Buying online??

[2evans]

For items above 400 SGD, you'll have to pay the 7% GST so in Claudio's example, tack on another ~100 to that price. (it's not indicated if the example included the gst.)

You do pay more in Singapore but depending on where you go, you can test the lens or body on the spot. This saves the hassle of shipping back and forth. But everything is a compromise... even down to the lenses we choose

 

[dimashp]

my personal opinion is not to buy anything fragile (although everything is fragile...). like lenses and stuffs.
buy those you can't find it here or hard to find. that's more worth it i guess. for me, i do not mind paying 50-100 more on 1000+ products rather than buying something that i can't test it.

again, lenses. some copy are sharper than the rest. this is why. that's my opinion lah =)

 

[jackb]

Just to share my experience ( sorry! this shall be the last word I should say...) I went to US last summer in Cincinnati, and visted a department store called " Best Buy" quite similar to Harvey Norman here, I intended to buy Canon 40D kit 28~135MM, the price was USD1299, but with only warranty within US and Canada, comaparatively still cheaper here ( as on last year price), but owing to the limited warranty condition, i decided not to take the risk! When i returned to Singapore, I visited Amazon.com, it was offered at USD1199 ( approx SD1800), so I ordered one and send to my HQ in Cincinnati and asked my colleague to carry back to Singapore, it was a grey market product, ie it carry a limited warranty in US & Canada but not beyond that region and also the packaging was in white box without the typical Canon glossy box, other than that it was just like ordinally puchased from AD...

The catch is :if you order from outside Singapore, any thing above SD300, you are subjected to 7% GST and rather expensive courier charge and also very poor credit card rate...so think twice before you order, for my case I was freed from the above problem except the credit card's poor rate.

To my perception, it is still cheaper to buy from outside SIngapore, for my case i reckon i could save approx. SD 500 ~ SD 600..;p

 

[photograham]

Just to share my experience ( sorry! this shall be the last word I should say...) I went to US last summer in Cincinnati, and visted a department store called " Best Buy" quite similar to Harvey Norman here, I intended to buy Canon 40D kit 28~135MM, the price was USD1299, but with only warranty within US and Canada, comaparatively still cheaper here ( as on last year price), but owing to the limited warranty condition, i decided not to take the risk! When i returned to Singapore, I visited Amazon.com, it was offered at USD1199 ( approx SD1800), so I ordered one and send to my HQ in Cincinnati and asked my colleague to carry back to Singapore, it was a grey market product, ie it carry a limited warranty in US & Canada but not beyond that region and also the packaging was in white box without the typical Canon glossy box, other than that it was just like ordinally puchased from AD...

The catch is :if you order from outside Singapore, any thing above SD300, you are subjected to 7% GST and rather expensive courier charge and also very poor credit card rate...so think twice before you order, for my case I was freed from the above problem except the credit card's poor rate.

To my perception, it is still cheaper to buy from outside SIngapore, for my case i reckon i could save approx. SD 500 ~ SD 600..;p

Wow, great amazon story

 

[lennyl]

When i returned to Singapore, I visited Amazon.com, it was offered at USD1199 ( approx SD1800), so I ordered one and send to my HQ in Cincinnati and asked my colleague to carry back to Singapore, it was a grey market product, ie it carry a limited warranty in US & Canada but not beyond that region and also the packaging was in white box without the typical Canon glossy box, other than that it was just like ordinally puchased from AD...

That's strange - you didn't get it from Amazon, but from one of their other sellers, did you? All my purchases from Amazon comes in original retail packaging.

Edit : oh, and good call not purchasing from Best Buy

 

[jackb]

Ya, very likely you are right. I must have order through the retailer that piggyback on Amazon.com, as i could not recall whether which reatailer i had ordered.
I had also ordered an Omega watch which was JOMA SHOP which piggyback on Amazon and it was externally in white box but internally a posh leather red box, very typical Omega box but whithout the warranty card. I won't mind of these little set back, so long it is genuine and save me a few hundred bucks, for this watch i could save about SD1000, but compromised with the warranty.
My advice, if you really want a much higher end goods like Rolex or above, it is still better to get from a local AD with warranty though that will set you back a couple of hundred bucks to a few grands.
Ebay = No way for me

 

[jackb]

Ya, very likely you are right. I must have order through the retailer that piggyback on Amazon.com, as i could not recall whether which reatailer i had ordered.
I had also ordered an Omega watch which was JOMA SHOP which piggyback on Amazon and it was externally in white box but internally a posh leather red box, very typical Omega box but whithout the warranty card. I won't mind of these little set back, so long it is genuine and save me a few hundred bucks, for this watch i could save about SD1000, but compromised with the warranty.
My advice, if you really want a much higher end goods like Rolex or above, it is still better to get from a local AD with warranty though that will set you back a couple of hundred bucks to a few grands.
Ebay = No way for me

Sorry for the grammar as i was in a rush the office;p

 

[cosine]

I am unable to address sales outside the USA. For those living in the states I found a site that may be of help to those bewitched by tantalizingly low prices.

Visit http://www.resellerratings.com/topstores.pl and check out their ratings and reviews. All to often the companies offering a $800 camera for $450 are often selling "gray market" gear without a USA guarantee.

The old saw "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" applies to many of the so-called bargains found on line; just my opinion people.

 

[jackb]

There is always a risk of buying stuffs from the web retailers, however through careful selection of the retailers, the risk will be mitigated. I have been with Amazon.com as a member over 10 years and countless of merchant goods been purchased from them, not a single problem ever encountered. Others like Barnes & Noble which i patronized for books for years, and absolutely no issue at all. It is always wise to select one or two very reliable web retailers like the 2 above and stick to it! Comparatively, I feel much more comfortable and less risky to deal with them than the reatilers in Sim Lim Square, the reatilers there are very terrible! My past experience always remind me that SL Square is one of the worst shopping mall in the world! I always advise my colleagues from US not to go there and instead advised them to go to Musatafa.
Grey market is not necessarily that bad, I patronized it simply because of the good price but have to compromise with the warranty. So, it depends on what is your preference, price or service, if you have a deep pocket, then I would advise you to go for the service aspect, get from a AD( again not from SL Square), howvever, if you have a limited budget, then grey market is not a bad choice either, so far Amazon.com is fine, but preferably not from the retailers that piggyback on it. Some piggyback retailers are selling counterfake goods even Amazon.com is not aware of. So caveat emptor!

 

[r0n1n]

I am unable to address sales outside the USA. For those living in the states I found a site that may be of help to those bewitched by tantalizingly low prices.

Visit http://www.resellerratings.com/topstores.pl and check out their ratings and reviews. All to often the companies offering a $800 camera for $450 are often selling "gray market" gear without a USA guarantee.

The old saw "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" applies to many of the so-called bargains found on line; just my opinion people.

thanks for the link. i can't even find the store i'm referring to from the link you've provided. either the site is outdated or the store is a complete hoax! :bigeyes:

 

[woodenlense]

actually i think the price in SG is reasonable. did you factor in shipping cost plus GST? also some intangible cost like risk - not that the seller is not reliable but more about the hassle you go through if the item is damaged during shipping...

 

[woodenlense]

ops. sorry didn't relize someone mentioned my point earlier...