Buying Electronic Goods in Hong Kong
Fri, 2003-10-03 22:24 — mrb
When friends and colleagues visit HK, they often ask where's the best place to buy a new camera / walkman / notebook PC / etc. If you're visiting HK with shopping in mind, here are a few tips for you ...
Is it really cheaper here?
Seems obvious, but check the prices before you leave home (and be sure to check what that price includes, as adding costs for cases, batteries, etc., can make a big difference.) A rule of thumb seems to be that visitors from the US can often buy goods at similar prices back home, while visitors from Australia find prices here significantly cheaper.
How much cheaper is worthwhile?
If something goes wrong with your purchase after you get home, there could be major hassle in getting it fixed (though also look at the "warranties" item below). If you are only saving tens of dollars, and it is an item with more chance of something going wrong (e.g. a video camera), make sure that any $$$ you will save won't be outweighed by you worrying that something will go wrong.
What warranty should you be looking for?
There are three common options for warranties:
- International Warranty
- Local warranty
- No warranty (with possible shop warranty)
International Warranty: This is your best option, as it means that even though you buy in HK, the warranty means that any repairs will be carried out in your home country under warranty. This tends to be limited to more expensive items, like notebook PCs.
Local Warranty: If something goes wrong during the warranty period, you'll need to return it to a HK address to get it fixed. That's ok if you travel here regularly for business, but otherwise this is probably the same as "No Warranty" below.
No Warranty: Sometimes you'll see two pieces of the same product next to each other, but one has a much lower price (20% off or more) than the other. You'll probably find that the cheaper one is a parallel import, which means it was bought direct from another country, and not from the official HK distributor. (You'll also hear these called "grey market" copies, or "soei faw" in Cantonese). The obvious difference is that the parallel import is much cheaper, and probably has no warranty. Other side-effects may be that the manuals and any software that ship with the product are in another language (most likely Japanese), so check that you'll be able to use the product.
Do you need a warranty?
Even if a product has no warranty, the shop will usually allow an exchange within 7 or 14 days if the product does not work properly. So if it's something you can use thoroughly for a week before you leave HK (e.g. a digital camera), you may not need the full one year warranty. This is especially true for items that are unlikely to fail, e.g. Compact Flash cards generally work or they don't. (Remember to keep all the packaging, and avoid any wear and scratches, to make it easy to exchange).
Where to buy?
If you're here on vacation, there's a good chance you're staying in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST). As a prime tourist area, it has many shops selling electronic goods. Although I am sure that the majority of the shops there are safe, there are also regular stories in the press about tourists being ripped off in some way or other. So unless you have been introduced to the shop by a local friend, just be careful that you are getting exactly what you have paid for.
Instead I'd suggest you start with one of the large chains of stores, e.g. Fortress or Broadway. These will give you an idea of local prices to compare against any other offers you receive.
I usually go from there to Citicall in Central, and buy there. Looking on the web, I see they actually have several outlets:
- Citicall Ltd. Shop 3-4, G/F, Mongkok City Centre, 74-78 Sai Yeung St. South, Mongkok, KLN.
- Citicall Ltd. G/F, 60 Russell St., Causeway Bay, HK.
- Citicall Ltd. G/F, Hung Kei Mansion, 5-8 Queen Victoria Street, Central
- Citicall Ltd. Shop G06-07, G/F, Hollywood Plaza, 610 Nathan Road, Mongkok
If you like haggling, you can probably find things a bit cheaper in Mong Kok There's a building on the left of exit E2 from the Mong Kok MTR, opposite the Bank Centre, that has several floors of electronics stores. I bought there once - prices with warranty were slightly cheaper than Citicall, but I blew what little savings there were on the taxi ride home! They did have some cheaper parallel imports though, if that is what you are looking for.
If you have any good stores to recommend, please send them in.
Comments
WARNING "Where not to buy"
Warranty one year, so the receipt said, but the "EUNOS COMPANY" selling electrical goods no.75 peking road in Tsim Sha Tsui charge 400hkd for repaire malfunction of a half year old mobil phone. So if you are looking for good deal that is NOT!!! the place to buy.
regards leif
Where is the cheapest airsoft and RC store?
Where is the cheapest airsoft and RC store?
By july my family and I will go there in hk for a vacation and its our first time there
and we don't know where to buy those toys. Thanks!
Zwas...
Hong Kong club for radio controlled gliders
Sorry, no idea. This is the nearest info I can find, maybe they can help: http://www.rcsail.com/forum/index.php
MrB
Clear, written warranty
It's also a reminder that if you are buying goods without a warranty from the manufacturer or distributor (ie you are buying grey-market goods), make sure you get a written explanation of what the shop warranty does and doesn't include, and any minimum fees they will charge for repairing.
MrB
Buying Acer Ferrari 4000 laptop
Dear,
I am planning to purchase one unit of Acer Ferrari 4005 or 4006 laptop (new and factory packed with all the accompanying accesories). Where can I get most attractive price in Hong Kong ?
