Shopping for bargains in Hong Kong/Singapore....?

yetanotherhelen

As my other half will be stopping off in both places on a trip to NZ soon, I was wondering if it would be worth shopping for gadgets (in particular, a Sony e book reader) Anyone got any experience of this? If there would not be a particular saving I would just hold off and buy one here later.
Any info gratefully appreciated.

Enterprise_1701C

It is definitely worth it.

Just do NOT go into the back room with them - they try to wear you down with their offers. Just make sure you know what you want and get the best price you can which may take a little while.

I got my PDA for about 2/3rds of the price it was here.

Just pray you do not get stopped by customs!

Shopping is a different experience in Hong Kong - enjoy.

yetanotherhelen

Sounds good! Maybe it's just as well I will not be with him - sounds too tempting!
Thanks Jane.

abr

beware of what you buy
make sure it will work when you bring it back home
and finally pay by credit card so that you have some back up;)

baby_fuzz

exchange rate isn't particularily favourable right now. You can get some good deals in HK, but you have to be willing to haggle. on the other hand, if you go to somewhere like FORTRESS (HK equivalent to currys), you know you'll get a pretty good deal, but there is no haggling to be done. I'd treat shopping in HK as a chance to get the newer gadgets, rather than cheaper...

emujuice

Singapore is a bit cheaper and is safe to buy from. I'm not sure what the exchange is like at the minute, but we used to live there and found laptops etc... cheaper by about a 1/3

Funan IT mall is downtown, near the pedang - it's a mall full of electronic stuff with good prices and selection. Don't buy in Chinatown or little India.

The airport also has some good prices too.

If you look at the singapore dell website and the uk one you can compare laptops directly and see the price difference. There's very little online shopping in SG, so high street/mall prices are competitive with out online prices.

middlecat

I was in Hong Kong recently and tried to get the Sony ebook reader but they don't seem to have that there!

yetanotherhelen

Thanks for these replies. Did you eventually get the e reader somewhere?

middlecat

Hi yetanotherhelen,

No, I decided that I don't need it after all!

selby

Do your homework. We were there over Xmas and the exchange rate meant that it was more expensive over there (looked in FORTRESS - electrical shop chain) for Canon DSLR than in UK so we bought it in Jessops when we came home. Same story for DH's fancy earphones!

SootSoot

I tend to find that Fortress is slightly more expensive compared to Broadway. In terms of cost, it's not really that much cheaper in HK, more that the items are more advanced than ours in the UK.

In Fortress and more so at Broadway, they give you free gifts when you spend certain amounts. As they are both shop retailers, their items will be genuine and legit. I know that it's in chinese but you can click on pictures and model numbers for a looky ( OoOoo it's Mickey Mouse gifts).

Anyway, my Brother took DH and me to Windsor House in Causeway Bay where they have 2 floors of shops which sell computers. Unfortunately, as we went during Chinese New Year, most were shut. They will most probably have the ebook reader there. Steer clear of the markets as the items are most probably rip offs.

HTH.