Where to buy a discounted Galaxy S 8.4 tablet?

[davevi]

I'm in the market to purchase a new Samsung Galaxy S 8.4 tablet.

No matter where I look, online vendor or physical store, Samsung branded shop or just a generic electronics shop, this tablet is always exactly the same price 16,900 baht.

There has to be a place to buy this tablet below this suggested retail price of 16,900. I am not open to importing the tablet and opening myself to potential customs duty.

Can anyone suggest a Chiang Mai or Bangkok source that will sell a Galaxy S 8.4 below the MSRP?

[chris2004]

Try Lazada on line. They have good prices, now 13,790 and 10% off deals most weeks.

Edited December 14, 2014 by chris2004

[davevi]

A follow up of findings to my post asking for a source to purchase the Galaxy S 8.4 below the ever-present posted price of 16,900 baht.

Several posts recommended a shop in Bangkok in MBK. I checked the shop out, and several nearby shops. After asking for pricing from the recommended shop via their Line account all seemed good, including a statement that I could get warranty service at any Samsung repair shop.

However, when I arrived at the shop the games began. The prices for the exact same tablet ranged from 11,700 to 13,500 with the price difference correlated to "how long warranty remained" on the product. This made no sense. The cheapest tablet had five month of warranty, while the 13,500 baht tablet had fifteen months warranty -- and Samsung does not offer a fifteen month warranty on this device. It all seemed odd. Also, none of the boxes included warranty cards - but I was told in Thai that "no one at this place (MBK) sell tablet with warranty card". Two of the shops selling this tablet explained that the reason the warranty length varied is that "Thailand warranty starts from import date, not purchase date". I could find nothing to confirm this online with Samsung or any Samsung reseller.

I walked away from MBK, frustrated and reminded that often times dealing with discounted vendors in Thailand requires full-guard, wide-open eyes, and suspicion of every part of a transaction. And when in doubt, walk away.

In the end I'll likely pay a bit more to get one from a Samsung shop. I discovered just this week that if you ask the right way Samsung will discount the product in the Samsung shop, very quietly (by typing the discount into the phone's display -- it's never said out loud). This discount might be enough to make the comfort of having a real product with a real warranty.

I hope this information helps others on the hunt for similar products.