Buying Equipment in Asia

dan_yorkshire

dan_yorkshire

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I know it has been asked before on other forums but I wondered if anyone here had any first hands experience with buying equipment in Asia.

I currently have a Nikon D60 and am planning to upgrade next year to a D90. However before I upgrade I am travelling to Asia (namely Singapore and Kuala Lumpur). I wouldn't buy my camera there because of complications with the warranty however will be looking at getting a flash (Probably SB-600) and a fast prime lens (either the 50mm 1.8 or 35mm equivalent)

If I can save myself a few quid across both pieces of equipment then I am willing to make the purchase out there.

Is there many shops out there which try and pass off fakes or is it all pretty much legit?

Any tips or pointers would be welcomed.
 
Hi Dan

I'd recommend Singapore over Malaysia out of the two... Their VAT (GST) is comparatively low compared to ours - I think it's about 5% at the moment? There are a couple of places in Singapore that are worth a look - I got my Canon Ixus there a year or so ago, and saved £100 on the UK price at the time... Do you have any Chinese friends? If so - it'd be good if you could persuade them to shop for you as they'll get a better deal ;) Suntec City is a good place to try. But make sure you don't pay tourist prices!! It'll be a great trip though I'm sure! Remember - we like pictures :)
 
Cheers for your reply. Sadly I dont have any friends out there but we are going on a tour for some parts of the trip and am hopeful a guide might do me the favour.

Do the shops you mention not contain the prices on the product, therefore limiting the chances of being charged 'tourist prices'?

I'm hoping that when I get out there I have a definite plan of what I am buying and where from as I want to limit the amount of shopping I do on my holiday.

Many thanks again.
 
I dont know a lot about Malaysia, but the price in Malaysia sometimes could be cheaper than Singapore. You should also refer to the HongKong price from website like onestop digital. After 2% paypal discount, sometime it is worth to get them from HongKong.

Dont worry about the higher price, they are all grey trade in UK. No direct manufactor warrant and service will be available after you return to UK.
 
I've just returned from Singapore and bought the Sony A850 while out there. I saved £400 on the UK price (mainly 'cos the UK price is daft). I had no qualms buying as Sony offer an international warranty (the sales guy was lamenting that Canon and Nikon only offer a local warranty).
 
I bought my 400D in Kuala Lumpur a couple of years back and saved a fair wack off the UK price at the time. Don't cameras have a world wide warrenty? Never really thought about it at the time as it's usually watches i buy when out there and they DO have international warrenties :D
 
Hong Kong / Singapore / Malaysia prices aren't as good a deals as they once were because of our weak currency. Using the Sony A850 as an example, you might save £150 on the deal, but closer to £100. Best price UK £1529, HK was £1429 for the body from a rep outfit like digital rev or onestop digital. And for less value items like a flash, differences will be minimal.
 
BTW, AF 50mm f1,8 D can not be autofocused on D60. You may think about AF-S 50mm 1.4G or 60mm F2.8, Sigma 60mm f1.4
 
dan_yorkshire said:
Cheers for your reply. Sadly I dont have any friends out there but we are going on a tour for some parts of the trip and am hopeful a guide might do me the favour.

Do the shops you mention not contain the prices on the product, therefore limiting the chances of being charged 'tourist prices'?

I'm hoping that when I get out there I have a definite plan of what I am buying and where from as I want to limit the amount of shopping I do on my holiday.

Many thanks again.
Click to expand...

It's hard to explain until you see it. Imagine a 6-7 floor shopping centre that only contains electrical stores. Some are small - some are large. Most have no prices on display - and most will have lots of staff behind the counter. You have to walk from shop to shop seeing whether they stock what you're looking for and their selling price. You should research before hand so you know the UK's best price converted to Sing dollars, and then only buy if you can beat it by at least 10%.

There are a small number of stores that do display prices and have price lists - but you'll also note that most of the sales people aren't the friendly type you'd normally get in the UK. They want you in - take your money - and want you out asap. Don't expect many smiles :) It's a great experience though - but don't expect to be in and out in 10 minutes!! You need to leave a couple of hours at least to get around a lot of the stores. And the higher up you go - I found the prices got better :)
 
Many thanks to all of your help, it would seem that as I am buying smaller and relatively cheap equipment that the cost saving would not be worth sacrificing the uk warranty.

