Can I Buy a Kindle Paperwhite 11th Genration in Chiang Mai?

[AddyA]

3 hours ago, IAMHERE said:

About five years back my PaperWhite malfutioned with the charger hole while under warranty. Amazon sent me a replacement, here to Pattaya. So, maybe they do send Kindles to Thailand.

Yes they do, I found that some sellers are willing to ship to Thailand ;)

[retiree]

17 hours ago, AddyA said:

The price differences between the three are considerable.

So, let's see.  US prices for 8gb PaperWhite 11th are $140 / $160 = 5,027 / 5,745 THB = ads / no ads.  On this LazMall site: 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/all-new-kindle-paperwhite-2021-832-gb-gen-11-68-worm-white-i3102399787-s12836518857.html?

they range from 5,769 (ads / 7-day guarantee) to 8,699 (no ads / 1-year guarantee).  Some are out of stock, as you mentioned. 

 

I'd guess that the 7-day guys are store demos, returns, rebuilt, etc.   Other details that can affect prices are grossly inflated shipping costs (more common on Amazon, I think; this particular site has free shipping).   A few useful terms to know: 

  มีโฆษณา  with ads
  ไม่มีโฆษณา  no ads
  ประกัน 7 วัน   7 day guarantee 
  ประกัน 1 ปี    1 year guarantee

 

Bottom line is that the market is pretty competitive & efficient.   In my experience the best legitimate prices in Thailand for relatively costly or brand-name electronic goods usually turn out to be a little bit higher than the best [Amazon + VAT + legit shipping] price.  

 

The exception is more generic / lower cost / made-in-China stuff, which is usually cheaper from China via Lazada or Shopee.    

-- Retiree 

[AddyA]

40 minutes ago, retiree said:

So, let's see.  US prices for 8gb PaperWhite 11th are $140 / $160 = 5,027 / 5,745 THB = ads / no ads.  On this LazMall site: 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/all-new-kindle-paperwhite-2021-832-gb-gen-11-68-worm-white-i3102399787-s12836518857.html?

they range from 5,769 (ads / 7-day guarantee) to 8,699 (no ads / 1-year guarantee).  Some are out of stock, as you mentioned. 

 

I'd guess that the 7-day guys are store demos, returns, rebuilt, etc.   Other details that can affect prices are grossly inflated shipping costs (more common on Amazon, I think; this particular site has free shipping).   A few useful terms to know: 

  มีโฆษณา  with ads
  ไม่มีโฆษณา  no ads
  ประกัน 7 วัน   7 day guarantee 
  ประกัน 1 ปี    1 year guarantee

 

Bottom line is that the market is pretty competitive & efficient.   In my experience the best legitimate prices in Thailand for relatively costly or brand-name electronic goods usually turn out to be a little bit higher than the best [Amazon + VAT + legit shipping] price.  

 

The exception is more generic / lower cost / made-in-China stuff, which is usually cheaper from China via Lazada or Shopee.    

-- Retiree 

Thanks again, Retiree.
 

The difference is in the details, and to be honest, I didn't even acknowledge the ประกัน 7 วัน และ ประกัน 1 ปี (guarantees). Your post also forced me to check out the other Thai-only details. I can see that the cheaper option also includes ads (มีโฆษณา) whereas the costlier models do not (ไม่มีโฆษณา). That's not in English, either.
 

I guess it's a simple case of getting what you pay for and/or want. On that note, it looks like the Kindle Paperwhite 2021, 32GB (Gen 11) without ads, is about as good as it gets: shorturl.at/blux2 

I wasn't sure if I needed 32GB, but I just checked the available space on my 7th generation Kindle. It has 2.65 GB remaining of 8GB. So I'm guessing the 32GB will keep me going until I pop my socks, so that'll be my choice ????
 

Cheers, buddy.

[retiree]

40 minutes ago, AddyA said:

I wasn't sure if I needed 32GB, but ... 

Fwiw I have about 1,100 books in azw3.  They take a little more than half of the 6.2gb available on an my 8gb device.  However, a tiny fraction (40) take 1gb because illustrations were not properly compressed for Kindle screens somewhere along the line -- they're 90-95% bigger than they need to be (but I haven't gotten around to redoing compression on Calibre).   

 

At any rate when I bought it I figured 8gb would be plenty.   I think the 32gb model is for folks who want audio books and don't want to just store / listen on their cellphones (for which add-on memory is about 10-15 cents / gb these days).  

--Retiree

[AddyA]

Thanks, everybody, for all your valuable contributions here. I was surprised to get so much feedback, but it was a welcome surprise nonetheless.
 

