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Where to buy electronics near US prices with no bargaining?

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scootley
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Where to buy electronics near US prices with no bargaining?

Post by scootley » Thu, 06 May 2010 1:33 pm

Admins/mods: This is not an advertisement. I am an individual resident asking an honest question.

Hi,

From my experience, if you go to buy a modern mainstream electronic item/gadget at the type of shop in Singapore that has price tags and does not bargain, it will be significantly more expensive than US prices at similar shops. This is even true of prices listed on regional manufacturer web sites.

For example, take the new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V digital camera. It is a mainstream non-professional consumer item that was announced by Sony in January 2010.

Here are the prices on 7 regional versions of the Sony online store from around the world:

Code: Select all

Country     Currency|Local Price|SGD Price|USD Price|Price Rank|Price Diff (%)| Price Diff (USD)
USA         USD         349.99     480.96    349.99          1           0%                  0   
Hong Kong   HKD           2990     529.94    385.10          2          10%                 35   
Singapore   SGD            649     649.00    471.62          3          35%                122   
Japan       JPY          44800     652.56    474.21          4          35%                124   
UK          GBP            329     686.35    499.72          5          43%                150   
South Korea KRW         564000     696.18    505.91          6          45%                156   
Australia   AUD            629     792.51    578.37          7          65%                228 
Today's exchange rates were used.
As you can see, Singapore prices for this item are 35% higher than US prices. I also checked a few official Sony shops in Singapore, which have the exact same price.

My dream is to find a shop in Singapore that would sell this camera and other gadgets (new, unopened in the box) for much closer to the US price, and for that shop to have price tags and sell it for this cheaper price without any bargaining.

Anyone know of such a shop?

Thanks

References:
USA
Hong Kong
Singapore
Japan
UK
South Korea
Australia

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nakatago
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Post by nakatago » Thu, 06 May 2010 1:53 pm

That's funny...Prices shouldn't be that skewed

Sony does price the camera quite unevenly in their own site. The camera shouldn't be that expensive in Japan, for example. I did a quick check and it should be 30,880 yen in Japan, not 44,xxx. Also, from what I remember in Oz, prices of electronics there are not THAT much more expensive from Singapore (give or take a hundred SGD at most). I call shenanigans on Sony.

@OP, try to look more outside Sony's sites. Unfortunately, retailers in Singapore don't like putting up updated prices on their sites, if at all. Courts does (your camera in mind, though, is not there yet) and Alan Photo is most of the time late. For cameras, you can also try Club Snap's forums. They're maintaining a thread there just for price lists (for camera stuff, anyways).

Failing that, you'll have to call the stores or mount excursions to Funan or Sim Lim. At least those stores you haven't visited yet.

Prices in Singapore very rarely match Japan/US prices but hunting will reveal stores that significantly cut down the difference.
"A quokka is what would happen if there was an anime about kangaroos."

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Post by scootley » Thu, 06 May 2010 2:13 pm

Courts does have it listed here, but the price is the same as Sony's. (SGD $649)

Thanks for the tips

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Post by nakatago » Thu, 06 May 2010 2:20 pm

scootley wrote:Courts does have it listed here, but the price is the same as Sony's. (SGD $649)

Thanks for the tips
Well, I did say it was quick. But it was also dirty. :P

In any case, such stuff here are usually, roughly, around 30-35% more expensive than Japan or US. Yeah, it sucks.
"A quokka is what would happen if there was an anime about kangaroos."

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sundaymorningstaple
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Thu, 06 May 2010 2:39 pm

You are most definitely a dreamer.

It's called the economy of scale. You must remember that the market for a given product in the US is much wider in scope so can afford to be marked down considerably. Remember, that the manufaturer need to set up a distributorship and carry spares and hire staffs to take care of complaints. If the customer base isn't that big, the the overheads go up and that will be generally reflected one of two places and normally in both. The general cost of the base product and whatever extended warranties it can sell. with only 4.5 million people here to try to sell to, it's a bit different that selling to a potential customer base that is 74 times larger with a population 333+ million people.

Shipping also plays an important part. It cheaper, per unit cost, to ship a container full of equipment than a cubic meter of equipment. This has to be recouped as well. If they can send an entire ship of stuff, the per unit cost goes down even further.

Same thing goes for advertising costs as well.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Post by nakatago » Thu, 06 May 2010 2:57 pm

sundaymorningstaple wrote:You are most definitely a dreamer.