With regards to the 50mm lens not auto focusing, I am aware of that thankyou. The purchases in question will be before I upgrade to a D90 to relieve me of the big cost of bulk buying it, and will happily manual focus until then.

Many thanks once again
 
cymruchris said:
It's hard to explain until you see it. Imagine a 6-7 floor shopping centre that only contains electrical stores. Some are small - some are large. Most have no prices on display - and most will have lots of staff behind the counter. You have to walk from shop to shop seeing whether they stock what you're looking for and their selling price. You should research before hand so you know the UK's best price converted to Sing dollars, and then only buy if you can beat it by at least 10%.

There are a small number of stores that do display prices and have price lists - but you'll also note that most of the sales people aren't the friendly type you'd normally get in the UK. They want you in - take your money - and want you out asap. Don't expect many smiles :) It's a great experience though - but don't expect to be in and out in 10 minutes!! You need to leave a couple of hours at least to get around a lot of the stores. And the higher up you go - I found the prices got better :)
Click to expand...

thankyou for your reply, sounds like a similar experience to what I had whilst electrical shopping in Hong Kong earlier this year. Strange when most others in the asain community are so warm and welcoming.

Think I've made my mind up and will buy both in the uk, if I can get both the sb-600 and the 'nifty fifty' for £250 ill be a happy man!
 
pete.rush said:
Hong Kong / Singapore / Malaysia prices aren't as good a deals as they once were because of our weak currency. Using the Sony A850 as an example, you might save £150 on the deal, but closer to £100. Best price UK £1529, HK was £1429 for the body from a rep outfit like digital rev or onestop digital. And for less value items like a flash, differences will be minimal.
Click to expand...

Actually the A850 price I paid was S$2800/£1210 with a further S$151 back as a GST refund at the airport. The £1529 price is a new low this week from RGB, at the time I bought £1649 was the lowest UK price.
 
dan_yorkshire said:
Many thanks to all of your help, it would seem that as I am buying smaller and relatively cheap equipment that the cost saving would not be worth sacrificing the uk warranty.
Click to expand...

More to the point, it probably is not worth the sacrifice of 1/2 day of your holiday to wander about a huge building with 6 floors of small shops all selling similar kit. Great if you want to take a chance on a local copy of an mp4 player or copies of just about anything.

In Kuala Lumpur there are two malls, one with technology that (this time last year) prices were not awfully different to UK and the other that seemed to specialise in knock off games and game cartridges for Nintendo handhelds.

Singapore has a huge electrical shopping centre just by Bugis Street - I didn't find too many bargains but that may be because I fear for both the warranty and credit card cloning.

The Far East is a fantastic experience and there are loads of bargains around - I am sure that there will be loads of things that you end up with that you really didn't know that you wanted!

Chris
 
Tulipone said:
Singapore has a huge electrical shopping centre just by Bugis Street - I didn't find too many bargains but that may be because I fear for both the warranty and credit card cloning.
Chris
Click to expand...

Sim Lim square? I wasn't impressed with either the range or price of kit on display when I was there a couple of years ago. This time I avoided it (as well as Funan) and I got my camera at the Cathay Photo branch in Marina Square.
 
Beer_Stalker said:
Sim Lim square? I wasn't impressed with either the range or price of kit on display when I was there a couple of years ago. This time I avoided it (as well as Funan) and I got my camera at the Cathay Photo branch in Marina Square.
Click to expand...

...thats the one - the only place I ever remember the name of is Plantip Plaza in Bangkok. Thats not great for camera gear either.

Chris
 
longlyogre said:
Bugis Street is the biggest shopping area. And you may also tryMUSTAFA CENTRE.It is a 24 hours shopping centre.

Dont forget the 5% tax refund.
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In these days of cross border collaboration, I have always wondered if it is wise to claim back the 5% GST at customs on the way out, just in case there is a marker that is passed to the UK on the return. Obviously if you are buying and intend to import less than the Gift level, not a problem, but if you bought a decent camera paying the UK duty and tax on the whole of the item may not make it the bargain you thought.

