Sim Card Rip Off At Junk Cylon In Phuket

[Mr.Mr.]

Hi,

yesterday I wanted to buy some True Inter SIM cards for my friends on the 3rd floor in Junk Ceylon in Phuket. At these small shops, there sell the Inter SIM cards for 250 Baht the normal price for the card is 49 Baht and you can get them for this price at any 7/11. So be aware and don't go to this rip off "IT-shops" on the 3rd floor.

If you are lucky you can get a free Inter SIM card at the airport.

Happy New Year!

P.S.: Other shops at Junk Ceylon that charge more than in other parts of Thailand for the same thing are: McDonalds, KFC, Svensens and Bookazine!

Fair shops are Powerbuy and Banana IT, there the prices are the same as everywhere!

Edited January 2, 2011 by Mr.Mr.

[H2oDunc]

Am I missing something here on this post ? Why would the OP go to the 3rd floor shop when he alrady knows they are readily available for 49 baht from the nearest 7/11 ? To then waste time and effort to tell us this only adds to the confusion ?

[katabeachbum]

naming and flaming is against Forum rules

as long as phone card shops name or location is not specified, I ll allow this topic

Most chain shops/restaurants in LOS have higher prices in locations with higher overheadcosts, and none of them keep it secret

Same thing in the US

Phuket town/Tesco Lotus Mc Donalds costs appox 15-20% less than Patong/Jungceylon

[HDRIDER]

Why do you think it cost more,,,, rent is a lot more than in Tesco, McD is crap anyway when you think about all the good places who sells good burger, as for SIM, buy it in 7/11 or Big C or.......

[stevenl]

I would presume you get more credit on a 250 baht card than on a 49 baht card.

[Ulysses G.]

What "good places" that sell burgers? They all pretty much lousy or super-expensive in Thailand.

Edited January 3, 2011 by Ulysses G.

[HDRIDER]

What "good places" that sell burgers? They all pretty much lousy or super-expensive in Thailand.

Dont you read TV maybe you dont get out much? they have good burgers here, and also SIM cards (That was for the mod so he dont delete)

[LivinLOS]

I would presume you get more credit on a 250 baht card than on a 49 baht card.

This is a fact..

The packages the OP is claiming are the same are not.. One needs to have credit bought for it one is bundled with credit.

[ESB7]

I would presume you get more credit on a 250 baht card than on a 49 baht card.

That is probably the case that it has more credit..as for MacDonalds etc being more expensive, thatsrip off Phuket for you

[katabeachbum]

I would presume you get more credit on a 250 baht card than on a 49 baht card.

That is probably the case that it has more credit..as for MacDonalds etc being more expensive, thatsrip off Phuket for you

Mc Donalds in Phuket town and Mc Donalds in BKK and Mc Donalds in Hua Hin is the same price. Where is the rip off

[LivinLOS]

Mc Donalds in Phuket town and Mc Donalds in BKK and Mc Donalds in Hua Hin is the same price. Where is the rip off

Maccas in Patong beach ??

I dont eat them, so dont know for sure, but I have heard from others a few times that its more expensive in Patong than Phuket town.

[hkt83100]

Be also aware of one more rip-off: Quite a lot of the small stalls sell Kingston USB-Stick with a capacity of up to 256 GIGABYTES!. The largest one Kingston manufactures is 32 GB. The fake ones normally have a capacity of only 3 or 4 GB and any data you put on these is at risk.

http://www.kingston.com/flash/dt101g2.asp

[Mr.Mr.]

I would presume you get more credit on a 250 baht card than on a 49 baht card.

No, there was no credit on the card.

The rent is maybe high there, but I don't think higher that at Siam Paragon in Bangkok, and there you get the standart price and not the rip off prices like in Patong.

[stevenl]

I would presume you get more credit on a 250 baht card than on a 49 baht card.

No, there was no credit on the card.

The rent is maybe high there, but I don't think higher that at Siam Paragon in Bangkok, and there you get the standart price and not the rip off prices like in Patong.

