Terrible Singapore Prices


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nottipiglet

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Apr 20, 2006
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Why are some things priced so badly in Singapore. For example, Canon camera and lenses, Colorvision Spyder, etc... :thumbsd:

Why do the distributors here do this to themselves? I just buy from Amazon.com. It's troublesome, but I save a bundle.

Currently, I am eyeing the Logitech Harmony 880 universal remote. It sells for $499 here... while it goes for only USD143 and Amazon.com.
 

Why are some things priced so badly in Singapore. For example, Canon camera and lenses, Colorvision Spyder, etc... :thumbsd:

Why do the distributors here do this to themselves? I just buy from Amazon.com. It's troublesome, but I save a bundle.

Currently, I am eyeing the Logitech Harmony 880 universal remote. It sells for $499 here... while it goes for only USD143 and Amazon.com.


distributor have to earn, retailers have to earn, got tax, got GST, rental and overheads going up. Governement painted a rosy picture of economy so everyone thinks that we are doing well and earning more, so got more buying power loh....

I think amazon has no shop front, so saves heaps on rental on that
 

how abt this, a 500f4 lens in hk for 9k+ while spore sells it at 10k+
the difference of 1k more than adequately cover the trip cost + accomodation + food + little shopping

i already stopped thinking of getting lens in spore, its way insane. tripods and other peripherals, it depends on how desperate i need it and when i can fly over.

i hope the local stores will rot and shut down for good and wake up their ideas.

by the way: did u know the gundam 1/60 scale models sells at arnd $100 in spore but in hk u can buy for <$50 ?????

lol.. yes i bought a couple of them back and my luggage is full of gundams :D
 

Talk about it...

I went to Cambodia and bought some silk shawl (its like a long scarf with pattern lahz) at US$2 each but back in SG i saw the same stuff at some boutique with the price tag of S$30 and more...

That is something.... LoL!!!

how abt this, a 500f4 lens in hk for 9k+ while spore sells it at 10k+
the difference of 1k more than adequately cover the trip cost + accomodation + food + little shopping

i already stopped thinking of getting lens in spore, its way insane. tripods and other peripherals, it depends on how desperate i need it and when i can fly over.

i hope the local stores will rot and shut down for good and wake up their ideas.

by the way: did u know the gundam 1/60 scale models sells at arnd $100 in spore but in hk u can buy for <$50 ?????

lol.. yes i bought a couple of them back and my luggage is full of gundams :D
 

MacBook Pro in HK = around SGD$3782.00 (after conversion from HKD19,200)

MacBook Pro in Singapore = SGD$4188.00

That's a whopping SGD$406

Plus Apple Laptops are international warranty. You can also buy it in HK airport which is the same price as well.
 

I can't agree more, all the rosy pictures and words, prepare for the worst.
distributor have to earn, retailers have to earn, got tax, got GST, rental and overheads going up. Governement painted a rosy picture of economy so everyone thinks that we are doing well and earning more, so got more buying power loh....

I think amazon has no shop front, so saves heaps on rental on that
 

how abt this, a 500f4 lens in hk for 9k+ while spore sells it at 10k+
the difference of 1k more than adequately cover the trip cost + accomodation + food + little shopping

i already stopped thinking of getting lens in spore, its way insane. tripods and other peripherals, it depends on how desperate i need it and when i can fly over.

i hope the local stores will rot and shut down for good and wake up their ideas.

by the way: did u know the gundam 1/60 scale models sells at arnd $100 in spore but in hk u can buy for <$50 ?????

lol.. yes i bought a couple of them back and my luggage is full of gundams :D

Talk about it...

I went to Cambodia and bought some silk shawl (its like a long scarf with pattern lahz) at US$2 each but back in SG i saw the same stuff at some boutique with the price tag of S$30 and more...

That is something.... LoL!!!


HK has no GST. When then the HK govern wanted to propose GST, many were opposed to it and there were protests and petitions. The public were consulted and the issue was debated and eventually it was dropped. What do you think happened here?

But........ of course we got GST rebate lah.... maybe enough for us to buy the air tix (note: Tiger Air only) to do HK to do our shopping.

I used to buy model kits in Taiwan and ship them back and it's still cheaper than buying locally. Plus they have the more rare garage kits there.



It's really unfair to compare the buying in cambodia and in singapore. Our income levels, standards of living and overheads are so much different. If you had said buying the same scaff in HK at USD$2 and here at $30, then perhaps, it more fair.
 

