Terror Relating To Upcoming Laptop Purchase...!

[Girlaboutglobe]

H'lo,

I'd sure appreciate if anyone can offer some advice on this, especially as it'd be a major stress reducer for me! I've been researching like mad in advance of my upcoming laptop purchase and am determined to buy one in the next few days . I've got a pretty good idea what I want to buy, and naturally I've poked around Panthip and Fortune Town checking out prices and specs, but what I can't be sure of is which dealers in Bangkok are trustworthy and will really stand behind their product. If anyone can recommend a dealer that they've personally used and had a good experience with I'd really appreciate it!

I'll likely go for an Acer Aspire, but I'm rather curious about these Lenovos and Asus' that I'm seeing as there seem to be some good prices, does anyone know if they're any good?

Thanks for your help!

Girlaboutglobe

[BelfastMike]

Acer, Asus and Lenovo (IBM) all have good dealer service networks covering Thailand.

Asus offer the best warranty (2 years) with their notebooks.

I purchased an Asus A8SC-4P057 last week from

http://www.tohome.com/

after asking some questions here and doing some other research. Good service from these guys, my choices were limited here in Patong. I'm sure I could have got a better deal in Pantip but it's not handy to me. No matter where you buy your notebook, service centres will honour the warranty.

It's a matter of personal preference, but I prefer the Asus brand as they're well known for producing quality PC components. Value in terms of spec and price were the best in my opinion. If I had money to burn, I would have bought a Lenovo as they are a quality product. Acer I don't really like, bit cheap and and nasty in my opinion.

Edited October 9, 2007 by BelfastMike

[JonnieB]

acer is the biggest notebook seller in thailand and has a large support network. basically, you want to buy from an AUTHORIZED dealer/seller of the brand you want to buy. then you get a genuine warranty. basically, after the notebook is sold...the manufacturer is responsible for any problems with it (not the shop that sold it to you). therefore, you want to buy a brand that has a good service center network in thailand (basically big sellers in thailand). these brands include the major ones like acer, hp/compaq, sony, toshiba. some of the smaller brands like asus, lenovo, fujuitsu may be more difficult to get service or parts for when needed.

[Girlaboutglobe]

Thanks you guys, I appreciate the feedback, gives me something to think about regarding the brands. Do you know how to tell for sure that a shop is an AUTHORIZED dealer? Many have the signs up for specific brands and seem to have authentic flyers, but how can you be certain that they're actually authorized?

[Moonfruit]

Ive bought 3 laptops in as many years from Pentagon Computer at Fortune Town.

Excellent service every time, they can actually explain the computers to you properly rather than the other 99% of stores who just seem to exect you to point to something and say 'ow krap'.

All three were Asus, NOT Acer. I wouldnt have an Acer given, but thats another story. One of them died after my wife threw coffee all over it. Quick trip to the service center on Rama 4 Road and they replaced the keyboard within 15 mins. (The computer was already out of warranty but they didnt ask). I cant speak highly enough for Asus service and their prodicts really are very competetively priced.

Again, I would steer well clear of Acer. Service stinks and the products certainly arent made to last.

[BelfastMike]

Again, I would steer well clear of Acer. Service stinks and the products certainly arent made to last.

Moonfruit has just underlined the reason I don't like Acer. A lot of guys at work use them but I have zero faith in their after-sales service and build quality. Asus are my personal preference as they offer the best bang for buck. Lenovo, we give to customers (since they're paying) and certainly deliver in terms of robustnest. Good for business use, it terms of power v's price not so good compared to Asus.

[onethailand]

I have an Acer that has performed admirably for me - and it was bought as a demo unit. They also have plenty of service centers/authorized dealers.

Lenovos are superb but you're right - bit high on the price/value scale. One huge advantage is that their wireless signal is way more powerful than any other wireless device I've used - I can pick up wireless signals that no one else can, including dedicated wireless equipment.

Asus - well, they could be getting better. Certainly been in the computer business forever and their price points are quite competitive as well - but may not be as convenient from a service perspective.

Pentagon is quite good. Global Solutions is also quite good - and in IT Mall there are plenty of decent vendors.

Oh and by the way tohome.com is right next to where I live. I always thought they'd never survive but they've been around for a long time... must be doing something right.

Edited October 10, 2007 by onethailand

[nikster]

Acers are fine - the new line-up looks like it has better build quality than before. And Acer service in Thailand has been flawless for me in the last 3 years. Fixed everything that went wrong, timely and efficiently, and called back every time they said they would. This was in Chiang Mai service center, can't recommend these guys enough. They deserve a medal or something.

