Buy electronics in SARs or China?
 

so I am visiting all three and I was wondering where I should look to buy an SD card or two. I am looking for cheap(er) real equipment not super-cheap knockoff stuff. And also digital cameras...

so what are the price differences between Macau, Hong Kong, and Shanghai?

If you aren't going to be living in China, I strongly advise you not to buy any major electronic or photographic equipment such as cameras on the mainland. Genuine merchandise from reputable stores are no great bargains. Warranties will be meaningless outside the mainland, so once you leave China, you're not covered. Note that some types of electronics for sale in the mainland, such as cell phones, etc. may have different specifications from other places, or have features inactivated. You would also have to source an English-language operating manual unless you read Chinese.

For small, accessory items like memory sticks and cards, etc., usually no problem buying in major cities in the mainland, though there are fakes of name-brand products out there, as with nearly all consumer products in China. Try to get a recommendation for a reputable store. Hong Kong is a better bet, but not the Nathan Road shops. Some of the HK FT'ers can point you in the right direction for that city.

If SD cards are all you are buying, do it online at home. If you're from the US, current pricing is about $2+ per GB as general rule of thumb. Don't have to worry about the product quality. In China, not so sure.

+ 1
 

+ 1 for this. In Shanghai, there is a Best Buy, but 'real' items like digital cameras are higher priced there vs in the US. Also in SH as expo nears, the knock off products will be removed from the street stores.

And in Macau, you'd better concentrate on what this SAR is kept for*, namely: gambling.
I bought some nice garment and shoes there but never spotted any decent, large electronic store there.

*-Gambling, so beloved by Chinese people, is prohibited in Hong Kong and mainland. Interesting feature of today Macau is that, once under Portuguese rule, it was an obscure, dirty place with everybody speaking Chinese and hardly few Portuguese signpost - nowadays the Chinese governors equipped all the streets and places with new, prominet Portuguese signage. Maybe for the Chinese visitors to get the feel of a "foreign" country and thus to increase their desire to indulge in gambling?

I'd agree that buying online in the US is probably your best bet for the "smaller" electronics (SD cards, etc).

If you really must buy it here, then i'd say your safest bet is Fortress or Broadway in Hong Kong. Global warranties on purchases there.

Best Buy's prices in China are indeed seriously inflated, so stay away from them. If you want to take the risk buying in Shanghai, head to one of the many electronics malls, both in Pudong (Zhangyang Lu) or Puxi (Xujiahui). But without experience and a reliable contact, i wouldn't recommend it for a non-resident.

Forget finding anything in Macau. No electronics whatsoever.

Not exactly electronics, but Macau can be a good place to look for used Rolexes.

China imposes a 100% duty on all imports. Best not to buy anything there
but native crafts.

I also have an all-day connection in TPE... I thought I read once that most computer memory comes from taiwan, so is the SD card situation any different there?

Look up the prices using pricegrabber. Use that as your point of comparison. Easy.

IME: China is great for knock-offs of all sorts, but expensive for genuine items.

agreed. If you want dual SIM iPhone knock off or a fake Rolex China is great. For the real deal, not so much.

As far as buying SD memory, just get it in the US. A lot of memory is indeed manufactured in Taiwan, but unless you're buying in bulk it won't be any cheaper.

I have gotten memory sticks and other stuff (like SD cards) in Shenzhen and Beijing in the electronics areas, and prices were decent although not much different than in the U.S.

In China, when you buy anything like this, you ask the merchant to demo it before leaving. They will all be set up to prove to you in that case that you are getting what you paid for. You will also be in an area with a zillion little stands selling the same thing, so you can ask around and find how low they will go. These people tend not to rip you off to the same extent that they do in tourist areas, you typically will not get hyper-inflated prices.

Stuff like lithium batteries for mobile phones are much, much cheaper in China than in the US. When buying one of those, you try it in your phone before leaving the stand.

[QUOTE=RichardInSF;13784218]

In China, when you buy anything like this, you ask the merchant to demo it before leaving. They will all be set up to prove to you in that case that you are getting what you paid for. You will also be in an area with a zillion little stands selling the same thing, so you can ask around and find how low they will go. These people tend not to rip you off to the same extent that they do in tourist areas, you typically will not get hyper-inflated prices.
QUOTE]

Very good points and absolutely true. When buying anything in China, it is customary to take it out of the box or package right there and test it out, whether it is a memory card, cell phone, electric hair dryer, etc. In fact, the merchant will think you nuts if you don't!

Reason being its probably false branded and inferior grade. Merchants rarely honor any returns.