mbk prices, reliability etc

[triffid]

Hi

I am in the course of travelling in Thailand and will be in Khonkein, Udon, Changmai & Bangkok in the coming days. I want to buy a second-hand iPhone 5. Can I take it as a given that MBK, Bangkok - rather than any provincial shopping centre - would be the best place to buy it on all relevant criteria, namely reliability, price and available range?

[prospero]

AYOR

[chiang mai]

Risky and not advisable, regardless of whether Bangkok, Chiang Mai or elsewhere.

[triffid]

To be clear, I have in mind the 5, not the 5s or 5c.

[chiang mai]

Second hand electronic anything in Thailand is high risk, it's likely that the product you think is second hand is actually a Chinese knock off anyway - all sales are final, there is no comeback, buyer beware.

[metisdead]

Please do not crosspost the same topic across multiple forums, as you have posted in the Apple forum:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/705540-iphone-5-second-hand-prices-around-thailand/#entry7459713

This one is now closed.

[FalangBaa]

Why on earth would you want to buy a SECOND-HAND iPhone? Just buy a NEW Samsung, it's miles better than the iPhone anyway. Thais wouldn't be seen dead buying anything second-hand, and that even applies to cars. They would rather walk if they can't afford to buy a brand-new car.

[impulse]

Why on earth would you want to buy a SECOND-HAND iPhone? Just buy a NEW Samsung, it's miles better than the iPhone anyway. Thais wouldn't be seen dead buying anything second-hand, and that even applies to cars. They would rather walk if they can't afford to buy a brand-new car.

5 minutes after you walk out of the store or the dealership, you have a second hand item. It passed from the dealer's hand to yours, and is now a used, depreciated item- worth 20-50% less than you paid for it.

You can take that depreciation hit of 20-50% of the initial cost for the pleasure of buying something brandy new and busting open that package, or let someone else take the hit. Walk through Chinatown on any weekend and you'll see thousands of Thais rummaging through piles and piles of second hand stuff, looking for a bargain.

And I'll be right there with them, even though I'm nicely employed on an expat salary.

Edited February 20, 2014 by impulse

[FalangBaa]

Why on earth would you want to buy a SECOND-HAND iPhone? Just buy a NEW Samsung, it's miles better than the iPhone anyway. Thais wouldn't be seen dead buying anything second-hand, and that even applies to cars. They would rather walk if they can't afford to buy a brand-new car.

5 minutes after you walk out of the store or the dealership, you have a second hand item. It passed from the dealer's hand to yours, and is now a used, depreciated item- worth 20-50% less than you paid for it.

You can take that depreciation hit of 20-50% of the initial cost for the pleasure of buying something brandy new and busting open that package, or let someone else take the hit. Walk through Chinatown on any weekend and you'll see thousands of Thais rummaging through piles and piles of second hand stuff, looking for a bargain.

And I'll be right there with them, even though I'm nicely employed on an expat salary.

The "5 minutes later" thing isn't the issue. If you knew for certain that the phone had literally been bought 5 minutes earlier, I'm sure you would buy it for, say, only 1,000 baht less than the original price. But who would sell it 5 minutes later? Nobody, so you can expect it has been used for at least 5 months, if not a year or two? You have no idea who has used that phone, or how it has been used (or abused). You have no idea if the person sold the phone because it wasn't working properly. Buy second hand and you'll save a lot of money but you could still be throwing away all of that money. Buy new and then at least you have the manufacturer's warranty in case something goes wrong. BTW, those are the Chinese Thais who like to buy second-hand stuff in Chinatown. They are VERY careful with their money. The Thai Thais never buy ANYTHING second hand. That would cause them to lose face to be seen buying second hand, whereas for Chinese Thais they actually GAIN face buying second hand because saving money is a positive value among Chinese Thais, not conspicuous consumption which is the norm among Thai Thais.

[Bpuumike]

More chance of the real thing at Fortune IT Mall.

As posted above, why not go for much cheaper Samsung or other.