I know, at every corner you can buy new Nokia phones. But the shops I saw all have exactly the same (official) price.

Are there shops who offer good discounts? How about MBK/4, are these shops too dodgy or lack with warranty/service?

Any hints appreciated!

A few years ago I bought a Motorola phone at MBK because the price was a good bit lower than anywhere else. About a year later it needed a repair so I took the phone to the Motorola repair center in Bangkok and they said the repair wasn't under warranty because the phone was from Singapore. The cost of the repair was very low so it still came out cheaper than buying from an official store. I have also bought another phone at MBK and never had any problems with that one.

Last year I bought a Nokia phone while I was in America and it was much cheaper there than anywhere here. If you know anyone there who can buy one and send it to you that might be cheaper but you might be hit with customs duties when it arrives.

Everything here is fixed pricing. Not like in the U.S. where if you shop around you will save a lot of money. At least in the shopping malls, I have noticed the prices are all the same.

Everything here is fixed pricing. Not like in the U.S. where if you shop around you will save a lot of money. At least in the shopping malls, I have noticed the prices are all the same.

Price fixing is smart business practice.

Most stores will make "some" profit, unlike when all stores are discounting their prices so heavily that there is hardly enough profit to pay the rent & as soon as one goes broke, another fills the same space with his wad of family money to lose and so on....

Thanks for your answers!

I asked around a bit and it came out that some smaller shops give a "discount" of around 200B. Not worth the hassle. I still find it strange, as a while ago I bought a new camera and got a discount of approx. 20%. I'd think that in this mobile-crazy country, competition between shops would be even stronger.

I guess I will just go to the most fancy Nokia shop in Paragon or Central World and buy from there, hoping that service and warranty issues are a bit better there and not of "mai bpen rai" quality....

There are several shops in MBK that seem to do a roaring trade selling new phones at good prices. They are on the 'mobile phone floor' (3rd or 4th floor??) and you can recognise them because infront of the counter there are so may customers that you have to elbow your way in to see the display cabinet. Behind the counter you will see piled high stacks of boxed new phone ready to sell.

Not sure if they have the Nokias you want but worth a look. I don't think there would be any risk with guarantees on these phones as you buy them boxed and usually unopened.

IME the best prices can be found at NASA, 4th fl MBK, identified as rak sa-ngop says by the large crowds. If you have a relationship with a retailer (having purchased several phones over the years) they will match any price you find.

Prices are relatively consistent because costs are consistent and margins are razor thin. There are only one or two distributors (Nokia-->Distributor-->Retailer). Any phone purchased anywhere new is covered by a local warranty provided by the Distributor or Manufacturer.

You can check actual retail prices at thaimobilecenter where people report actual prices paid by model.