Shopping Experiences at SLS

[Yongliang]

Hi guys!
Just want to share some rather bad shopping experiences in SLS today.

1. Went to SLS to look for Canon A40 / V2. Undecided which to buy. Went around, most of the shops no stock. Went to one shop ( 2 shops beside AP ) D** ****. Canon A40 no stock. Was very very shocked the boss quoted me $530 ( exclude GST ) for Ixus V2!! Asked him gt stock and warranty, he said yes. So happy, asked for 1. Then he took out box and did some demo on display set. Later he kept recommending Pentax Optio 230. Kept telling me Pentax is better. I said I wanted V2, then he said sorry no stock. I really really felt cheated! Why didnt he tell me earlier??

2. Went to 2nd floor, Digi*** V, even worse. That young shrewd quoted $500 ( exclude GST ) not a bad deal. Asked for 1. Let me try display set. Everytime I ask him to get a new set for me, he would divert the topic and recommend me other cameras like Minolta Dimage. Keep telling me Minolta is better than A40, claiming Dimage lens is made of crystal and A40 plastic...(??). Said I wanted A40, insulted me y I dun trust him, like an old man, even asking me to 'wake up'!!!! Then he made a phonecall, told me his staff tea break, asked me go bk 30min later. Then I went off, feeling pissed, suspicious that he's trying to play me out. How come he doesnt keep stock in his shop? Saw many many boxes of Dimage in the shop. Of course I didnt return...

3. Went peninsula plaza, finally bought 1 set @ $520 with GST. Ok lor, quite standard price. Had to bargain from $590!! Then the lady kept telling me to buy extra CF and batt charger and card reader. Didnt buy cos exaggerated prices...CF 64mb ( no brand ) @ $85, 128mb NCP @ $155!! Wah! Of course bought only camera cos CP just round the corner mah...

Just sharing my experiences to potential buyers here, hope u guys dun get pissed off like me. Hope wont get trouble with these shops for relating my unpleasant encounters here.

 

[mervlam]

maybe i should go down to get this guys to wake uo their f****** idea......

always do your research first... dont get conned by these black sheep.... pity the tourists though.....

 

[Kit]

You are not the first and you defenitely won't be the last.

 

[Yipee]

these people, they quote a very attractive price for what you want, then say no stock, then ask you to buy something else but at ridiculous price. classic "bait and switch". yeah, really pity those tourists.. and uninformed locals.:angry:

 

[canon]

I sugguest you guys check that the shop in the list is an authorised dealer, before buying.

I am surprised, only a few in Sim Lim are authorised dealer

http://www.canon.com.sg/where_to_buy/digital_camera.cfm

 

[Galaa]

Last time when i bought my 1st digicam also like this. The shop beside AP...that time wanted to buy a coolpix 990, went to them, they keep trying to persuade me to buy some other cams...and when i persist in wanting to buy coolpix, he said no stock ask me come again tomorrow. When tomorrow i went there he again tried to get me to buy some other cams, and in the end he told me he don hv stock for coolpix 990....

I never visit their shop EVER again...

Got a shop on 2nd floor even worse(forgot the name of shop)
When i ask him for coolpix he ask me wat the other shops' price. I told him the price i was given in the shop mentioned earlier, and he said impossible where can be so cheap. I told him thats wat i was given, then he qouted me a price which is even cheaper than the previous shop. Of cos i wanted to buy immediately, then he say "sorry I no stock. I just qouting u the price"
WTF! If no stock say no stock lah! He qoute me a cheaper price just to spike me cos I said other shops giving me a low price.

 

[DeepZpace]

Yeah... i went to that shop beside AP to enquire about C720UZ and that guy kept asking me to get the Fuji Finepix... dunno which model but full auto wan... He even insulted me implying that me being an amateur shouldnt buy something thats more for professional!!! And C720UZ aint exactly for the pros either... I told him i need to consider then he replied in a rude way telling me to think properly before going back!!!!

 

[yllow]

This is how I do shopping at SLS. If there is a pricelist display, check first then check for stock. If no pricelist display, check the price first then ask whether got stock. Price no good, walk away. Price close enough, ask whether got stock. Price very good, I want to buy now. You tell them exactly what you want. Anything else, not interested. You don't waste my time, I don't waste your time. Don't even bother to ask them to explain the differences in model and comparison. Do your own homework before going down there for shopping. SLS is not famous for customer service. If you want better service, go to Funan, price might be slightly higher.

 

[Belle&Sebastain]

hmmm, when i usually go and ask for prices, i alway carry a camera bag or something, will ask for the clost set of models (so they know i done my homework) like if i ask for S2pro, i will also ask for D100, if i ask for isus330, i will also ask for V2 etc, you get the picture.
Yeah if price is high, i smile at them, giving them the yeah rite, do i look like a fool? stare and walk off.
If the price seems too good to be true, i will first whip out my wallet, that's all and give them a feeling i will buy it NOW, if they panic, (they want your money remember) they will either get your stuff and maybe try hanky panky on you or no stock but... If they take the stock out, i will inspect it and persist on the price and the moment they try the handy panky, keep your wallet and walk off, ignore ther plea.
Retail is still a service orientated business and its my hard earn money my friend. If they are dishonest, they do not deserve your business and you have no business to keep them in business.

my .25 cents

 

[hazardman]

When u go to some shops to ask for a certain video cam, they'll bring out the model to show u. Then quote u a price.. then they'll test it on a display TV. U'll notice it's slightly yellowish.. and they'll tell u it's cos of the lens n such..n suggest to u another model. Usually it's a sharp.. i dunno y but maybe sharp products cost price are cheaper. And brag bout how good it is and stuff...selling u at a impossible price. The trick is in the display set. They rigged the TV so u'll be tricked into thinkin it's the camera's prob. If u ask for it to be tested on other sets, they'll tell u they're not for display or out of order. My client also got cheated..big time. He bought a VL-ME10 Sharp for $700 bucks more than it's market price. 55 yr old man.. close to retirement and they cheat ppl like that. I was mad when i got to noe about it.. but it's too late, money's gone ...

However, despite all these *F-ugly* salesharks.. there're still handful of good uprite business ppl. And polite too. Which most salesppl in s'pore needs to learn how to.

 

[Paddington]

Yah, it's a sad state of affair in Singapore. This has been going on for as long as I can remember back when I was in Secondary school more than 10 years ago. Wanted to buy an Aiwa CD player in SLS and the conman claimed it was made in Taiwan. He then recommended me a Sony. I felt dubious so went to another more honest shop. He said what nonsense. It's made in Japan and I saw it from the back too.

It's a joke to hear of Singapore as a shopper's paradise. Lurking out there are also conmen... and I dread to think of all the tourists making innocent purchases where their wallets get ripped off. And our fellow singaporeans who just got their decent pay packet after months of hard work being cheated of their money by... their fellow singaporeans, thank you very much.

The bottom line is to always do your research on the prices and features of the cameras (or other products for that matter). If you're new, get a more experienced friend or someone who is familiar with the equipment.

If the con-salesman says one camera is better than another, ask him how so, and in what specific ways. Not discrimating anyone, but such pple have less than kindergarten education in morals and honesty but a Ph.D in conning your money. If he can't give decent answers, I wouldn't even bother talking anymore with him. Usually, there isn't a "better" camera within the same price category. It's a matter of whether you need the functions or how comfortable you are with that brand/model.

 

[YSLee]

Just go Alan Photo in SLS.. it's just about the only shop worth going to there for photo equipment.

 

[franciskc]

dun buy dun buy dun buy
Those stalkers are just after your $$$$ .
As long as u look sgreans they will give u futup service.