That would be a rip off, but sorry, I don't believe there is no credit on the card.

[madmitch]

I would presume you get more credit on a 250 baht card than on a 49 baht card.

No, there was no credit on the card.

The rent is maybe high there, but I don't think higher that at Siam Paragon in Bangkok, and there you get the standart price and not the rip off prices like in Patong.

That would be a rip off, but sorry, I don't believe there is no credit on the card.

The Inter SIM cards are the same as those given away free at the airport. Their reps give them out free to hotels and guesthouses to give to customers. The people selling these have probably not paid a baht for them yet are taking 250 baht. Great mark up. There is a nominal credit of about 5 or 10 baht.

[barka]

Nearly all simcards you get today... even the free ones ...have some credit on them...like steve said..... check again

[HDRIDER]

Be also aware of one more rip-off: Quite a lot of the small stalls sell Kingston USB-Stick with a capacity of up to 256 GIGABYTES!. The largest one Kingston manufactures is 32 GB. The fake ones normally have a capacity of only 3 or 4 GB and any data you put on these is at risk.

http://www.kingston.com/flash/dt101g2.asp

Just to let you know it come a long way since you have bought a USB stick me think

http://www.kingston.com/flash/dt310.asp

i got a few 64gb and they start getting old now

[katabeachbum]

Mc Donalds in Phuket town and Mc Donalds in BKK and Mc Donalds in Hua Hin is the same price. Where is the rip off

Maccas in Patong beach ??

I dont eat them, so dont know for sure, but I have heard from others a few times that its more expensive in Patong than Phuket town.

yepp, post #3

just as McD on Manhattan 5th Avenue is more expensive than most other McD in US, the Highway McD beeing the less expensive

and I do prefere Burger King for a chain burger

[LivinLOS]

Be also aware of one more rip-off: Quite a lot of the small stalls sell Kingston USB-Stick with a capacity of up to 256 GIGABYTES!. The largest one Kingston manufactures is 32 GB. The fake ones normally have a capacity of only 3 or 4 GB and any data you put on these is at risk.

http://www.kingston.com/flash/dt101g2.asp

Where do you get this info ??

Kingston were making 64 GB drives back in 2008 !! The datatraveller 150..

The 200 goes up to 128 GB and the 310 is a 256 drive.

The also have the hypermax usb3 256 drive (tho its more a eternal flash drive than a thumb).

[4evermaat]

I would presume you get more credit on a 250 baht card than on a 49 baht card.

This is a fact..

The packages the OP is claiming are the same are not.. One needs to have credit bought for it one is bundled with credit.

Funny, I meant to start a post like this several months ago when I first came to Thailand. Guess it just slipped my mind.

The one i bought. I think they originally wanted 300 or 400, and then after I was ready to walk away, she "discounted" it to either 225 or 250. I thought "not bad I guess". It comes with a 1 year validity and 25 baht credit. I proceeded to tell my friend and he said you could pick up a intersim card for 50 at 7-11. Oh yeah, I got schooled to the game real quick . Once I got my CAT internet setup, I just use callcentric or skype for int'l calls.

Well, those vendors are all still there on that floor, so they must have one-time customers like me that still keep paying the rent Luckily, I try not to make the same mistake more than once. Thankfully, AIS (company owned) store is there on the 3rd floor now. So it "should" reduce the amount of overpricing that is obvious rampant all over. When you think about it though, the same concept exists everywhere. In Hawaii, a guy sold me a machete at a "discount" of $35 and I later found out that I could pick one up at a hardware store for $10-15 Technically it's not a ripoff, if you agree to pay the price asked.

But overall, I always tell people to buy their electronics from a chain company, especially new, if possible. You know you are getting competitive pricing, and a WARRANTY that is in a easy-to-find location should you need service. Another good Idea is checking with several competitors first, with at least one chain competitor (tesco, 7-11, powerbuy) or asking around here at TV. Another idea is to start building contacts with some locals that you can go to for good advice. Networking with the right type of people has kept me out of a lot of the overpricing that occurs, especially with taxis and tours.

