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Shipping goods or buying in HK ?

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  1. #1

    Shipping goods or buying in HK ?

    Hi everybody. We will be moving to HK in July and we are trying to figure out if we should buy everything here and ship it to HK.
    Anybody out there done a move from Australia ? It seems to me that items such as TV's, sound systems and even white good and furniture are cheaper here than in HK.
    Any advise or shared experience would be great !!!!


  2. #2

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    A lot will depend on the size of the things you are thinking to have shipped and the size of your rental budget here ... I have seen "kitchens" here which are smaller than some double door fridges, and many "ordinary" Australian lounge suites which woulc cover more than the entire floor area of living room in the average middle class flat here.


  3. #3

    Agree - I am sure one can get some smaller goods here. Its mainly about the pricing on goods such as Tv's, Sound systems and white goods. They seem to be cheaper here !!!


  4. #4

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    Yup. Depends on size. You can get a lot of great things in Hong Kong. Then there are some things that are hard to find. When you go back to your home country over holidays, you'll probably stuff your bags with those items you can't find in Hk or are overpriced in Hk.

    Now I bring two luggages almost empty and fill them up when I go overseas.


  5. #5

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    A lot of apartments here are furnished or partly-furnished so you may already get some of those items included. Mine came with all the whitegoods, and all I got was a TV.

    The other thing is the plug. You will need a converter thingy for each appliance.

    Personally, I would just buy everything here. The prices are not that much higher.

    As mentioned above, the space is limited and I find rather awkward. None of my aussie furniture, aside from my bed would fit my apartment now. (Aside from my bed actually).

    Check out Ikea.com.hk for furniture prices and fortress.com.hk for appliances. You will find they compare to Australia - maybe not during the sales season, but at full-price.


  6. #6

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    I shipped my sofa plus my wine and bed. Electrical goods, yes that also. and crockery. It depends what you want. Good quality crockery is cheaper in Australia. IKEA, I would avoid unless you want cheap and nasty, plus their delivery prices are hit and miss. Fortress for electronics is very good. Plus you can bargain them down in price.


  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by SannyJ:
    The other thing is the plug. You will need a converter thingy for each appliance.
    Aussie electrical gear is also 230V. Just need to cut off the plug and attach a proper one.

    however, remember that an Aussie TV will not receive Hong Kong terrestrial TV. The digital encoding system is different. You can get around that with a set top box, but it's a nuisance.

    I wouldn't buy new electrical stuff and ship it here, as you lose the warranty. If you've got a good sound system, then that's perhaps worth shipping.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by Happy Chappy:
    Hi everybody. We will be moving to HK in July and we are trying to figure out if we should buy everything here and ship it to HK.
    Anybody out there done a move from Australia ? It seems to me that items such as TV's, sound systems and even white good and furniture are cheaper here than in HK.
    Any advise or shared experience would be great !!!!
    Unless there is a very specific brands, or high-end item you want, buying and shipping is most likely not a good idea because you don't save much if anything.

    Take a look at 香港格價網 Price.com.hk - 全港No.1格價平台 for electronic prices - don't base your decisions on the "suggested price" at Fortress/Broadway

    A number of people have regretted shipping furniture, because it ends up restricting their housing options. White goods you'll have to change all the plugs
    imparanoic likes this.

  9. #9

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    I'm in Perth right now on business. I came with a half-empty case and am going home with clothes (I'm western sized; HK shops don't really cater to me); shoes (ditto - plus with the sales I got a bargain!); various snacks I like (which I can get in HK, at twice or three times the price).... and a toaster! The toaster was an impulse buy because our current toaster - purchased in HK - is horrible and the range on toasters here in Aus is just amazing. So now we finally have a toaster with wide enough slots for our crumpets and a proper crumpet setting (couldn't et that in HK).

    There are some things you just CANNOT GET in HK. Locals do not toast bread. And most bread in HK is awful anyway so we also have a bread-maker, also purchased on a holiday because the range of bread makers in HK was... one only ....which broke within a week!

    On the other hand, if you are in the market for a rice-cooker, wait until you arrive.

    LiDaifu likes this.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by HK_Katherine:
    I'm in Perth right now on business. I came with a half-empty case and am going home with clothes (I'm western sized; HK shops don't really cater to me); shoes (ditto - plus with the sales I got a bargain!); various snacks I like (which I can get in HK, at twice or three times the price).... and a toaster! The toaster was an impulse buy because our current toaster - purchased in HK - is horrible and the range on toasters here in Aus is just amazing. So now we finally have a toaster with wide enough slots for our crumpets and a proper crumpet setting (couldn't et that in HK).

    There are some things you just CANNOT GET in HK. Locals do not toast bread. And most bread in HK is awful anyway so we also have a bread-maker, also purchased on a holiday because the range of bread makers in HK was... one only ....which broke within a week!

    On the other hand, if you are in the market for a rice-cooker, wait until you arrive.
    I'd second this - bring a toaster as your options for buying one in Hong Kong are very limited. A bread maker is also a good shout, though you can get those here.

    Not electrical, but you should make sure you bring small kitchen tools and utensils that are common at home but not here. For example a good potato masher is hard to find (IKEA sell them but they're rubbish), as well as egg cups.
    HK_Katherine likes this.

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