You can also purchase extended 3 year warranty which I would definitely recommend. It's relatively cheap, about 2000 Baht.

Moonfruit - tx for the Asus service story, Asus laptops have a very good reputation for quality. I haven't owned one but it's certainly a brand to consider. Forget about Sony, worst service for 20 years running.

PS: Don't have any recommendations for BKK computer stores but as long as you are buying new and get those warranty stickers on the laptop I don't think there is anything that can go wrong. I'd recommend Fortune mall.

Edited October 10, 2007 by nikster

[Girlaboutglobe]

Thanks so much you guys, that's really useful information! I also appreciate your thoughts on the brands, I'll keep that in mind when I'm searching for a deal. I will check out all of the locations that you mentioned, I'm sure I can find something that will work out. I feel fairly confident about what to get and where to go now.

Thanks a million!

[VocalNeal]

H'lo,

I'd sure appreciate if anyone can offer some advice on this, especially as it'd be a major stress reducer for me! I've been researching like mad in advance of my upcoming laptop purchase and am determined to buy one in the next few days . I've got a pretty good idea what I want to buy, and naturally I've poked around Panthip and Fortune Town checking out prices and specs, but what I can't be sure of is which dealers in Bangkok are trustworthy and will really stand behind their product. If anyone can recommend a dealer that they've personally used and had a good experience with I'd really appreciate it!

I'll likely go for an Acer Aspire, but I'm rather curious about these Lenovos and Asus' that I'm seeing as there seem to be some good prices, does anyone know if they're any good?

Thanks for your help!

Girlaboutglobe

I'm happy with Asus, can't remember where in Pantip I bought it. They have two service centres one on Rama 4 (Lumpini MRT) and one in Pantip. Acer has a large service centre as I have driven past it but can't remember where.

[naka]

Acer have by far the largest service centre network in Thailand and after

you have made your purchase you are really dealing with the manufacturer

if you have a problem, not the dealer.

Naka.

[sniffdog]

IMHO Global Solutions has the best selection and service .... prices are a little high at times. See what you like, shop around and then bargain them down.

[Girlaboutglobe]

Thanks to everybody who offered some advice on this!

I took your suggestions and went down to Fortune Town and really liked Pentagon, but unfortunately they didn't have any of the models I was interested in actually in stock (although good prices and service, had a really good vibe in there). Also any other dealer that had the models and prices I was looking for also claimed to be out of stock as well at Fortune Town.

So I switched tracks and went down to Pantip knowing what I wanted and what the prices should be. This is where things got really strange. At Pantip, even when they had in stock computer I was interested in at a reasonable price, they simply would not bargain. They were all friendly enough and seemed interested in the sale, but when I asked for add ons they simply refused. I had even gone so far as to dress nicely (though simply), I speak a little Thai, I was friendly and polite, but they just wouldn't play ball. I couldn't figure it out. I even found another girl who also wanted a computer, so we were going to combine the sale and buy two from the same place so as to improve our postion, and still no dice. At one place we offered to pay their full price (52 000THB for two Acer Aspires) but asked for one extra free battery (granted a battery is 6000THB retail, but they get dealer prices, right?), the only deal they would offer was the two laptops for 51,400THB (a discount of 600THB, enough to buy a few sandwiches ) and one battery at regular price and one battery at 5900THB. Not exactly much of an offer, no matter what I tried they would not offer anything else and didn't even attempt to get into any other kinds of add ons, such as extra RAM or a longer warranty.

The other real pain in the ass (at both Fortune Town and Pantip, but more so at Pantip) was on a number of computers that come from the manufacturer with Windows Vista installed (according to the manufacturer's websites), most of the dealers had wiped Windows from the hard drive and then were charging anywhere from 5000THB to 7000THB to reinstall it (pirate copies where 500-700). Important to note that they were charging full price for these models despite their coming only with DOS or Linux. At one of the larger stores in Pantip, we offered to buy two Lenovos with no discount but both with XP installed, they wouldn't do it; then we offered to buy the two, pay for one licensed copy of XP and have them throw in one free and they wouldn't do that either. I asked him what he could do and he said nothing, no extras no discounts.

