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Many
people ask us where is the best place to buy electronics, is it better
to buy in Singapore, Hong Kong or Thailand etc. and where in those
countries is the best place to buy them.
While prices may well be cheaper than
back home, there is not
too much difference in prices between the three countries mentioned
above. There are though, some very important considerations you should
make before purchasing electronics, whether it be a DVD player, mobile
telephone, camera,
computer etc., when overseas.
We
advise travellers to fully research the electronic item they are
thinking of buying. This can be done before travelling and you can make
use of the internet to do the research about which product best meets
your needs. Once you have decided the product you could even call the
manufacturer in your home country and explain that you are about to
travel to X and purchase Y and do they have any comments or thoughts on
this.
The
reason we advise such research prior to travelling is that some products
are market specific. For example one type of camera or mobile phone may
only be available in certain countries, which could pose problems for
you later if the item breaks down or you have problems with it. This
brings us to another very important consideration and that is service,
you definitely should check whether if you buy the electronic item the
warranty/guaranty is valid in your country of residence. If it is not
you may find yourself paying hefty bills for repair or servicing.
Another
consideration, although much less today than in the past, is whether
your home voltage (electricity supply) will work with, or damage, the
item you have bought. An example of this is most obvious for US Travellers, who in the US use 110-volt alternating current, whereas most other countries use 220-volt alternating current.
This means that if you use an American shaver, iron, or hair dryer in a foreign outlet, the high voltage will overheat and destroy the appliance and could even give you an electric shock.
Some
products you purchase when overseas may not even work. A DVD player for
example will normally have regional coding which allows it to only play
DVD's with a certain regional coding embedded. If you buy a DVD player
in Thailand and purchase an actual DVD in England the DVD won't play it
unless it has been modified, which is normally an additional cost to the
purchase price. The DVD manufacturers claim this is to stop piracy,
which really doesn't seem to be working because all the pirates do is remove (or
multi code) the coding when making copies.
All
said and done there are some excellent purchases to be made in Asia but
please do think it through before getting your credit card out.
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