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Is Hong Kong faster than the internet?

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  1. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kirbyprime:
    I'm somewhat curious as to see whether US or HK is cheaper on electronics. Using your laptop as a comparison, in Canada, the following is a listing for that laptop

    Acer AS3820TG-6829, Notebook - Intel Core i5-480M 2.66GHz, 13.3" LCD, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, AMD Radeon HD 6550 1GB, No ODD, Wireless BGN, Bluetooth, HDMI, Webcam, Windows 7 Home Premium | Canada Computers

    4gb instead of 2gb. Given that 2gb upgrade on a laptop costs... around 80 or so, let's just call it shipping.

    At $760 CAD after taxes ( pretty much the same in USD ) how does that compare to HK prices?
    I've upgraded my laptop from 2gb to 4gb actually, so it is possible to compare.

    Didn't really browse around to check the best deal with ram, but I got my extra 2gb for $150HKD at the same store I bought my laptop, which I do know could have been a bit cheaper if I spent that extra time browsing.

    The other difference is Video Card. 5850 has better performance than 6550 according to Computer Games on Laptop Graphic Cards - Notebookcheck.net Tech

    The current exchange rate is 1CAD to 8.22HKD. So if you times 8.22 by 760, you'll get 6247HKD.

    The laptop I got is bought for $5100HKD + $150HKD ram, coming out to $5250HKD.

    That being said, online businesses may be a bit shady and often go through the tax evasion route. So lets assume they avoided the whole tax deal. Your computer will come up to $5333 with no tax added.

    So $5250 and $5333 is around the same, but my 5850 video card performs better, so in the end Hong Kong's cheaper even when you evaded the Canadian tax. But we haven't included price of shipping and 10+ day of waiting time if you choose the most economical shipping method.

    Quote Originally Posted by Skyhook:
    We purchased a new laptop earlier this year, Dells fab XPS17-2630 which cost us $4000hkd more than what I could have paid had we purchased it in the USA.
    Dell is United States brand laptop, it makes no sense if it's cheaper elsewhere.

    Have you seen the Alienware M14 from Dell? It costs $999USD but $15000HKD.

    IQAir from US? $800USD but $11000HKD.

    They're clearly overpriced. Not the typical electronics anyone here but people with too much money would ever buy here in Hong Kong.
    Last edited by Creative83; 28-07-2011 at 12:34 AM.

  2. #12

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    isn't buying PC / laptop like buying a washing machine? They are all much of a muchness with a few marketing 'phrases' the help people empty their pockets for features that may/may not be worth the extra.

    Anyway. the question was about general speed of shopping / browsing. Highlighting one particular product to compare prices is a different issue.

    Apart from ebooks and MP3 what else is FASTER to FIND then buy on the internet?


  3. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by East_coast:
    ... Apart from ebooks and MP3 what else is FASTER to FIND then buy on the internet?
    Live animals/pets like marine fish. Goldfish Street is without a doubt better than buying online.
    East_coast likes this.

  4. #14

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    Yeah it's a bugger shoving those goldfish back into the modem if you want to return them, believe me I've tried.


  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by East_coast:
    isn't buying PC / laptop like buying a washing machine? They are all much of a muchness with a few marketing 'phrases' the help people empty their pockets for features that may/may not be worth the extra.

    Anyway. the question was about general speed of shopping / browsing. Highlighting one particular product to compare prices is a different issue.

    Apart from ebooks and MP3 what else is FASTER to FIND then buy on the internet?
    I think you're talking about phone and their worthless features.

    But laptop is different. You don't have to be overly attuned to the details when purchasing a computer product. But you should look into battery life, whether it'll overheat, if the program you use is sufficient to handle it, CPU, graphics card, etc... If you're not attuned enough, then you won't be able to maximize your need vs the dollars you spend. Looking into specs is an action taken to prevent spending extra on worthless features. Not the other way around and have worthless features pushed onto us.

    When we list out products, it is used as evidence to prove our general claim.

    The 'setting' that you point out was

    Given that internet shopping has never really taken off in HK does that suggest the very efficient clustered model of shopping (e.g. Sneaker street) is more efficient (or fun) than looking on the internet.
    Some of us are trying to tell you there are factors involved unrelated to clustered model shopping.

    You sound like you're trying to push us into relating 'clustered model shopping' with Hong Kong's net shopping not taking off when it's not as simple as that.

  6. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by methosb:
    You can find some computer stuff way cheaper in computer stores here...
    Compare HK prices to Amazon.com or Newegg.com and then you'll find they're a lot more expensive, older products, limited range, and takes way too much time to trawl around the stores to find.