TennisNoob

I remember my dad said the last place to ever shop in HK was TST especially for photography equipment. He used to run an few glasses shops in TST and he was explaining nothing but how TST camera shops are nothing but scams.

If you buy the camera and ask them to deliver it, they will show up with the camera body and no lens,etc.

889

Don't take what you see on price.com.hk as Gospel.

Many shops there sell parallel imports, marked 水 next to the price; HK-distributor goods are marked 行. Further, most of the shops listing there are small, upper-floor office-type operations. You have to call first and confirm both price and availability. And don't be surprised if what you want is out of stock, even though the website shows the price has just been refreshed by the shop.

evergrn

So many goodies packed into that little Holiday Inn mall. There's also a reliable jewelry store there (think the guy's name there is also Tony). Loong Yuen is a gem. Osteria upstairs is a neat little restaurant.

JordanWalker

Unless you're after parallel imports, camera prices in HK is generally not worth it from my experience comparing these past ~2 years. YMMV.

Any particular lens you're looking for?

wmz

Anyone know if these shops carry GoPro-style cameras, in particular the SJCAM SJ4000? Got a 1 day stopover in HK en route to the Great Barrier Reef and really need an underwater camera.

PotentialFlightRisk

Just wanted to post my camera accessory buying experience in case it helps others.

For me and my country, HK prices for new camera equipment wasn't great. Maybe a little cheaper but not something that couldn't be haggled down to at home. The nice thing is that there's no sales tax. 12% sales tax is what I'm used to at home, so that is indeed a savings.

One thing though, grey market goods aren't warrantied by the major camera manufacturers where I'm from. Worse, they won't even fix it for you. e.g if I brought a Japan-purchased Nikon or Canon and it failed under warranty, my country's authorised service dept. would not only NOT honour the warranty, but they wouldn't even repair it (or so I understand).

As for accessories, many on the Internet have suggested Mong Kok and Sim City. I have found that prices are cheaper in Sham Shui Po. I bought a selfie-stick (yes, I'm one of those...) for 100 HKD at a store in Sim City, Mong Kok only to find the same stick for 50 HKD in SSP. Similar story for some camera batteries, filters, etc.

For the person looking for an underwater GoPro type camera, I bought a 4K 60-metre waterproof one for about 300 RMB in Shenzhen. I don't know a single thing about them (never used an action cam, just admired their ads), but in my country, once converted, 300 RMB is about 1/10 of the cost of a similarly spec'ed GoPro. And at that price, I simply HAD to buy it!

garykung

I don't know where in SZ you bought this.

But just keep in mind - don't expect this will work as close as a GoPro.

moondog

Maybe so, maybe not, but my personal satisfaction rate for gadgets under $50 in Shenzhen is fairly high.

PotentialFlightRisk

Agreed. And I've been burned before (2 MP3 players bought for our young (at the time) kids in HK-style night markets here locally. Both failed quickly.).

At 10x the price, I would have never bought a real GoPro. But at the SZ price for the compatible, I'm going to treat it as a disposable toy just to see what all the fuss/excitement about action cams is.

If there's real utility in these (my first use will be mounted on my bike helmet), I'm open to forking out for a real one.

wmz

Wow $45 is pretty cheap. I found what I was looking for (SJCAM SJ4000) for $70, so pretty comparable to US prices:
It worked really well, and people say it outperforms the entry-level GoPro that costs $50 more.

889

I've been burned a couple of times in Shenzhen -- an SD card with about 1/10 its stated capacity and a tablet that quickly developed a loose USB connection -- so I preach caution when heading to the precincts around Huaqiangbei. But it's undeniably a fun area to explore.

PotentialFlightRisk

Yes, never buy SD cards and USB memory sticks in HK from unauthorized dealers. The packaging could look identical to retail products, even the memory device itself could be indistinguishable from the real thing. But the quality could be low and the capacity and performance markings could be outright fake.

And I shouldn't taint HK with my comments. I won't even buy memory devices at home unless from an authorized dealer. I value my digital memories, many irreplaceable.

Memory is so cheap now that one shouldn't take such risks.

JordanWalker

On this topic, can someone share any insights about SSP's Golden Centre.

For the same memory card / size / spec (I often use Sandisk as a benchmark), there are often a few shops that will sell for ~$40 more expensive than others. Ie. Sandisk Ultra MicroSD 64gb some will be around $100, +/- $10
While some stores will be selling for $150, +/-$10.

The latter stores claims, they aren't able to do the former store's price, as it would be below their cost. They claim the former's stores does not have the "sticker". But when I purchase from the former stores, they do in fact have the authorized stickers.

Fake? Grey market? Stores BS.ing?


Question #2.
- Purchased a few memory card from Store ABC. Cards came with the "authorized" sticker from APower.
- Go back to the same store again few days later to purchase the same card, same price again. This time the sticker is from Goodyear.
Not a whole lot of difference, but I could tell the card's is slightly lighter in colour.

Again, not sure if it's fake? Or just a bad batch?

Any difference between APower n Goodyear? And Good Century? Any of the 3 more reliable or known for fakes?

garykung

No need to worry as they are all stores BSing.

The main reason with the price variation at Golden is due to rent. The better the store locations, the more expensive the rent.

So in your case, the $100 SD card should be found toward the core of the centre, while the the $150 SD card should be found near the entrance.

For some mysterious reasons, manufactures do not always appoint an exclusive agent. In that case, many retailers can obtain their sale inventory through different authorized agents. Also, agents change all the time. This is why for the same product, you can see such difference.

It is okay to say that the SD cards you got were from 2 different batches.

889

You can spend a great deal of time walking around Golden Centre and dealing with the crowds to save HK$5. Some people enjoy that. Or else, you can head to one of the shops dealing in SD cards or whatever that's doing a land-rush business. Like the one near the interior escalator. Remember, these are not places where you bargain, unless you're buying in very large quantity.