Even my girlfriend tells me to watch out for the sugar cane vendors especially. They will add sugar, water, or other things that make it not "100%". Of course you won't know until after the fact.

Had another situation (two separate occassions) where I walked up to a thai food vendor and I would see something I remember my GF liked. Not wanting to make assumptions, I would call my girlfriend and have her speak to the seller to confirm it's what she wants. She told the lady on both occassions she did NOT want any today, and when the phone was handed back to me, the lady proceeded to sell me some of the food anyway. I learned to speak to my girlfriend again first before making the final purchase. But it seems Thai vendors never miss an opportunity to extract that baht out of your hands.

I guess it boils down to the networking. Either building it yourself or joining in with others who are going in the same direction you wish to.

Edited January 3, 2011 by 4evermaat

[FritsSikkink]

Be also aware of one more rip-off: Quite a lot of the small stalls sell Kingston USB-Stick with a capacity of up to 256 GIGABYTES!. The largest one Kingston manufactures is 32 GB. The fake ones normally have a capacity of only 3 or 4 GB and any data you put on these is at risk.

http://www.kingston....ash/dt101g2.asp

Where do you get this info ??

Kingston were making 64 GB drives back in 2008 !! The datatraveller 150..

The 200 goes up to 128 GB and the 310 is a 256 drive.

The also have the hypermax usb3 256 drive (tho its more a eternal flash drive than a thumb).

A drive isn't the same as a stick

[HDRIDER]

A drive isn't the same as a stick

but it is a stick, OK???

Kingston has released what they're calling the largest USB flash drive in the United States, the 256GB DataTraveler 310. Kingston previously offered the now discontinued DataTraveler 300, which is a 256GB flash drive available outside the US.

[DougLee]

Should just buy your sim card at SuperCheap, with all your electronics and whatever..

Always 100% the cheapest price in thailand, for anything.

[LivinLOS]

A drive isn't the same as a stick

So what do you call this ??

I call it a 256 GB Kingston thumbstick or thumbdrive

[katabeachbum]

Should just buy your sim card at SuperCheap, with all your electronics and whatever..

Always 100% the cheapest price in thailand, for anything.

hehehehe, guess you havent been off Phuket much :lol:

[DougLee]

Should just buy your sim card at SuperCheap, with all your electronics and whatever..

Always 100% the cheapest price in thailand, for anything.

hehehehe, guess you havent been off Phuket much :lol:

Nah i just try to avoid smelly places.. I go to supercheap to make the woman happy or when i need fireworks

[polecleaner]

I can even get a True sim free, yes free, when you arrive at Bangkok and Phuket airport they are free from small self service information racks and you get 5 minutes free to a land line back to Europe or about a minute to a mobile.

I agree why buy at over 250B when the OP knew they were 49B from 7/11,"i know why", 7/11's are so hard to find, A great find is "super cheap" have started opening convenience stores, they truly are super and cheap

Am I missing something here on this post ? Why would the OP go to the 3rd floor shop when he alrady knows they are readily available for 49 baht from the nearest 7/11 ? To then waste time and effort to tell us this only adds to the confusion ?

[DougLee]

Haven'ttrue sim cards been free for the last 3 years at 7/11?

[KhunChalong]

Firstly. I strongly object to the slander of the original name of Phuket. Jungceylon should not be bantered about as Junk anything! Mods ring in...

the word in the world is Buyer Beware... I see tghe Mobile Madness section of Jungceylon as near to the level of MBK. I find that the well established section in the basement of Big C has more crediability. BTW, Big C does have power over the vendors as to honestyl... Nto so at MBK or if the reports are true Jungceylon shopping area. thbe guy who sells the paintings is a crook also! Go to any of the shops where the "artists" work in Rawai or Nai Harn and you get the same far cheaper.

[polecleaner]

If they have been free at 7/11, i've missed that one, anything else free there, i love a bargain!!!

Haven'ttrue sim cards been free for the last 3 years at 7/11?