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cost of electronic goods far cheaper in USA?

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  1. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by bryant.english:
    Big point in HK where travelling a few miles can take an eternity.

    .
    Since when? I thought gold coast, central could take as little as 5 minutes?
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  2. #12

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    Isn't there sometimes a problem in getting a warranty that is valid in Hong Kong, on electrical/electronic goods purchased in the US?


  3. #13

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    to an earlier post, Braun makes some products in Germany and others in China.
    Generally the higher end stuff is made in Germany.

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  4. #14

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    At least I know Braun's warranty is worldwide. I had mine fixed in Hong Kong for free because it was still under warranty.

    Quote Originally Posted by Fiona in HKG:
    Isn't there sometimes a problem in getting a warranty that is valid in Hong Kong, on electrical/electronic goods purchased in the US?

  5. #15

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    Original Post Deleted
    Yup, the cost differential is just about always worth ignoring any potential lack of warranty. Looking at an extreme example for something that I bought last year:

    Cost of item in US = $6,000. No warranty coverage.
    Chance of it breaking down within 5 years = 5% (this is being pessimistic, it should be less than 1%)
    Value of a five year warranty = 6,000 x .05 = $300

    So a locally sourced item including a warranty should be $6,300 for it to be competitively priced.

    Cost of item in HK: $12,000

    Admittedly I did have to carry it over as part of my baggage allowance on my last flight, and I did have to buy a $500 transformer, but I'm still vastly ahead in terms of savings.
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  6. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mat:
    Since when? I thought gold coast, central could take as little as 5 minutes?
    No that's DB to Central

  7. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by HowardCoombs:
    Is that because there is no parking on Apliu street?
    I normally park on Apliu Street when I go to Apliu Street.

  8. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by AsiaJason:
    I'm replacing my Braun electric shaver, and for a new top model, it's $3300 HKD at fortress / broadway. That's $450 USD. I know Braun is made in germany, but really, 2x the price for retail?
    Hong Kong is one of the expensive cities in the world. Most of items are imported from outside + more than half is sold to Expats/visitors. It has to be expensive

    Ask locals for guidance, they will tell you few secrets for buying smart.

  9. #19

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    The 'secrets' seem to consist of a mixture of buying grey market or just buying low quality shite via Taobao. It's not like Fortress caters exclusively to cashed up expats. They sell made-in-China goods to locals.

    Even some of the crap on Aplui St is available in overseas markets for similar or even lower prices than it is in HK. Two of the few classes of good which I've managed to identify as exceptions are knockoff camera accessories and airsoft equipment- in both cases, low quality gear made just across the border.

    An earlier post nailed it- small local market + cartel control over supply + rents = high prices.

    Last edited by jgl; 13-04-2012 at 04:24 PM.
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  10. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by AsiaJason:
    What remailer do you recommend? One online retailer recommended myus.com. but I don't know anything about them. For now, my parents help out, but it would be nice for a backup to have a remailer.

    And, is it cheaper to use a remailer, or just to ship it international if the retailer offers it? (iherb.com has super low international shipping rates) ie, do you find the remailer is cheaper in most cases?

    Oh, and another retailer (i think Best Buy) said they won't ship to known remailers... is this a problem in general, or only a few specific retailers?
    We use myus.com currently and have not had any significant negative experiences with them, though I recall seeing some posts from dissatisfied customers online at the time that we were hunting for a remailer to use. At the time, every remailer we googled had some negative comments and we decided to give myus.com a shot. If we start having problems, we'll switch to another service.

    Usually, it has been cheaper to have retailers ship purchases directly to us. We only use the remailer when the retailer won't ship outside the USA. We've had to go the remailing route for things like vitamin D-3, big bottles of aspirin, clothes and shoes, some electronics, and even some hard-to-find used books. In those instances, it was a choice between remailing or not getting them unless/until we went back on vacation.

    We haven't bought anything from Best Buy but, if their policy is not to ship to remailers, then that sucks, frankly.
    Last edited by dear giant; 13-04-2012 at 04:38 PM.
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