Duty Free Prices
 

Someone told me that flying through Singapore that they have excellent prices on electronic goods and watches. I am looking to get a new mobile phone and would like to know if Singapore Airport would be a good place to pick one up as they are really expensive in CHINA.
Thanks,
UFFA

I would not recommend buying mobile phones in the airport. It seems to be the only electronic item which is more expensive in the airport than in the city.

However, cameras and watches are comparable, and cheaper than outside shops due to 5% tax free. If you claim tax refunds by buying at major stores in the city, there is a service fee charged by the tax refund comapny.

Rgds

MorPhones
 

That helps a lot thanks Jubilee777 as I am guessing by the name you are a Singapore Resident. I will be transiting Singapore and was just wondering if it was a good idea as the are grossly over priced in mainland China so needless to say I guess I will hold off for a few more months until I can get downtown or over to Hong Kong. One final question: Do phones bought in Singapore generally have the ability to display Chinese Characters? If anyone can help me with this it would be appreciated.
Thanks,
UFFA

Thats correct, i am a S'pore Resident. What you don't know is I work at Changi Airport ;) so I know the prices well....

Mobile phones in Singapore can display Chinese characters, and of course to send Chinese words, you must be proficient in Hanyu Pinyin..

Cheers..

Thanks you so much for the insight
 

Most helpful Jubilee777. I might end up purchasing the phone(Nokia 6230i) on my stopover in Singapore anyway as it could:
1. Still offer significant saving's over buying in China
2. Give me buyer protection as I can be sure it is real (something that can be iffy on the Chinese Mainland).
3. Save on the 5% Tax downtown
4. Display Chinese Characters, something the Nokia I have now cannot do as it was purchased in Thailand. This can be quite annoying when getting an SMS in Chinese that looks like [] [] 3 []

Just for comparison mobilechoice.com.sg gave me a price of $630sg and the price of the same phone in China the price would be well over $900sg. So while Changi might be over priced on mobile phones for SIN residents it might still offer value for some value for those of us who have less competitive shopping options and I have found in the past the prices are way better than the prices in Hong Kong Airport. I'll see when I go through in about 2 weeks and if it is somewhere in the middle I will probably buy it and let you know.
Thank You so much for the assistance.
-UFFA

Unrelated to Electronics, but related to Duty Free - how are the alcohol prices at Changi Duty Free?

Alcohol prices are expensive in SIN even in Duty Free.

Beware of 'double pricing'. Last year I was about to buy a bottle of champagne listed at SGD$56. There was a tag with nothing on it displayed directly under the champagne that I wanted. I picked it up and headed to the cashier when it rang in at S$96. I argued to the fact that it was $56. I brought the cashier over to where the bottles were displayed and she took one look at it - and screamed to the top of her voice for her Supervisor for a price check.. Never mind that there was still no other price tag for the bottle that I wanted.. and after much deliberation, it was concluded that "I had purposely rearranged the bottles there because I was trying to cheat DFS"... ???????:

I argued.. and asked to complain and was given a number to call. Which I did. But the woman in charge was not helpful... giving me a 10% discount off the $96 price. And told me to pick up the discount voucher next time I travel. But when she learned that I don't reside in Singapore, she was a little more helpful but still equally unmoved. I told her that if such an incident happened in another part of the civilised world, I would be offered an apology and be given the C$56 price especially since it was logical that there was no other price being displayed. ONLY in Singapore would I be scolded in public.

When I told her that I would post this incident on FlyerTalk - the world's most read FF forum, she didn't know anything.. but still.. she wasn't moving from her 10% discount offer.. So I told her to forget it.. and I'll get my champagne elsewhere.

I never did write about the incident.. until now.

You've all been warned.

Alcohol at the airport duty free stores are cheaper compared to prices in the city. For eg, 3 cans of Tiger Beer cost $5.50 at the Airport duty free shop, but approx $7.50 for 3 cans outside at a convenience store.

UFFA, I see if I can find the N6230i at the shops.

Cheers


UFFA: You got private mail......

Sony DSCN1
 

I'm just wondering if anyone knows whether I can buy the Sony DSCN1 digital camera at Changi Airport and it'd be great if you could tell me the price too :)
Thanks in advance!

Check against HK pricing
 

Not sure if Changi mobile phones are the best deal in town, you might want to compare against HK:

http://www.one2free.com/eng/mobilephone/index.jsp

Is LCD TV from duty free Changi airport, cheaper than Indian Market?
 

Hi Champs,

I will have a stopover at change on my way to India.

My question is to buy LCD TV from duty free at Changi airport; will it be cheaper than Indian market?

Is there any way to find out prices of those duty free things from airport?

Thanks to all,

There's a list of stores and their contact details on the official Changi site, look up ones that seem promising and give them a call.

http://www.changiairport.com/shoppin...ining/shopping

That said, while I'm pretty sure you can buy an LCD TV in there somewhere, most airport stores focus on more portable electronics (cameras, laptops, iPods, etc).

Glenfiddich duty free price
 

Hi my friend is coming back to singapore next month.,
So i would like to buy a glenfiddich single malt whisky.,

Can any one tell me the price of glenfiddich as well as johnywalker price's in duty free at changi.

Thanks.

I continued to be amazed by the number of well-traveled FTers who STILL think there are savings to be had at "duty free" shops.

Years ago, yep--but now, you can do much better just about anywhere in the US. Cheapest place to buy, for example, Crocs, US. Bought an emergency pair in HK for about $50 US, same model in US lists at $30 US with discounts common.

As for electronics, try Amazon US site or just go to a Best Buy store--stores are not the cheapest, but still cheaper than so called duty free.

As for booze, visit a Trader Joe's in California where low state taxes (California loves its wine industry) keep prices way down. Just bought some Islay single malt scotch at TJ's for $32 (add 8.25% for sales tax) which I saw in Asia duty free for $55.

On the other hand, it is nice to help out the connected family members of the government who usually run the "duty free" concession at airports. :D

"Duty Free" shops are far from "profit free" - be aware of the item(s) you are comparing and their prices elsewhere; you may be surprised. And many worldwide duty free shops are subsidiaries of one of the main players, such as DFS / DFS Galleria.

(Duty free shops began when aircraft had less range and were forced to make a technical stop at Shannon, Ireland during transatlantic hops - a way of pushing some Irish crafts, such as glassware, linens, etc. It did not take long for the idea to spread and grow to become very good profit centers, and now they are often very expensive "cookie cutter" shops much like others throughout the world - even worse in cruise ports.)