Prices Dropping?

[elektrified]

Anyone else notice prices coming down around town? We were out today and we both noticed prices being slashed all over. We saw a few massage shops drop their prices to 99 Baht/hour. The hotel next to Chiang Mai Ram Hospital had a billboard out there advertising 550 Baht/night for as long as I've been here. Tonight it says 450 Baht. We went out to eat tonight and watched them dropping the prices on the billboard while we were eating. We asked one massage shop we went to on the moat what's going on and the guy told us that business was so bad that they were trying a new approach.

[cmjantje]

It is about time entrepeneurs learn economics.

[tigerbeer]

signs of a recession.

[purplehaze]

Anyone else notice prices coming down around town? We were out today and we both noticed prices being slashed all over. We saw a few massage shops drop their prices to 99 Baht/hour. The hotel next to Chiang Mai Ram Hospital had a billboard out there advertising 550 Baht/night for as long as I've been here. Tonight it says 450 Baht. We went out to eat tonight and watched them dropping the prices on the billboard while we were eating. We asked one massage shop we went to on the moat what's going on and the guy told us that business was so bad that they were trying a new approach.

I take it the old approach for this business genius, like others was to put prices up.

[IanForbes]

I take it the old approach for this business genius, like others was to put prices up.

In truth, that is USUALLY the Thai way. Fortunately, there now appears to be some people who are more progressive and actually LOWER prices to attract more customers. There still seems to be a lot of the older crazy thinking, though... try to gouge more out of fewer customers without any thought of the long term damage. Once a person has been gouged they seldom return. And, they tell others. I'll never return to Phuket because their prices are way out of line in comparison to the rest of Thailand.

[ginnyten]

Geez...are any of you awake out there? Prices dropping? What a joke. just paid 11 baht more for a pack of cigs at 7/11. Tomorrow I will buy beer and am sure that will also increase. The 'sin' taxes borrowed from America will hurt most of us..unless you are a monk! Good idea, but not for Thailand. They need to do something about the corruptive government before they try to instill western economic practices.

[lannarebirth]

Geez...are any of you awake out there? Prices dropping? What a joke. just paid 11 baht more for a pack of cigs at 7/11. Tomorrow I will buy beer and am sure that will also increase. The 'sin' taxes borrowed from America will hurt most of us..unless you are a monk! Good idea, but not for Thailand. They need to do something about the corruptive government before they try to instill western economic practices.

I think the issue is that the government doesn't have enough funds from tax receipts to fund its obligations. It has pared the budget, instituted new taxes and is in the process of selling a whole lot of sovereign bonds to raise sufficient monies. Given the falling GDP, what would you have them do?

edit: This government has also proposed both property and inheritance taxes. Those initiatives are not getting traction currently.

Edited May 16, 2009 by lannarebirth

[IanForbes]

Wasn't there once a man called Thaksin who didn't like paying taxes in Thailand?

[BlackArtemis]

If property tax happens you will see a lot of land go up for sale real fast. Tons of rotting houses on good land. The land was passed down each generation and now mnay of them can't even make enogh money to maintain it. A property tax would force them out.

[Ulysses G.]

Geez...are any of you awake out there? Prices dropping? What a joke.

How about SOME prices are dropping. Is that better?

[Niloc]

I want to buy a book at Gecko books, I know they have it but will the price be down too?

[Jungian]

Yes, the hotels and resorts are slashing prices in most cases only to Thais and foreigners with work permits to promote tourism to the population that lives in country. The main reason tourism in down is because of the world economy in general however the temper tantrums in Bangkok did not help matters in the least. The Mandarin Oriental Hotel is offering their 25,000฿ per night suite for 6,000฿ to residents when available just for the extra cash. Now is the time to travel and take advantage of some of the great promotions if you are a resident. As far as tourists go the prices seem to still be in line with what they always were maybe 100-200฿ less but no major savings.

[Ulysses G.]

I want to buy a book at Gecko books, I know they have it but will the price be down too?

I have just put out many 1,000s of newly acquired books for under 100 baht per copy that I see competitors selling for well over 200 baht each - Mostly lots of modern literature (what we call literature that won awards and was popular a few years ago, but not so trendy now), "Chick-lit" and beach reading, but an assortment of other things as well.

We have dropped the prices on older beach (like Grisham, Clancy, Connelly, and Patterson) stuff on the normal shelves quite a bit also over the last year - Most of it is around 100 baht each, but some authors who are very difficult to find remain higher. Lots of our books are much cheaper than other shops in Thailand: I see competitors selling them for much more.

However, some people are only interested in the newest and trendiest titles and it is almost impossible for me to get these cheaply. Suppliers overseas can sell them easily themselves at high prices - they do not want to sell them to me - and customers that want to sell them to the shop insist on a high price.

