Online Shopping in Thailand - Buying Laptop

[Optimodo]

Hey I am looking to treat myself to a new laptop for Christmas and having not bought a laptop for over 5 years decided to brush up on things. I had a good scout around IT City / Fortune at Rama 9 in Bangkok and picked up all the catalogs. I have seen a couple that seem to be of the spec I want. I was planning on going to Pantip in the next few days to do similar.

However after doing some searching online I have found the same exact model laptops for sale for significantly less from Thailand based companies (15,000 cheaper in one case). Now my question is are these online retailers legitimate and to be trusted?

http://www.pantiphotsale.com

Is one such retailer can anyone speak to any experience with them or recommend/discredit any others?

If a Laptop that is 60,000 in a normal store like Banana IT gets discounted to 45,000 as in this case in an online store what could I get if i was looking to spend 60,000 online... A laptop priced at 80,000+ in Banana IT (not that they have many that price but you get my point).

Anyway any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Mike

Edited December 11, 2013 by mikemcleanuk

[CaptHaddock]

It wouldn't matter to me if such an online retailer had a good track record with other users or not. In order to make a purchase you would have to wire the entire amount to the dealer in advance. If the product you receive subsequently is not as specified or not in new condition or not delivered at all, you do not have any recourse, unlike an online purchase in the US, for instance, where you could dispute the transaction with your credit card company. Under those conditions I would never be willing to buy from an online dealer.

[kkerry]

It would be very unusual to find such a large price difference in Thailand unless an older model was on clearance.

Are you absolutely sure you are comparing the same model because a quick search shows an MSI GT70 0ND-819TH for about 45K and an MSI GT70 2OC-688TH for just under 60k... the more expensive one has a better processor and graphics plus a blue ray drive. On Amazon UK there are numerous MSI GT70 variants.

[Cloggie]

Have a look at http://www.invadeit.co.th if you look for a reliable online purchase.

[worgeordie]

Have a look at http://www.invadeit.co.th if you look for a reliable online purchase.

+1

[pault17]

Have a look at http://www.invadeit.co.th if you look for a reliable online purchase.

+1

+1

[pault17]

Have a look at http://www.invadeit.co.th if you look for a reliable online purchase.

+1

+1

[tropo]

Any recent reports of invadeit.co.th. I was thinking about buying a tablet from them. They can do 10% better than anywhere else in Thailand on the item I want.

Transferring money straight to their bank account is not a comfortable way to pay and I wonder if the risk is worth the savings, which in this case amount to only 500 baht after paying 95 baht for EMS... compared to buying it at the store.

They do have the Paypal option, which is safer, but they charge a 218 baht premium to use that, along with the loss I get for currency exchange (using Paypal), so it negates the savings.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Crossy
domin corrected after discussion with poster

[Crossy]

Regarding InvadeIT, you can be 100% confident in their service and product. I have spent many 000s of Baht over the years with absolutely zero issues. A very professional operation.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Crossy
Modified after discussion with Tropo

[chris2004]

I always use Lazada with their pay on delivery option. You can check the product before you hand over your cash. No potential problems with credit cards and their prices are very good.

[casualbiker]

+1 for Lazada. I just got a cheap small Asus laptop for the wife. With discount voucher it ended up at 8,100b. 900b cheaper than IT Mall and it was delivered within 3 days. They have PayPal and Pay on delivery options.

[tropo]

Any recent reports of invadIT.com. I was thinking about buying a tablet from them. They can do 10% better than anywhere else in Thailand on the item I want.

Transferring money straight to their bank account is not a comfortable way to pay and I wonder if the risk is worth the savings, which in this case amount to only 500 baht after paying 95 baht for EMS... compared to buying it at the store.

They do have the Paypal option, which is safer, but they charge a 218 baht premium to use that, along with the loss I get for currency exchange (using Paypal), so it negates the savings.

If you are talking about invadeit.co.th (invadit.com does not seem to exist) then you can be 100% confident in their service and product. I have spent many 000s of Baht over the years with absolutely zero issues. A very professional operation.

Yes, I left out the 'e'. Thanks for the recommendation.