Ganesh K. Ghimire
email:ghimi@wlink.com.np
DJ/Audio Shops?
Does anyone know of any DJ or pro-audio shops in Hong Kong? I am looking for a Pioneer mixer and haven't had any luck so far...
Sham Shui Po
Go to Sham Shui Po MTR and head for exit, umm, C or D, it's marked "Golden Computer Centre".
That's normally the place for cheap hardware, although, I haven't seen the Acer Ferraris for less than HK$15980 anywhere -- they seem to have a fixed price.
If you live on Hong Kong Island, save yourself the HK$20 for the MTR and buy one in Wanchai Computer Centre, which is on top of the MTR station.
Right now (mid 2006) you should wait a bit before buying one as AMD have just announced the dual core Turion chip. (The Acer 4000 has a single core AMD64 64-bit processor. The new chip is a lower power, dual core version of it.) I'm not sure when it's out, but the Acer 4000 will certainly drop in price a little, and the new one will probably come in around the same HK$16k price point (and have a nicer graphics card to boot).
If you're going to be in Hong Kong for a while and interested in buying computer stuff, you should go to the Golden Computer Centre in Sham Shui Po and wander around. It'll get you acquainted with all the stuff that's on sale and how much it all costs.
Sham Shui Po
I'm sure that anyone who reads my posts here probably thinks I work for the Sham Shui Po Tourist Board, but again I would suggest Sham Shui Po for pro mixers.
Go to Sham Shui Po MTR station and head for the exit marked "Ap-Liu Street". There are two exits thus marked and you want to be at the northern one.
(It doesn't really matter which one you come out at - I'm sure you'll see about a thousand things you need on the way.)
(Right now, hand cranked flashlights -- no batteries! -- are available really cheaply ($10 each!) and they are incredibly popular with kids. No more batteries running out! Every toy should be powered like this!)
Right up at the northern end of the street (Hong Kong's premier flea market), there's two or three pro audio shops. Powered mixers, amps, disco balls, wireless mikes, pro-grade karaoke systems, you name it, it's there.
Also, if you need to a deep sea fishing rod, that's just across the road. Or a second hand camera, some tools, a stolen phone/car stereo or a stash of vintage porn...
(I really should apply for that job with the Sham Shui Po Tourist board.)
Satellite TV card writer
hey, odaiwai. here's a question for the sham shui po guru. :)
i'm looking for a satellite tv card writer, so i don't have to keep buying one when the signal goes out, and i can just do it myself. would you know where to go to buy this? i heard i should go to sham shui po for this.
or is wanchai computer centre ok too?
Satellite/Cable stuff
I'm not too sure about Satellite TV, but there's lots of cable decoders available every now and then on Ap Liu Street. There's probably satellite stuff available there too. Make sure to check out the shops behind the market stalls, and the surrounding streets
I wouldn't bother with Wanchai Computer centre — that's gotten very mainstream in the last few years. For oddball computer stuff on Hong Kong island, 298 Henessy Road is your best bet. (Just where Johnson Road and Henessy Road meet on the Eastern side of Wanchai. Three floors of chaos, dodgy software, cheap hardware, home appliances, Macs and Japanese pixellated porn. Also the only place I've seen water cooling kits for PCs on Hong Kong Island.)
And there are some places selling second hand PC and Mac stuff. If you're looking for something a bit out of the ordinary and maybe a bit obsolete, check 298 first.
High end Audio like McIntosh, Audio Research, Tannoy
Hi
I am interested in audio stores which sell high end audio such as McIntosh, Krell, Mark Levinson, etc plus audio electric tubes. Could you suggest some stores and their websites?
Best regards
I don't have any direct
I don't have any direct experience to share, but if you're in Hong Kong in August you could visit the 'Hong Kong High End Audio Visual Show' held in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, August 11-13. I imagine the main players will be there.
MrB
Satellite /Cable
Hi! Do you use dvb-c in Hong Kong??? If so where is the best place for DVB-C cards for my computer?
Kind regards,
T.
In Car TFT Screens
Hi!
Any good places to get in car tft/ VGA screens (for an in car computer), either stand alone or in dash models.
Thanks for your help.
T.
PDA / Smartphone
Hi I'll be in Hong Kong at the end of October, I would like to buy an I-Mate jasjam, also knonw as qtek 9600.
Could you please give me a hint on where to buy ?
Thanks!
Franco
There is a building with
There is a building with lots of mobile phone shops in Mongkok. I think it's on the North side of Argyle Street, just past the Sincere department store. Can anyone remember the name?
MrB
Sham Shui Po
The batpoh writes: "For the in-car pc screen - funnily enough saw them in SHam Shui Po. Not, as you would expect in Golden Centre but on Ap Liu Street - car shops. The ones that sell furry seat covers, car shampoo/wax etc. There are a couple of stores that specialise in car stereos and gizmo gadget stuff. Probably you can get them in the car stores in Mongkok but I definitely saw them in SSP."