Are you not supposed to be able to bargain at Pantip? Am I doing something wrong? Are the things I'm asking for unreasonable? If what I encountered is standard for computer sales in Thailand then they're significantly more expensive than in Canada, where the price includes the operating system. Although buying direct from the manufacturers (if possible) seems to be pretty reasonable, particularly compared to what's on offer at Pantip. When all was said and done, on average a 25000THB laptop (at the manufacturer's listed prices) at Pantip was about 30000THB. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Are there any other options? I have to say I was very disappointed. Maybe I'm doing something wrong???? If anyone has any ideas on what that was all about I'd sure love to hear it. I guess I may have to drag one of my Thai friends down there one of these days, don't know if it'll make a huge difference when they seemed so unwilling to deal. Sucks though 'cause I move to Nonthaburi tomorrow. grrrrr!

[onethailand]

So I switched tracks and went down to Pantip knowing what I wanted and what the prices should be. This is where things got really strange. At Pantip, even when they had in stock computer I was interested in at a reasonable price, they simply would not bargain. They were all friendly enough and seemed interested in the sale, but when I asked for add ons they simply refused. I had even gone so far as to dress nicely (though simply), I speak a little Thai, I was friendly and polite, but they just wouldn't play ball. I couldn't figure it out. I even found another girl who also wanted a computer, so we were going to combine the sale and buy two from the same place so as to improve our postion, and still no dice. At one place we offered to pay their full price (52 000THB for two Acer Aspires) but asked for one extra free battery (granted a battery is 6000THB retail, but they get dealer prices, right?), the only deal they would offer was the two laptops for 51,400THB (a discount of 600THB, enough to buy a few sandwiches ) and one battery at regular price and one battery at 5900THB. Not exactly much of an offer, no matter what I tried they would not offer anything else and didn't even attempt to get into any other kinds of add ons, such as extra RAM or a longer warranty.

The standard is to bargain price - add ons are too expensive for them to throw in as their profit margins are quite low to begin with. The best you could have possibly done is ask for a free notebook bag or something.

The other real pain in the ass (at both Fortune Town and Pantip, but more so at Pantip) was on a number of computers that come from the manufacturer with Windows Vista installed (according to the manufacturer's websites), most of the dealers had wiped Windows from the hard drive and then were charging anywhere from 5000THB to 7000THB to reinstall it (pirate copies where 500-700). Important to note that they were charging full price for these models despite their coming only with DOS or Linux. At one of the larger stores in Pantip, we offered to buy two Lenovos with no discount but both with XP installed, they wouldn't do it; then we offered to buy the two, pay for one licensed copy of XP and have them throw in one free and they wouldn't do that either. I asked him what he could do and he said nothing, no extras no discounts.

Unfortunately, the current standard in the Thai notebook market is to install with Linux - people are more interested in the hardware price, and most load their own pirated Windows. Again, the cost of Windows is too high, and would kill any profit they were able to make, even for just one OEM copy.

Are you not supposed to be able to bargain at Pantip? Am I doing something wrong? Are the things I'm asking for unreasonable?

Unreasonable for this market, not that you're doing anything wrong - it's just a problem that arises from the small profit margin.

If what I encountered is standard for computer sales in Thailand then they're significantly more expensive than in Canada, where the price includes the operating system.

Depends - don't forget that it's not easy to buy a pirate copy of Windows in Canada. Plus the size of the dealer makes a difference - undoubtedly a large Canadian dealer can make a much better deal on volume purchase than any Thai dealer.

Although buying direct from the manufacturers (if possible) seems to be pretty reasonable, particularly compared to what's on offer at Pantip. When all was said and done, on average a 25000THB laptop (at the manufacturer's listed prices) at Pantip was about 30000THB. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Are there any other options? I have to say I was very disappointed. Maybe I'm doing something wrong???? If anyone has any ideas on what that was all about I'd sure love to hear it. I guess I may have to drag one of my Thai friends down there one of these days, don't know if it'll make a huge difference when they seemed so unwilling to deal. Sucks though 'cause I move to Nonthaburi tomorrow. grrrrr!

Nonthaburi isn't that much further away... undoubtedly you will have to come in to Bangkok sooner or later so just try again one one of those trips. The best trick is, once you agree a price, proffer your credit card - or, ask them if this is credit card price. They will always say no - but then that gives you one more opportunity to lower the cash price, but don't bother trying for thousands. Offer to round down to the nearest 500 and show the cash.

You *might* be able to get them to load a pirated copy of Windows, but obviously this is not what I would recommend.

Good luck!