Chris
 
i bought a lens from map camera in tokyo....if anyone is going to japan i'd recommend the place, the lens (100 2.8 macro) was indistinguishable from new. unfortunately i had to dump the box as i was out of luggage space...when i told customs they weren't bothered and waived me through...so much for duty :-p
 
i buy mail order via digital rev in hong kong very good value saves you the trip
 
Tulipone said:
In these days of cross border collaboration, I have always wondered if it is wise to claim back the 5% GST at customs on the way out, just in case there is a marker that is passed to the UK on the return. Obviously if you are buying and intend to import less than the Gift level, not a problem, but if you bought a decent camera paying the UK duty and tax on the whole of the item may not make it the bargain you thought.

Chris
Click to expand...

Well, if you were charged by the UK Customer then is could be more expensive indeed. But I think either you claim for the tax refund or not in other country won't affect the status at the UK Custom. The UK Custom will charge you custom duty because they think that you are importing goods more than a specific price no matter you paid the tax in other country or not. If the product was sent into UK, the amount allowed for non-tax is 16 Pound (if I am not wrong). Products whose value is higher than this inside a single package will be considered of custom duty. But I belive that the quantity should be higher if you took the products with you personally.

Since you are not the nation, you don't need to pay for the GST. Many of my friend met the situation before. One of them once bought a lot memory cards and flash drivers for himself and as gifts. The custom officer asked him opened the packages and broke the packages. as a proof not for business. So do claim for the tax refund if it is convenient to you.
 
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GST in Singapore is 7%. I would avoid the shops around the Bugis area (especially Sim Lim Square) and Lucky Plaza.

If you're planning on shopping for cameras in Singapore, I can recommend a couple of places which is less likely to cheat tourists and provide a decent service :

In no particular order,

Near City Hall MRT:
John 3:16 @ Funan IT Centre
Cathay Photo @ Peninsula Plaza (there are a couple of Cathay Photo outlets but I usually visit this one)
T K Foto @ Shaw Towers

Near Ang Mo Kio MRT:
M S Colour (There are 2 outlets, one in the shopping centre and the other around the neighbourhood. Ask around for the latter's location.)
 
fleaz said:
GST in Singapore is 7%. I would avoid the shops around the Bugis area (especially Sim Lim Square) and Lucky Plaza.

If you're planning on shopping for cameras in Singapore, I can recommend a couple of places which is less likely to cheat tourists and provide a decent service :

In no particular order,

Near City Hall MRT:
John 3:16 @ Funan IT Centre
Cathay Photo @ Peninsula Plaza (there are a couple of Cathay Photo outlets but I usually visit this one)
T K Foto @ Shaw Towers

Near Ang Mo Kio MRT:
M S Colour (There are 2 outlets, one in the shopping centre and the other around the neighbourhood. Ask around for the latter's location.)
Click to expand...


I second this recommendation! The shops listed above are all reputable. :thumbs: Sim Lim Square is a place for computers, not cameras. There are many dishonest camera shops inside the mall so caveat emptor! Just a few points to note.........

1) TK Foto has now shifted to Funan IT mall. Still nice people and the agent for think tank bags in Singapore.

2) John 3:16 is not a place to go if you have no time to spare as everyone wants Sam,the boss to serve them. Their prices are slightly higher than others but you pay a little extra for the good service.

3) The price tags Cathay Photo labelled on their goods are not the real prices. You have to ask them for "a discount" and when they offer you one,which is in fact their actual selling price, you'll feel good getting "a discount." The best price is actually their e-quote. Email them at email@cathayphoto.com.sg , print it out and bring to their shop.

4) MS Color has the lowest price (most of the time) and they are located in the neighbourhood. It takes around 20 mins by train from town to get there. (station name is "Ang Mo Kio") Their branch is located inside Ang Mo Kio Hub (a shopping centre connected to the train station) and their main shop is a 5 minutes walk. Do note that the price is slightly better at the main shop probably because the boss is there and the rent at the shopping centre is higher? Ask passerbys for direction to Jubilee cinema (most people know where the cinema is and not Block 711) when you arrive at the station. MS color is next to a food court and they are opposite the cinema. You'll see both before you see the cinema. :)

Hope my information helps! :)
 
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This is the website you can use for price reference. You can get cheaper out in KL and most of the time, you can ask them to throw in some freebies like memory card etc.
http://shashinki.com/shop/
You just have to haggle abit.
 
coool trusty infos :)
 
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