It's called the economy of scale. You must remember that the market for a given product in the US is much wider in scope so can afford to be marked down considerably. Remember, that the manufaturer need to set up a distributorship and carry spares and hire staffs to take care of complaints. If the customer base isn't that big, the the overheads go up and that will be generally reflected one of two places and normally in both. The general cost of the base product and whatever extended warranties it can sell. with only 4.5 million people here to try to sell to, it's a bit different that selling to a potential customer base that is 74 times larger with a population 333+ million people.

Shipping also plays an important part. It cheaper, per unit cost, to ship a container full of equipment than a cubic meter of equipment. This has to be recouped as well. If they can send an entire ship of stuff, the per unit cost goes down even further.

Same thing goes for advertising costs as well.
Yeah...

But you gotta admit, that Japan pricing was mighty suspicious.
"A quokka is what would happen if there was an anime about kangaroos."

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Post by KindClare » Thu, 06 May 2010 5:27 pm

Don't forget the tax. Prices listed on USA sites don't include tax, but those listed in UK (17.5%) and SGD (7%) the tax is supposed to be included in the list price.

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Post by durain » Thu, 06 May 2010 8:08 pm

why you no compare malaysia?

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Post by Strong Eagle » Thu, 06 May 2010 9:07 pm

All of the above plus I think supply chain logistics is less efficient here... about 3 dozen middlemen from importer to retailer.

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Post by nakatago » Thu, 06 May 2010 10:00 pm

Strong Eagle wrote:All of the above plus I think supply chain logistics is less efficient here... about 3 dozen middlemen from importer to retailer.
This.

I actually saw a singapore-based, online store that boasts its prices are lower. Which they are, because the store cuts out the middlemen. Problem is, they don't stock a lot of stuff.

@durain: I know a guy who bought a camera in Malaysia. He said he did his homework already and it was cheaper there so took the plunge.

But I still don't understand why a Sony camera would be magnitudes more expensive than in the States, Hong Kong AND Singapore in their own website. :shock:
Note that this is not the case if you look at other Japanese stores..
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Post by sundaymorningstaple » Thu, 06 May 2010 10:43 pm

Maybe it's like the salary levels for two mechanical engineers on the same project with equivalent amounts of experience and the same degree from the same university. Only one is from the 'peens and one is from the UK.

The way I read it, what ever the market will bear.
SOME PEOPLE TRY TO TURN BACK THEIR ODOMETERS. NOT ME. I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHY I LOOK THIS WAY. I'VE TRAVELED A LONG WAY, AND SOME OF THE ROADS WEREN'T PAVED. ~ Will Rogers

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Post by scootley » Fri, 07 May 2010 7:41 pm

I know some people who claim that the US price is actually an instance of "dumping".

In other words, Sony's production costs and/or pricing necessary to make a profit in Japan exceed the US price, and they "artificially" lower the US price in order to appear to be competitive.

Actually, these people claim that all Asian electronics manufacturers do this with their US pricing.

Anyone believe that?

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Post by Strong Eagle » Sat, 08 May 2010 12:51 am

scootley wrote:I know some people who claim that the US price is actually an instance of "dumping".

In other words, Sony's production costs and/or pricing necessary to make a profit in Japan exceed the US price, and they "artificially" lower the US price in order to appear to be competitive.

Actually, these people claim that all Asian electronics manufacturers do this with their US pricing.

Anyone believe that?
It's bullsh*t. Otherwise, Best Buy is "dumping" huge number of brands and huge numbers of product... from TV to computer to A/V to phones to appliances, to... you name it.

Sounds like one of those Walmart stories... lose a little bit on each transaction but make it up in volume.

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Post by stiwi » Sat, 08 May 2010 11:08 am

You should do an extensive search. There is a great forum at www.clubsnap.com/forums/ where you can find a lot of informations and prices about camera stuff in Singapore.

I was also recently buying a camera, considering between DSC-HX5V and Panasonic DMC-TZ10. Ended up with the latter one. Bought at www.parisilk.com at Holland Village, paying $100 less than in Best Denki.

Call and ask for the price.

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Post by x9200 » Sat, 08 May 2010 12:03 pm

A few years ago when I bought Canon HV20 camcorder and the cheapest deal I managed to get in Singapore was like 30-40% overprised comparing to the US. Similar story was also for a middle class AV receiver.... For the camcorder I was told in the sore I bought it from that the reason could be some limited functionality of the American models but the only functionality I could think about is a multisystem vs. NTSC only and this surely would not justify such difference so I am still sceptical. Some other factors influencing the price could be licensing if a particular technology has some regional restrictions.

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