Yah... I bought my Colorvision Spyder2 and Sennheiser HD580 headphone from Amazon.com. The GST differerence helped offset the shipping cost. I also bought my Canon lens from Ebay.

Some smaller retailers are more open to negotiations. For example, I like to buy HiFi stuff from Seng Heng Electrical (Adelphi) because they are willing to lower their prices if I tell them that the item is sold for much lower in the US/Canada. :thumbsup:
 

Talk about it...

I went to Cambodia and bought some silk shawl (its like a long scarf with pattern lahz) at US$2 each but back in SG i saw the same stuff at some boutique with the price tag of S$30 and more...

That is something.... LoL!!!

Fashion items are different. I like to think that they pick out the nicer ones, so that we pay for an additional level of quality control. Also, it is not surprising that things are cheaper in Cambodia because their standard of living is much lower.

For example, T-shirts cost a fraction of the price in Thailand, Philippines, etc.
 

I do not hope that local shops close down. I just hope that they negotiate and manage their costs soundly, so that Singaporeans can buy things at reasonable prices compared to Americans. Btw, Americans pay GST too... but their prices are still better after their higher GST. Go figure that out. They should not try to profit by overcharging because customers are not idiots.
 

My friend, the bottomline is always on the thought of all companies here unfortunately. And the utter lack of consumer protection laws (actually if we're looking at 'consumer' from the perspective of the law, its more like the business entity, not the end-consumer) would simply mean most businesses would adopt a "U happy u buy, not happy bring ur business elsewhere".

Despite the so-called 'competition' with more companies jumping in the fray of fashion, electronics, cameras, etc, etc. Businesses know the very psychology of end-consumers that some would pay thru the nose for an extra added feature simply because of boasting rights & ego and the thrill of having 'advanced technology' over their peers (when its like a big Zzzz~~~ elsewhere).

The art of 'technology chase' and 'gadget whoring' coupled with what's said earlier (lack of end-consumer protection laws) would simply mean most businesses are not exactly following a 'customer centric' model but more of a 'market centric' model.

Got market, they bring it in.
No market, u can basically go and hunt it ur own, the company wun incur extra cost just to make that couple of hundred ppl happy.
 

i believe HK prices are a bit lower because of no GST.
I think the blame shld not be put on squarely on GST per se. US, Europe, Japan have VAT as well but why are they able to consistently offer better value for Goods & Services over here?

I'd like to see GST as just part of the whole problem and not the problem as a whole. :)
 

MacBook Pro in HK = around SGD$3782.00 (after conversion from HKD19,200)

MacBook Pro in Singapore = SGD$4188.00

That's a whopping SGD$406

Plus Apple Laptops are international warranty. You can also buy it in HK airport which is the same price as well.

Yup thats a HK trip thrown in for "free".

With the 2&#37; increase this july, I think Apple Singapore price will also be 'adjusted' (upwards that is...) that would make a HK even more attractive.. infact I am contemplating..... OT ;p

Plus I normally get my Gundam Kits there too...
 

let's leave sg!! for better prices of luxury items!! let's GO!
 

let's leave sg!! for better prices of luxury items!! let's GO!

That's what we are doing... we make money here... then go overseas to buy things.
We also shop online.
 

a big cost component here is rental. and guess who sets the benchmark price when a piece of statel land is being auctioned off. i am a firm beliver of economic cycles and we are reaching the top. I do hope the overheated Shanghai stock mkt crash big time which will cause lots of social unrest there and the rest of Asia will feel the ripple effect. Better still if Fed raise interest rate....then the good old days of early 2000 will be back.
 

how abt this, a 500f4 lens in hk for 9k+ while spore sells it at 10k+
the difference of 1k more than adequately cover the trip cost + accomodation + food + little shopping

i already stopped thinking of getting lens in spore, its way insane. tripods and other peripherals, it depends on how desperate i need it and when i can fly over.

i hope the local stores will rot and shut down for good and wake up their ideas.

by the way: did u know the gundam 1/60 scale models sells at arnd $100 in spore but in hk u can buy for <$50 ?????

lol.. yes i bought a couple of them back and my luggage is full of gundams :D

wanted to buy a Haro t-shirt from japan... but they dun ship... so went to see ebay... got the exact 1 shipping out of Hongkong... then it write HARO on the advert... upon close inspection... damnit... the tee write HRRD... lao eh, so fake... heng never buy... :thumbsd:

well, have to open eyes big big when buying from these countries... cos may never know what u get...
 

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