I better understand the prices and shopping channels now, thanks to Retiree and a couple of others. I semi-reluctantly opened an account with Lazada and ordered the Kindle Paperwhite 2021, 32GB (Gen 11) without ads.
 

I probably didn't need the 32GB, but what the heck? It's better to have a bit too much space than too little. I've used about two-thirds of my 8GB on the old model, which is seven years old.
 

Anyway, I pressed the order button, so it's done now ????

[geisha]

On 8/24/2022 at 6:42 AM, retiree said:

Uh, I got a Kindle Oasis from Amazon USA last year; took about a week. 

And as far as I can see department stores in Thailand do sell current models of Oasis and Paperwhite (and say they'll deliver in a few days), e.g.: 

https://www.powerbuy.co.th/en/catalogsearch/result?q=kindle 

 

Fwiw the Oasis is crazy expensive but turns out to be great imho.  

-- Retiree

Hi, is the Oasis bigger ? 14900 Baht sounds expensive ( 400€ ?) 280€ here in France at Amazon. 
Is the Oasis really worth it ? I read a lot .

[ricklev]

I haven't read all of the answers to your question. So maybe this has been covered already. But on two occasions I've just bought Kindles direct from Amazon, not from a seller on Amazon but from Amazon in the USA.  Shipping only took a few days and they guarantee no customs charges as you pay in advance. In addition if you call them up and tell them you have that bright spot they will give you a minimum of $25 off a new one even if it's out of warranty. That has been my experience anyway and that just about covers the shipping. 

[retiree]

1 hour ago, geisha said:

Is the Oasis really worth it ?

Current Paperwhite model is pretty close.  But, I wanted the glass screen, aluminum body, and better lighting (25 vs 17 LEDs).  Oasis is also slightly larger, yet Paperwhite is 9% heavier. 

 

Tbh though I think a plastic screen is just buyer's remorse waiting to happen.

-- Retiree

[AddyA]

Just a quick update here.

 

My beautiful new Paperwhite Signature Addition arrived yesterday, and the extra Kindle cover came today. It's the first time I've ever used Thai online shopping, and I must say I'm impressed with Lazada. I know it has developed a reputation for allowing dodgy sellers, but my first experience has been all good. And I must say, the detailed tracking system is second to none.

 

 

[elektrified]

On 8/24/2022 at 11:20 AM, AddyA said:

Thanks for your response.  There are some sellers on Amazon UK that ship to Thailand, but it takes a couple of weeks. I did look at B2S, but they're older models at latest model prices.

It's strange that you can't just go to the electronics departments of a major stores and buy them like you would a tablet. Lazada seems reasonable, but I've been hearing a lot about dodgy sellers and products on there of late. I don't know if such claims are true or not, but it does make one wary.

Forget Lazada (owned by the Chinese now). Stick with Shopee and you will be completely protected.

[AddyA]

29 minutes ago, elektrified said:

Forget Lazada (owned by the Chinese now). Stick with Shopee and you will be completely protected.

That's useful to know. I suppose it depends what you're looking for and whether the said store has what you want/need at the time. But I will make a note to check out Shopee. If anyone can support what Elektrified said, that would be useful. It's all a bit new to me, this online shopping malarkey. To be honest, I'd prefer to support local bricks and mortar businesses, especially smaller concerns. The problem is, it's getting forever harder to find what you want off-line, these days.

[seedy]

10 hours ago, AddyA said:

That's useful to know. I suppose it depends what you're looking for and whether the said store has what you want/need at the time. But I will make a note to check out Shopee. If anyone can support what Elektrified said, that would be useful. It's all a bit new to me, this online shopping malarkey. To be honest, I'd prefer to support local bricks and mortar businesses, especially smaller concerns. The problem is, it's getting forever harder to find what you want off-line, these days.

I have never had a problem with Lazada. Only buy from their retailers in LOS

Online shopping the #1 reason why people can not find brick and mortar stores anymore.

All that product knowledge, customer service lost. Now it is minimum wage packing box stuffers who you are dealing with. Knowledge - zero. Customer service - who cares ! I make minimum wage

[AddyA]

1 hour ago, seedy said:

Online shopping the #1 reason why people can not find brick and mortar stores anymore.

All that product knowledge, customer service lost. Now it is minimum wage packing box stuffers who you are dealing with. Knowledge - zero. Customer service - who cares ! I make minimum wage

So true.

[orang37]

9 hours ago, seedy said:

All that product knowledge, customer service lost. Now it is minimum wage packing box stuffers who you are dealing with. Knowledge - zero. Customer service - who cares ! I make minimum wage

 

I wonder which rose-tinted reality you are referring to here. This one ?

 

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