How great is the Great Singapore Sale?

[BedokAmerican]

The annual Great Singapore Sale has started and is scheduled to continue the next few weeks.

For anybody who has been here for it in previous years, how great are the discounts? Is it most items or just a few items?

I checked the GSS website and participating retailers are listed, but do you know if others are taking part or is that just a sample?

I'd really be excited if Fair Price, Cold Storage and Giant took part, but no grocery store was listed (and I didn't expect that). Those just seem like the only places I can go in Singapore without dealing with pushy sales people.

[Sergei82]

Have you ever seen an ocean of dark Indian bodies - so thick that you can't see even walls and ceiling?

[BillyB]

The annual Great Singapore Sale has started and is scheduled to continue the next few weeks.

For anybody who has been here for it in previous years, how great are the discounts? Is it most items or just a few items?

I checked the GSS website and participating retailers are listed, but do you know if others are taking part or is that just a sample?

I'd really be excited if Fair Price, Cold Storage and Giant took part, but no grocery store was listed (and I didn't expect that). Those just seem like the only places I can go in Singapore without dealing with pushy sales people.

Like Sergei suggests, it's an overcrowded nightmare. But, this is Singapore and the word 'discount' or 'sale' does get people moving like flies homing in on a big pile of sh*t.

In fact, they'd probably be able to flog sh*t in the Singapore sale if they advertised it as 20% off per kg in big enough writing........

I couldn't think of a worse place to spend Saturday afternoon than Orchard Road or one of the malls....perhaps the exception might be a gas chamber at Auschwitz.

[ScoobyDoes]

I don't rate the GSS that highly, when considering the on going special fairs, expos, knock-downs and the rest. It's a marketing con......yet people fall for it time and again.

[Wd40]

The word sale has lost its meaning in Singapore. Its has been so much over used and abused, that now everyone expects to see a "Sale" board infront of the shop as a normal. If there is no "Sale" board then you wont see anyone there other than the salesmen/women.

Just like there used to a silver credit card, gold credit card and a platinum and then they started giving platinum to everyone that now the cheapest card is the platinum card. Thats the perfect analogy for sale in Singapore.

The GSS is a joke and eyewash to trap tourists. Locals know what it is.

[the lynx]

Honestly, I don't see any difference between GSS and the year-end sale. Just a gimmick for shopping tourism, I'd say.

I keep on getting vouchers for GSS but I still bin them. Useless crap. Inflated prices with huge conditional* discounts - only a fool'd buy that!

*They can go on telling you how you can get 90% off this and that, but with minimal purchases of hundreds of dollars, or PWP etc... The list is endless.

[Wd40]

Again! Congrats BedokAmerican for starting another thread that is likely to keep most regulars busy for another couple of days

[the lynx]

Again! Congrats BedokAmerican for starting another thread that is likely to keep most regulars busy for another couple of days

It's Friday...

Good timing.

[movingtospore]

It's a load of @#$hit. Prices are so overly inflated to start with - any markdown here just brings them to down to be somewhat less inflated. When I've seen the locals lining up for this thing I've always thought they'd be better off to save their pennies for a discount ticket to Hong Kong, which tends to be a lot cheaper.

[zzm9980]

As an American (I assume by your name), you will not find a sale in Singapore *ever* that comes close to even normal discounts offered in the US. So don't get your hopes up.

[durain]

if you like to buy things that you dont need (how many decanter do you need?), then it is a good sales.

[Sergei82]

Yes, it just says "sale", the prices are usual.

[morenangpinay]

its a tourism ploy as well for those who would travel to shop.I prefer the warehouse sales

[yogaloungeforever]

the gss of today is nothing compared to the gss of yesteryears. my parents used to make it the mecca trip back in the 80s to stock up on everything fr knick knacks to big household items to health care products. also .... clothes

[Brah]

It's like those IT Fairs or when stores do a special in the area in front of their store like Carrefour used to, at Funan, and the like. Mostly moving out old stock, and not always a "sale" in the true sense as the prices are much the same as always.

Having said that, Takashimaya had a good sale over last weekend, some things were (actually, not like in fake sales) 40-50% off, I made out pretty well.

There are things that are worth looking at during this time, like linens, luggage, not sure what else is seasonal but the stores will be in competition with each other for customers.

Still, many things on sale here are more expensive than things not on sale elsewhere.