Piece of advice for would-be shoppers in HK. Or elsewhere.

[rayman]

Hi all,

I went HK a few mths back. My 2 friends, a lady - Ling and a guy - Tong, were shopping for a digicam. They had eyes for a Canon.

Ling asked around a few shops and found this store in Tsim Sha Tsui which sells it cheaper than Sing price by about $400. She had asked around before her departure.

Ling and Tong then went into the store to ask about the camera. The salesman happily showed them the camera. Upon confirmation of price much to Ling and Tong's satisfaction, the salesman went to the storeroom to get new ones for them. On his return, he told Ling and Tong that they were out of stock. He then quickly asked if they were interested in another model, a Sony. Both my friends were unfamiliar with this model and its Sing selling price.

My friends were quite reluctant but honey came out of the salesman's mouth and they were talked into buying the Sony.

When they returned to Sing, Ling did a check and found that the Sing RRP for the Sony (not even store price) is SGD100 less than the price the salesman quoted them!!

OK, granted that my 2 friends were a little gullible and naive. But we strongly suspect this guy used this 'ultimate cheap' ruse to attract customers into the store. Then say they are out of stock and quickly introduce a less familiar camera to the customer. At a much higher price, of course.

I'm not accusing the salesman of cheating my friends and I must add that my friends were too careless. It's PURELY OUR OWN DEDUCTION and I'm posting this to warn you guys to be extra careful when you're shopping. Might not be HK but elsewhere. Just be mindful of this possibility.

 

[ckiang]

I thought this was quite the "practice", even here in Singapore, particularly in SLS/Lucky Plaza. (read in dpreview).

This appears to be their favourite trick.

1. They know you've researched the product you want very well - you know the pricing, etc very well, so they can't con you on that.

2. When that happens, they will try to steer you into another product which you are unfamiliar with so that they have control over its price. Since you have probably not done research on that, they can "con" you. To achieve this, they simply tell you there is no stock on the item you wanted, why not try another model?

So, just be aware of this tactic.

Regards
CK

 

[PsychoBoy]

this does happen in many places in Singapore too. happens many times in SLS when I buy computer parts. they quote you low price for the product you ask for so that you will stay around and ask more, just to give you the impression that the shop sell things cheaper than others. so when they sell you some other product, you think it is cheaper than other shops also.

anyway, that HK guy must be a very good salesman I believe.

 

[Kit]

Maybe its just me but once I've done the necessary research and decided on what to buy, I'll stick with it. If no stock, I walk out. Very seldom I would allow a salesperson interfere with my decision unless I'm a regular of the shop and knows them very well.

 

[ultrazoom]

Originally posted by PsychoBoy
anyway, that HK guy must be a very good salesman I believe.

Good in selling, bad in heart...

Hmm... I'll be going to HK in 1 month's time. Thanks for the warning. I guess I'm still ignorant about this. Usually, if they don't have what I want, I won't stay long, and won't even consider other models, that's why I remain ignorant of such acts.

 

[PsychoBoy]

Originally posted by ultrazoom


Good in selling, bad in heart...

I think that depends on the 'real' situation.
case 1)
the shop(or HK) usually sells the Canon model at that price and they really doesn't have stock for that model. and the sony model are selling at that price at the shop. then the salesman is just doing his job.

case 2)
the salesman knew that there are stocks but lie about it. and he delibratly quote a higher price for the sony model. this case the salesman is out to cheap a few hundred dollars from the 2 ladies.

in both case, I still believe he is good salesman in the area of convincing the customer to buy something that they are not familiar.

and ya, be aware of such things happening so you won't feel disappointed with what you bought.

 

[Larry]

hey that happened to me before in HK, Tsim Sha Tsui as well! i was on the hunt for a Nikon SB28 late 2000, and this shop had the cheapest price i could find. same ploy - salesman said no stocks, tried to push this obscure brand flash unit to me. they did have the display unit so i asked how much was that and suddenly they reverse the initial prices quoted on me. gave me some cock-and bull story and still tried to convince me about the weird brand one.

good thing my heart was set on the SB28 and i smelt a fish, so i left. finally bought my flash at a non-touristy camera shop.

anyway, beware of sales ploys. do your research and know what you want. when in doubt, DON'T BUY. some sales people use these tactics to get you into the shop in the first place, then use high-pressure tactics to "blur" you into paying for me than what you need...