Bridge between the electronics market and the cell phone/computer market

I was in China recently and on a weekend off I decided to check out the nearby SEG Electronics Market (赛格电子市场). After reading a lot about the larger SEG electronics market at Hua Qiang Bei (华强北) in Shenzhen, I was excited to see how one in Suzhou would compare.

Endless Aisles!

The main market is an expansive building with 5 floors, with the bottom three floors containing vendor stalls as far as you can see. The floors were organized along these lines:

  • 1st floor - components of all types; from passives, ICs, switches, and connectors to industrial manufacturing equipment like pneumatics, motors, pogo pins, and power supplies
  • 2nd floor - EE lab tools and measurement devices like soldering equipment, crimpers, scopes, and DMMs
  • 3rd floor - security cameras, card readers, and security keypads in an endless array of stalls
  • 4th & 5th floors - mostly vacant rooms, scattered with mom-and-pop electronics remanufacturing

Industrial lighting :)

I picked up a wall-wart supply, Wago connectors, nice DMM probes, and other small items–all for cheap. I hoped to find an equivalent to the Molex universal crimper which goes for about $55 in the US, but no luck. There were many other crimpers there though.

Across a small outdoor hallway was a 4+ floor building (赛格数码广场) dedicated to cell phones, computers, and accessories dealers. They had repair booths for computer and phone repair too. Here I bought a few cheap USB LED sticks and some iPhone selfie fans.

Overall, talking with vendors about their products was straightforward and people were patient with me browsing. Interestingly, many of the vendors were women, sometimes with a toddler wandering nearby as they ate lunch surrounded by small piles of components.

My feeling is that the energy and scale of Hua Qiang Bei far exceeds this market, but it was a lot of fun to poke around this part of Suzhou for a few hours. Looking forward, having a project BOM in hand with anticipated cost for each component seems to be pretty crucial to making a visit here “productive.”

Looking forward to a trip to Shenzhen sometime!


Address for the SEG Electronics Market (赛格电子市场) in Suzhou:

For more information on Shenzhen’s electronics market and the culture surrounding it, check out: