Shopping Advice: Where and What in Hong Kong

• 

  kcyw on 20/12/2011 - 20:43

  I don't know much but try the Mongkok Computer Centre and Golden Shopping/Computer Centre in Shum Shui Po, I guess. They are mainly for computer stuff. Avoid the tourist areas like Tsim Sha Tsui. Chinese can be quite terse and less well-mannered compared to westerners, so try not to take offence or get upset and you will enjoy the shopping experience more. Ap Liu street in Shum Shui Po has a lot of cheap gadgets for sale so may be worth having a look there if you are not too fussed about quality (not sure if they can beat online prices though).

  • 

    griftr on 20/12/2011 - 22:47

    kcyq, has it ever occurred to you that Chinese may find us Westerners less well-mannered too? It's a bit ignorant to label cultural differences as bad manners.

    StevieRay, try Garfield (yes, that's her name) at Cam2 in Wan Chai. I think you beed ti take exit A4 and then turn 180 degrees to your right. If you turn 90 degrees to your left, that should be the Wan Chai Computer Centre which has two floors of electronics. From games to computer equipment to photographic equipment.

    • 

      kcyw on 21/12/2011 - 19:35

      I wrote that just so Stevie can enjoy his experience more. I am Chinese actually, so I know how I am terse and end conversations abruptly at times. The language and cultural barrier often affects the way people act with someone of different origin.

• 

  ynot1985 on 20/12/2011 - 21:35

  when u say reputable, do u mean grey stock or hk stock?

  cause from experience, warranty is an issue when it comes to electronics if its grey stock…. alot would only offer like 7 days to a month warranty back at the store you got it from

  but with computers, definitely go to golden centre at ssp.. make sure to shop around the complex as there's like 3 floors of stuff

  if you are after grey phones, I know theres a shopping arcade on argyle street mongkok that is full of phones and they even have ones not released in hk as well

  tbh, im not sure some of the grey camera shops from hongkong that u see online have a physical shop… I have brought from some of the names on ebay/online and alot is based in cheung sha wan and one in shatin which is not really areas that are for shopping, more like warehousing

  actually, I have done alot of shopping on amazon recently, what i find is shipping is really cheap for lens and some are on par with prices with hk but the added bonus for me was that nikon has worldwide warranty for lens (1 year for oz repair) but its 6 yrs if i want to send it back to states. amazon customer service is amazing.. wish service here can be the same

• 

  StevieRay on 20/12/2011 - 22:10

  Thanks for replies.

  Hmmmm… in days of yore I knew pc components were cheap.
  I just assumed electronics would be the same.

  Grey Stock vs HK stock? Don't really care as long as they are authentic brand name stock (as opposed to fake)
  That is what I mean by reputable: ie no chance that they ould sell fake products
  ie 1GB memory reformatted as 32GB, Panasonic not Panesonic, Yamaha not Yumcha

  Not after cheap gadgets… I am after quality expensive (AU$500+)gadgets at a cheap price.

  I have a mate's address I can send to in HK which I can then pickup which I hope would be make things cheaper.

• 

  ynot1985 on 20/12/2011 - 22:23

  +1

  well electronics are cheaper but depends on what you are looking for?

  for cameras, try

  1. Wing Shing Photo Supplies Co., Ltd.
     G/F, Shop 55-57 Sai Yeung Choi Street South, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
     G/F 91-95 Fa Yuen St. Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
     TEL: 2396-6886 FAX: 2395-2130

  i copied the details off another website but I remember this place since I was a kid (used to be called mongkok camera centre).. definitely reputable but not sure if its cheaper

  not sure if u are chinese or can speak cantonese but always ask if they sell grey stock (some places list both prices and some dont.. some dont sell grey at all…). grey stock is translated as 'water stock' in cantonese

• 

  griftr on 20/12/2011 - 22:55

  +1

  StevieRay, further to what ynot1985 said, if you look at eBay for your accessories from shops such as HKBNS, DigitalRev, DWI etc it should give you a guide on what to expect in terms of pricing. It will be cheaper in HK after conversion.

  I've found that smaller items such as some cables, HDMI switches, hard drives and desktop memory aren't necessarily cheaper. Do your research and I'm sure you'll find your bargains :)

• 

  j4ice on 20/12/2011 - 23:12

  +1

  In general, just avoid big retail chains and street level stores in HK. This is mainly due to the rent cost of ground floor shops, and nearly every shop gets the same wholesale prices as they form unions between several stores. They are very on the ball in terms of knowing other store's pricing points, so a walk up a flight of stairs and you'll find shops that can sell at lower margins due to lower rent.
  Ignore all the "free gifts" as they are factored into sale price, haggle each individual component/product separately. You'll know that you've found a good price when they say that they have to write a higher price on the receipt to avoid being questioned by other stores within their "union".
  Good Luck~

• 

  StevieRay on 20/12/2011 - 23:46

  OK. Got a few leads which is awesome. Need to start somewhere.

  Looks like I'll ask my mate to ak his work mates about Mongkok and Wan Chai.
  And to stay away from Tsim Sha Tsui.

  Great thing about OzBargain and StaticIce (as well as places like amazons and shopbot) is you can keep your finger on the pulse as to what is a bargain and what is standard advertising pricing, especially if you have mobile internet on smartphone.

  If there is only 10% diff in price, I'd probably prefer to buy here for warranty reasons.
  If I was in the States I'd be buying big as there are huge savings in electronics and accessories due to strong Aussie dollar.
  AV Receivers, BT Headsets, KitchenAid, Sunglasses just to name a few

  The whole union thing is good to know, but again I fear fakes from smaller retailers.

  Grey Import HK is just a bizare concept but then again I guess they have to import from manufactureres over in Malaysia and Thailand etc. And some of the things I want I would prefer if it was made in Japan.

  Got to remind myself when purchasing that increase in price due to natural disaster is small price to pay compared to the lives impacted and lost

  Thanks again everyone. Please feel free to add as I shall not be travelling until late Feb.

• 

  Temjin on 22/12/2011 - 11:04

  StevieRay, check out this website.

  www.price.com.hk

  Yes, it's in Chinese, but it should be quite self explanatory as there are still English on each specific category. If you need help to find out where a particular store is located, just post back.

  I thought about buying the Galaxy Note from there as well, but even the cheapest grey import available is HKD $4700, which is close to AUD $600. You know the deal from DVIdigitalcamera is only $579 inclusive of delivery. This is why I previously said their prices are ridiculous. Perhaps it is no longer necessary to buy phones and cameras from HK retailers directly due to their operating cost.

  Kcyw in his first post on Mongkok Computer Centre and Golden Shopping/Computer Centre in Shum Shui Po is spot on. You can't go wrong checking out these area. (use google map to locate them, very convenient with MTRs nearby) Personally though, I would just get those cheaper accessories via ebay because my experience show me they could be cheaper than getting it from there. (even accounted for delivery since HK Post small items service is ultra cheap)

  Also check out this recent thread on a similar topic.

  http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=1000405

  Cheers

• 

  scotty on 22/12/2011 - 12:33

  Yes Mongkok and Shum Shui Po. Get off the MTR and you'll see all the electronics/computer shops — those are great places to get cheap electronics items that you'll otherwise buy from DealExtreme.

  However like @Temjin has mentioned, for items that are not manufactured in China/Hong Kong (Samsung, Canon for example), the grey imports you buy in the shops there are not necessarily cheaper than the big online importers.

  Also you can sometimes find great bargains there from the big retailers. Similar to JB or DSE here who sometimes give big discount to clear certain stocks. I bought stuff from Fortress before, who I found easy to deal with when you don't speak Cantonese, and they are everywhere.