t bring any on this trip but it came apparent within a few minutes of arriving that you need business cards to exchange contact details with. Instead, I found myself giving out my contact details by writing them down. After doing that a few times, it quickly become tiresome.

2. Book a hotel in advance. As expected, most hotels in Hong Kong are fully booked up during the show. As a result, there were no decent rooms in Hong Kong for under $250 a night when I checked a few days ago. I think it really pays to book your accommodation in advance.

Airbnb is an option I would consider (we were going to use this but didn’t realise owners could take up to 3 days to approve bookings) or most probably, I’ll stay at the Hyatt Hotel as it’s interconnected with the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre.

3. Have an idea of what product lines you want to get into. There is simply so much to see and so many companies to meet, it’ll really pay to do some research before arriving.

4. Build relationships there and then. I met a guy who manufactures products I was interested in from China. After chatting for 10 minutes I walked away and continued exploring the show.

While having dinner this evening I started to regret not inviting him along. Not only would this have allowed us to get to know each other on a more personal level, it could have been a great way to learn more about the industry. Next time, I’ll be making more of an effort to build relationships there and then.

All in all, it was an eye opener into the world of buying products from Asia and marketing them to the west. I highly recommend visiting next year if you are interested in how this all works, or already have the routes to market these types of products.

If you plan to attend the Hong Kong Mega Show 2011, please let me know! It would be great to hook up over dinner for more great conversations on what seems like limitless opportunities available here.