Sometimes I get deals where I get brand new, very popular books that I can sell at a 20% or 40% discount if I buy a huge amount, but some customers get angry that I am selling "used" books for this price. I try to explain that they are actually discounted new books, but they think that everything in the store should be cheap. My philosophy is that I rather have as many good books as possible and people can choose if they are willing to pay the price, or not, but some people really resent this. I guess that you can’t please everyone.

To answer the question, lots of our prices have come down quite a bit, but for the books that are really popular and rare, there probably won’t be a big difference.

[Patriciachas]

Geez...are any of you awake out there? Prices dropping? What a joke. just paid 11 baht more for a pack of cigs at 7/11. Tomorrow I will buy beer and am sure that will also increase. The 'sin' taxes borrowed from America will hurt most of us..unless you are a monk! Good idea, but not for Thailand. They need to do something about the corruptive government before they try to instill western economic practices.

Stop smoking and drinking both practices are bad for your health.have a good look at the UK government it is as corrupt as you can get .The latest scandal to come from the good old UK.

[tigerbeer]

Yes, the hotels and resorts are slashing prices in most cases only to Thais and foreigners with work permits to promote tourism to the population that lives in country. The main reason tourism in down is because of the world economy in general however the temper tantrums in Bangkok did not help matters in the least. The Mandarin Oriental Hotel is offering their 25,000฿ per night suite for 6,000฿ to residents when available just for the extra cash. Now is the time to travel and take advantage of some of the great promotions if you are a resident. As far as tourists go the prices seem to still be in line with what they always were maybe 100-200฿ less but no major savings.

i heard MO Dhara Dhevi is on the market. Anyone up for grabs?

[patklang]

Geez...are any of you awake out there? Prices dropping? What a joke. just paid 11 baht more for a pack of cigs at 7/11. Tomorrow I will buy beer and am sure that will also increase. The 'sin' taxes borrowed from America will hurt most of us..unless you are a monk! Good idea, but not for Thailand. They need to do something about the corruptive government before they try to instill western economic practices.

Good time to pack up and live a little longer mate.I packed up when ciggies were 25-30 baht here in Thailand and i smoked for over 35 years,and feel 10 years younger now.

If you have a wife/gf and kid/s do your self a huge favour and live a long life for them,and your breath will smell much nicer.

[vagabond48]

If you have a wife/gf and kid/s do your self a huge favour and live a long life for them,and your breath will smell much nicer.

It will also help them live a longer life by not being around cig smoke as well.

[ginnyten]

To all you preachers out there...I am not looking for advice...just facts please. Prices dropping you say? Well smokers and drinkers still have to eat, and now the price of a fried Tub Tim in the fresh market has just increased to 100 baht. That's about a 25% increase - or more. So let's discuss 'rising' prices And hold the lectures please.

[ChangMaiSausage]

To all you preachers out there...I am not looking for advice...just facts please. Prices dropping you say? Well smokers and drinkers still have to eat, and now the price of a fried Tub Tim in the fresh market has just increased to 100 baht. That's about a 25% increase - or more. So let's discuss 'rising' prices And hold the lectures please.

Agreed by a social smoker

[WinnieTheKhwai]

To all you preachers out there...I am not looking for advice...just facts please. Prices dropping you say? Well smokers and drinkers still have to eat, and now the price of a fried Tub Tim in the fresh market has just increased to 100 baht. That's about a 25% increase - or more. So let's discuss 'rising' prices And hold the lectures please.

Tub Tim fish are evil. Don't eat them.

Still, which market is that? I didn't notice any price increase for fresh fish.

[cmjantje]

Blame it on the increased fuel prices like last year. The only problem is that Thai keep the prices high also if fuel prices drop down again.

Many Thai experience the same like we, as I already remarked, The price of rice is still high just to say something and what is written already, so is the price of pork. I mean the time you can eat for 20 baht is finished I think.

Papaya salad with rice is 45 baht now, used to be 30, increase 50%!!

[WinnieTheKhwai]

> Papaya salad with rice is 45 baht now,

No it isn't. But maybe you live in Patong?

[cmjantje]

> Papaya salad with rice is 45 baht now,

No it isn't. But maybe you live in Patong?

No I do not.

It isn't? How much is it in your neighborhood?

[WinnieTheKhwai]

25 baht som tam.. Rice up to how much of it you want.. 5B, 10B..

I'm sure I could find 20 baht som tam too if I thought it mattered.

[middlepath]

Thinks we buy, veggies, and meals out are costing us less. Our rent went down, we moved last month. We ride our bicycle more use less gasoline.....lots of things are getting cheaper for "us"....