[IMHO]

I'll also vouch for Lazada and InvadeIT, but I can't help also recommending http://store.apple.com/th when it comes to buying a quality computer online

[tropo]

I ended up ordering on Lazada today. The tablet I was after just happened to have a further 10% discount available today, so I got it for 20% under the Powerbuy and IT City price.

I like the pay on delivery option. It's a bit slow though, at 5 - 7 business days.

[casualbiker]

I ended up ordering on Lazada today. The tablet I was after just happened to have a further 10% discount available today, so I got it for 20% under the Powerbuy and IT City price.

I like the pay on delivery option. It's a bit slow though, at 5 - 7 business days.

That's because it's free delivery. It mostly arrives early. My order took 3 business days!

[chris2004]

I ended up ordering on Lazada today. The tablet I was after just happened to have a further 10% discount available today, so I got it for 20% under the Powerbuy and IT City price.

I like the pay on delivery option. It's a bit slow though, at 5 - 7 business days.

The only problem with Lazada is you never know when they are going to turn up. Could be any time any day. Sods Law is that you have just gone out and ordered your Sunday lunch when they ring and say delivery here now.

[Digitalbanana]

....reports of invadeit.co.th.

They do have the Paypal option, which is safer, but they charge a 218 baht premium to use that, along with the loss I get for currency exchange (using Paypal), so it negates the savings.

You could always open a Paypal account for 1USD fee tied to a Thai bank account or card to save on forex but agree the Invade surcharge on top of that sucks so I usually go to an ATM to pay or use online bank transfer.

[tropo]

....reports of invadeit.co.th.

They do have the Paypal option, which is safer, but they charge a 218 baht premium to use that, along with the loss I get for currency exchange (using Paypal), so it negates the savings.

You could always open a Paypal account for 1USD fee tied to a Thai bank account or card to save on forex but agree the Invade surcharge on top of that sucks so I usually go to an ATM to pay or use online bank transfer.

Unfortunately I cannot maintain a Paypal account in 2 countries at once, so I have to stick with my Australian account (been through this with customer service recently)... however, I don't know if I can tie a Thai debit card in with my other cards... will have to look into it.

Edited September 12, 2014 by tropo

[h90]

Have a look at http://www.invadeit.co.th if you look for a reliable online purchase.

+1

+1

+1

[h90]

....reports of invadeit.co.th.

They do have the Paypal option, which is safer, but they charge a 218 baht premium to use that, along with the loss I get for currency exchange (using Paypal), so it negates the savings.

You could always open a Paypal account for 1USD fee tied to a Thai bank account or card to save on forex but agree the Invade surcharge on top of that sucks so I usually go to an ATM to pay or use online bank transfer.

Unfortunately I cannot maintain a Paypal account in 2 countries at once, so I have to stick with my Australian account (been through this with customer service recently)... however, I don't know if I can tie a Thai debit card in with my other cards... will have to look into it.

Well you can.....just it is against their policy......

[tropo]

....reports of invadeit.co.th.

They do have the Paypal option, which is safer, but they charge a 218 baht premium to use that, along with the loss I get for currency exchange (using Paypal), so it negates the savings.

You could always open a Paypal account for 1USD fee tied to a Thai bank account or card to save on forex but agree the Invade surcharge on top of that sucks so I usually go to an ATM to pay or use online bank transfer.

Unfortunately I cannot maintain a Paypal account in 2 countries at once, so I have to stick with my Australian account (been through this with customer service recently)... however, I don't know if I can tie a Thai debit card in with my other cards... will have to look into it.

Well you can.....just it is against their policy......

I use Paypal a lot and rely on it, so I can't take the risk. Do you know if it is possible to add a foreign (Thai in this case) debit card to an account.

Edited September 12, 2014 by tropo

[h90]

You could always open a Paypal account for 1USD fee tied to a Thai bank account or card to save on forex but agree the Invade surcharge on top of that sucks so I usually go to an ATM to pay or use online bank transfer.

Unfortunately I cannot maintain a Paypal account in 2 countries at once, so I have to stick with my Australian account (been through this with customer service recently)... however, I don't know if I can tie a Thai debit card in with my other cards... will have to look into it.

Well you can.....just it is against their policy......

