Everything I Buy Is Expensive To Thais?

[tutsiwarrior]

^^yeah...I forego the agony of being overcharged at the barber's by growing it long when I'm off work and at home...should have ponytail length by the new year...

[sanook2me]

Don’t worry about this. The Thai people have the thing anything you do or buy is either not good or too expensive and they always can do better. This happen to me all the time and I know I am very good shopper and a thrifty person and I can afford to buy or do anything over here.

It must be the complex they have so make themselves feel good

I didn't mean to create a posting about the cost of a hair cut...i think 60 baht is really really cheap...

I normally clipper my own hair as short back and sides is that is required on my bonce....

Givenall you seem to be the only one who read my post as it should have read and meant... No matter how cheap something is certainly my experience with my wife and her mates is that its always expensive...

I have queried them in the past and shut them up with...well go and buy it cheaper if you can.... here is the money.... it falls on deaf ears....

Its only an observation I have made and just wondered if anyone else has noticed or its just peculiar to me....

oh well never... cheers all for posting...

[MrHammer]

It's just a case of wanting to be a step up over the farang. Should you be concerned? Maybe, maybe not.

[geriatrickid]

Some of us that are becoming follicly challenged would gladly pay 1000baht for a haircut if it meant having a Flock of Seagulls hairdo again (or Kurt Cobain hair for those that were really cool)

[t.s]

As far as I can gather he was suggesting that there is a certain social status in paying the regular list price for a luxury product. Or did I get this wrong?

Sounds like he was trying to brag or implying his mates can afford luxury all the time and don't need discounts. I see "hi-so" thais making special trips to HK or Singapore all the time to stock up on luxury items that are 30% more expensive in Thailand. I'd say he's full of it.

I once knew a wannabee hi-so Thai girl who would refuse to buy anything in a sale. Instead she'd deliberately choose to pay full price elsewhere.

The thing was that she was far from rich and she stayed in a 4,000 baht/month apartment, partly because what money she did have went on these expensive brand name products.

This is called "ghetto rich" when poor/lower middle class people spend all their money on useless baubles to impress others yet barely have a pot to piss in. There are a lot of ghetto rich people in Thailand who drive luxury cars but live in 25 sqm box condos/apts that are on long term loan repayment plans. I believe Thais are pretty wasteful spenders overall. The concept of frugal and practical necessity is a mystery to a large percentage of the populace.

when i arrived in thailand in 96 i stayed in a top floor (8th) 2 bedroom in huay kwang (one was large one was tiny) apartment with 2 bathrooms and a huge balcony. it was the most expensive place in the building, and by far the largest at about 75 sqm. the only other farang in the building had an identical room on the opposite corner of the same floor.

most other apartments below were sub 45 sq meters with very few windows and no balcony. none were more than 7k. many were studios that were even cheaper.

there were at least 10 Benzes or BMWs in the parking lot, excluding those of the chinese family that owned the place. in fact all of the cars in the lot were shiny and new.

the parking lot, and the building was quite empty through late 97 early 98.

face versus space in thailand? face usually wins. i have always preferred space.

regarding the topic, i have heard this too, but rarely seen it properly demonstrated by the person complaining.

that 350 baht jeep rental just never materializes.

ironically, i find as a farang i have definite advantages in certain situations especially while holidaying. a bangkok thai wont be as confident in the wilds of koh phangan surrounded by southerners, nor will someone from the deapest darkest north.

the thai national identity is hardly homogeneous, being foreign to begin with we can cut across these differences quite easily.

Edited November 22, 2009 by t.s

[MrHammer]

^^^^

I always wondered how so many people have cars in a city with an average wage of less than 10,000 baht! But you're right, accomodation is far down the list of priorities.

[mmushr00m]

Actually alot of the tiny condos are only places to stay in during the weekday so they dont have to commute far to work in BKK. Most of those with the cars actually have houses outside the city...

Back on topic.

I pay B150 for mine, i once paid B60. My wife had a good laugh at the results and ask me why I was so kie nok and deserved looking like an imbecile.

Oh, I also usually lie about how much i paid for my toys...

new speakers?...

yes they were on sale i only paid xxx amount....

oh ok.....

phew.....

Edited November 22, 2009 by mmushr00m

[t.s]

Actually alot of the tiny condos are only places to stay in during the weekday so they dont have to commute far to work in BKK. Most of those with the cars actually have houses outside the city...

Back on topic.

I pay B150 for mine, i once paid B60. My wife had a good laugh at the results and ask me why I was so kie nok and deserved looking like an imbecile.

Oh, I also usually lie about how much i paid for my toys...

new speakers?...

yes they were on sale i only paid xxx amount....

oh ok.....

phew.....

that wasn't the case here. these cars were there all week, and the proud owners coul be seen around the building. also, these weren't condos

[wintermute]

there were at least 10 Benzes or BMWs in the parking lot, excluding those of the chinese family that owned the place. in fact all of the cars in the lot were shiny and new.

the parking lot, and the building was quite empty through late 97 early 98.

face versus space in thailand? face usually wins. i have always preferred space.

I am very curious as to what the auto loan default rate is in Thailand. I bet the auto loans and housing loan defaults are still sky high. Probably lots of pyramid schemes going on with investment bankers in Thailand too trying to hide away risky debt instruments.

[rayong09]

A motorbike taxi driver once oddly showed me his new watch. Politely I replied very nice, looks expensive. He replied 200 Baht Thai (then in a fit of laughter said) 400 farang! I replied with a smile......if you show me farang who would wear that i give you 400 baht.

I love those little moments.

[Dakhar]

60 as well as 30 Baht for a haircut is laughable cheap, usual no need to mention that. Compare that with Farang country. Only people with really low earnings, or extremely thrifty persons would give a second thought about that. Rather teasing the OP.

Yes, lets compare

Average Thai, earns around 200 baht, so a 60 baht hair cut is what 30% or so of a day's earnings. In the US, the average pay is around 100 USD a day, so that would be 30 USD for a hair cut....

Not bad earnings for the barbers here in Thailand

I live out in a village, and their rates were 40 baht, but were raised to 50 baht a year back. Not complaining, just laying out the facts.