[mcgriffith]

Geez...are any of you awake out there? Prices dropping? What a joke. just paid 11 baht more for a pack of cigs at 7/11. Tomorrow I will buy beer and am sure that will also increase. The 'sin' taxes borrowed from America will hurt most of us..unless you are a monk! Good idea, but not for Thailand. They need to do something about the corruptive government before they try to instill western economic practices.

I think the issue is that the government doesn't have enough funds from tax receipts to fund its obligations. It has pared the budget, instituted new taxes and is in the process of selling a whole lot of sovereign bonds to raise sufficient monies. Given the falling GDP, what would you have them do?

edit: This government has also proposed both property and inheritance taxes. Those initiatives are not getting traction currently.

No comment on the "Sin Tax", it will probably be revenue neutral for the Thai gov't. I notice NOBODY is buying Leo or Singh in the local Tesco Lotus Express. Leo went from 37 to 47. Yup a 10 baht increase....30 some odd percent? Folks are buying out all the cheaper brands, or not buying at all. Go figure.

I hope the gov't does pass some kind of property and inheritance taxes. The more one reads about this issue, the more it seems reasonable.

Just my 25 satang...

[Thakkar]

I want to buy a book at Gecko books, I know they have it but will the price be down too?

I have just put out many 1,000s of newly acquired books for under 100 baht per copy that I see competitors selling for well over 200 baht each - Mostly lots of modern literature (what we call literature that won awards and was popular a few years ago, but not so trendy now), "Chick-lit" and beach reading, but an assortment of other things as well.

We have dropped the prices on older beach (like Grisham, Clancy, Connelly, and Patterson) stuff on the normal shelves quite a bit also over the last year - Most of it is around 100 baht each, but some authors who are very difficult to find remain higher. Lots of our books are much cheaper than other shops in Thailand: I see competitors selling them for much more.

However, some people are only interested in the newest and trendiest titles and it is almost impossible for me to get these cheaply. Suppliers overseas can sell them easily themselves at high prices - they do not want to sell them to me - and customers that want to sell them to the shop insist on a high price.

Sometimes I get deals where I get brand new, very popular books that I can sell at a 20% or 40% discount if I buy a huge amount, but some customers get angry that I am selling "used" books for this price. I try to explain that they are actually discounted new books, but they think that everything in the store should be cheap. My philosophy is that I rather have as many good books as possible and people can choose if they are willing to pay the price, or not, but some people really resent this. I guess that you can’t please everyone.

To answer the question, lots of our prices have come down quite a bit, but for the books that are really popular and rare, there probably won’t be a big difference.

When you don't watch TeeVee, you have a lot of time. My family and I are avid readers and visit the local used book shops regularly, including Gecko and have noted that indeed prices around town have come down and there are some gems to be had at a bargain, though you need to hunt—but that's part of the fun. Even shops in Bkk have dropped prices, including http://dasabookcafe.com.www.readyplanet.net/ who deliver around Thailand are running 20% discount on all their titles.

Ordering online is convenient and I look forward to the day when Gecko's website is fully up and running. Currently I'm able to search for availability but not see prices, order (or at least reserve) online or get delivery. Maybe Gecko and Meals-on-wheels can work out a deal. The search process though is fast and neat, I love it so far.

As an aside, here's an interesting online bookstore that provides the convenience of online ordering and some of the fun of browsing at a bookstore: http://zoomii.com/#at=3,75842,273856 Delivery to Thailand is expensive, but you can always browse here and send an email to one of the local stores to see if they have the book you want.

[BigSnake]

Anyone else notice prices coming down around town? We were out today and we both noticed prices being slashed all over. We saw a few massage shops drop their prices to 99 Baht/hour. The hotel next to Chiang Mai Ram Hospital had a billboard out there advertising 550 Baht/night for as long as I've been here. Tonight it says 450 Baht. We went out to eat tonight and watched them dropping the prices on the billboard while we were eating. We asked one massage shop we went to on the moat what's going on and the guy told us that business was so bad that they were trying a new approach.

Nope not around my town, coming soon I hope, we all need a break.

[Thakkar]

I haven't noticed any price drops. However, the fees at my kids' school which normally go up way above inflation every two years, have remained unchanged this time and they announced that it is specifically because of the bad economy.

What's the story at other private schools?

[Gold2005]

Some things seem to have gone up but some things down. In last 5-8 years I have noticed some items like cigerettes have gone up by as much as 45-50%. Thailand is not a cheap place anymore. Chiang Mai alot better than Bangkok but things seem more expensive everywhere. They need to discount to get business. Why would tourists come when they can go to other places and get cheaper deals and not ahve to fly 12 -16 hours. Hotels are too much now too. Shame as it was a wonderful place price wise before hence its growth. I love it here still though