It's called Sincere House
and is at 83 Argyle Street - the batpoh to the rescue again!
MrB
cheap laptops
Hi, Im looking at purchasing laptops in batches of 10, for a possible long term venture, and could do with some help. Any one know the best place to do so online? Alternatively, whats the physical address?
Thanks
Sony PSP in HK
Hi,
My dad is off to HK next week and I have sent him with a shopping list. Can anyone tell me where a traveller (only in town for 48hrs) can pick up a good deal on a PSP and a canon lens for a 350d? is there a particular street where I can direct him to?
How much should I tell him to expect to pay? Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers
Matt
Stanley Street
Other readers have said Stanley Street in Central is the place for Canon accessories. The Golden Computer Arcade in Mongkok is the place I know of that has a lot of shops selling PSP, but he can just ask his hotel / host for directions to the nearest Broadway / Fortress / Citicall shop if he wants somehwere more convenient. Use the search box above on the left to search for '350d' or 'psp' to get addresses.
Sorry, no idea what the current prices are locally, so tell him what is the maximum price that you're willing to pay. ie if it's more than $XX, you'll just buy them at home.
MrB
Car Shop
Went to HK last month and hoping to find alot of car shops(for accesories and performance)around but only find 2-3 stores in Ap-Liu Street.
Where in HK can I find a place/street full of car stuff?
Im plannin to go back next month.
thanks
Car accessory shops in Hong Kong
For things automotive, we turn to the Batpoh. She assures us that when she feels the urge to pimp her ride...
MrB
Alpine Car audio
Hi ,
I am interested in buying an Alpine front loader for my car. I spoke to the distributor in Hong kong and they suggested looking at any of the shops in Hak Po. I suppose they distribute to several of them and therefore could not pick out one. If anyone has experience buying car audio or alpine in particular or has any recommendations, I'd appreciate it.
The Batpoh reports
The Batpoh has consulted with her group of young male admirers and reports:
MrB
Thanks MRB and Batpoh for
Thanks MRB and Batpoh for all your effort. I have had a look at the Alpine USA website which does list prices. Would it be possible for you to get me the contact number of one or two shops so that I could call them to get an idea of their prices. Please :)
Thanks,
Ash
I don't think she has that info.
I don't think she has that info. Quickest way is probably to give the HK distributor another call and ask for a couple of phone numbers, or just head over to the street and ask in person.
Regards, MrB
Thanks
Hi MrB,
I will contact the distributor as that will be the easiest way for me. I am in Shenzhen at the moment and will be coming to Hong Kong on Saturday for the day. Thanks for the info again. Keep well.
Ash
Latest electronics buying trips
I've done a couple of electronics-buying outings in the past week or two, for a video camera we gave as a gift, and a personal media player to entertain Daughter Tall on the Family Tall's upcoming trans-pacific trip.
Both times, I came across problems I should have thought more about, after writing articles about buying electronics in Hong Kong!
So, a couple more tips.
It's likely at least some of you like to do online research into your electronics products, as I certainly do, at sites such as cnet.com, etc. Remember that most online electronics sites written in English are going to reflect the markets in the USA, UK, Oz, and so on. The product lines they're currently featuring may either not be available in Hong Kong, or (more liklely) the same or very similar products will be offered in HK but under totally different product names.
Therefore I find it pays off to make one quick 'scouting' trip before doing much online research into the product you're after. That way you will find out what's actually available here, and what product names and codes you'll need to do your online searching for.
Second, be prepared for some frustration in terms of finding both very new and a bit older product lines in HK. On the one hand, the personal media player that seems ideal to the Talls is available in the USA, but will only reach HK at the beginning of next year (we called the company!) On the other hand, a couple of the models of video camera I thought looked quite good elicited laughs of scorn and derision from electronics shop staff when I asked about them: "Ha Ha! Why don't you just inscribe your life's most precious memories on clay cylinders with a stylus made from an antelope's thigh bone!" was how I translated one such remark.
And be prepared for crowds. I did most of my shopping in Mongkok, and even on weekdays the electronics shops were just heaving. On the Saturday we bought the camera, they bordered on the unspeakable.
Happy shopping!
Buying a custom made gaming computer and zone free DVD player
Hello, first I would like to say thank you for all of the helpful info I have been reading on your website. I am from Canada and I am going to have 3 days in Hong Kong com,ing up later this month. I am looking for two things, firstly I was wondering if you have ever been to Tokyo and if it would be cheaper to make a custom gaming computer in Hong Kong or in Tokyo? ( I am heading to Tokyo after Hong Kong) The second thing I am interested in is a zone and region free DVD player that would work in North America. Any help would be appreciated, thank you very much.
Don