I use Paypal a lot and rely on it, so I can't take the risk. Do you know if it is possible to add a foreign (Thai in this case) debit card to an account.

No but an simple solution would be if your Girlfriend / Boyfriend / Grandmother in law opens a Paypal account that you can use. If you use it only for smaller amounts and not commercially it would provide you with a Thai Paypal without braking their policy. Just make everything correct as Paypal is very sensitive in Thailand and may ask for documents.

[Digitalbanana]

No but an simple solution would be if your Girlfriend / Boyfriend / Grandmother in law opens a Paypal account that you can use. If you use it only for smaller amounts and not commercially it would provide you with a Thai Paypal without braking their policy. Just make everything correct as Paypal is very sensitive in Thailand and may ask for documents.

I just set up a new Paypal account (new email address) linked to my KBank virtual debit card. Took a few seconds to do. Never needed to know about my other Paypal account linked to another USD card/other email address afaik. Keep the GF out of it!

[tropo]

No but an simple solution would be if your Girlfriend / Boyfriend / Grandmother in law opens a Paypal account that you can use. If you use it only for smaller amounts and not commercially it would provide you with a Thai Paypal without braking their policy. Just make everything correct as Paypal is very sensitive in Thailand and may ask for documents.

I just set up a new Paypal account (new email address) linked to my KBank virtual debit card. Took a few seconds to do. Never needed to know about my other Paypal account linked to another USD card/other email address afaik. Keep the GF out of it!

Thanks! I'll give that a go as I also have a KBank virtual debit card.

[innerspace]

I have a uk paypal and a thai one, works fine.

And with invade top service, have had a replacement part sent to me before I sent the faulty one back.

[Pib]

I always use Lazada with their pay on delivery option. You can check the product before you hand over your cash. No potential problems with credit cards and their prices are very good.

At Lazada you can pay cash on delivery, counter service, credit card, PayPal, etc. Go to this Lazada link which give a good run down on the ordering process and on screen #8 you can see most of the payment options.

[tropo]

I always use Lazada with their pay on delivery option. You can check the product before you hand over your cash. No potential problems with credit cards and their prices are very good.

At Lazada you can pay cash on delivery, counter service, credit card, PayPal, etc. Go to this Lazada link which give a good run down on the ordering process and on screen #8 you can see most of the payment options.

I've just put in a couple of orders with Lazada. It was for about 10 items in total. I was disappointed to discover that most of the items will be delivered separately on different days, as they come from different merchants. It will be a very busy week, trying to be available for many deliveries.

I mistakenly believed they would consolidate all my items for one delivery. This is going to be a nightmare....especially trying to explain to non-English speaking couriers where I live when they call, as my place is hard to find.

[kkerry]

I always use Lazada with their pay on delivery option. You can check the product before you hand over your cash. No potential problems with credit cards and their prices are very good.

At Lazada you can pay cash on delivery, counter service, credit card, PayPal, etc. Go to this Lazada link which give a good run down on the ordering process and on screen #8 you can see most of the payment options.

I've just put in a couple of orders with Lazada. It was for about 10 items in total. I was disappointed to discover that most of the items will be delivered separately on different days, as they come from different merchants. It will be a very busy week, trying to be available for many deliveries.

I mistakenly believed they would consolidate all my items for one delivery. This is going to be a nightmare....especially trying to explain to non-English speaking couriers where I live when they call, as my place is hard to find.

Try supplying your GPS location. Now with everyone seemingly having smartphones, a lot of delivery drivers find this helpful. We've also made a PDF doc with a map and directions and e-mail it if they want more information.

[robblok]

Any recent reports of invadeit.co.th. I was thinking about buying a tablet from them. They can do 10% better than anywhere else in Thailand on the item I want.

Transferring money straight to their bank account is not a comfortable way to pay and I wonder if the risk is worth the savings, which in this case amount to only 500 baht after paying 95 baht for EMS... compared to buying it at the store.

They do have the Paypal option, which is safer, but they charge a 218 baht premium to use that, along with the loss I get for currency exchange (using Paypal), so it negates the savings.

i bought countless things with invade it always send money to them and always got the product. I have returned some mice and they were great about it (logitech)