Are all laptops in Thailand overpriced?

[Cheesekraft]

Seems like all laptops I can find here, in their limited availability, are 10%+ more expensive than on Amazon/Newegg, etc. Any manufacturers fairly priced, or any good value brands here? Thanks!

[samsensam]

in my experience compared to the uk, absolutely. it's the same for photographic equipment. there is just not the high street store/internet competition here and i believe high import duty.

on the other hand mobile phones and tvs seem a little cheaper so... what do i know?!

[NeverSure]

The problem I found in Thailand was that many laptops didn't have a genuine, validated, unmolested copy of Windows on them. The ones you are mentioning in the US would have.

The place to buy laptops in the US IMHO is Walmart. I have a friend who lives in Isaan who was visiting the states about the same time I bought my new laptop. He's a member here. We both bought from Walmart. I don't recall exactly what he bought but we both got similar deals. I got a Toshiba Satellite with 6 gig ram and a 1T HDD, can't remember the processor but it's fast enough and it was current. It had Win 8 installed and validated by Toshiba and Windows Update updated it to 8.1 for free. Being factory it has the recovery image partition. I paid $39x.00 out the door.

Walmart sells heavily online but I don't know if they'd ship to Thailand. I try to sneak and buy from a store in a state with no sales tax. Oregon and S. Dakota come to mind but google would know more. If you get the zip code for a store and log into it you could buy from it and see if you lucked out on the sales tax. Newegg is in California and I think Amazon is too?

Good luck with whatever you do.

[guzzi850m2]

If it is only 10-20% more here not too bad actually and most of us can live with it, you don't buy lap tops and cameras every day.

[KittenKong]

I find that just about everything in shops here costs more than it would in the UK, with the exception of some local produce.

[sgtsabai]

Computer etc. are more than in the states, and except for perhaps HP bought from a HP dealer most do not have genuine Windows, plus they come filled with a bunch of Thai junk. Even the same model routers etc. as what is in the states are not the same. Mostly cheap copies inside. A couple of years back I researched routers and found that I could have a router from the states mailed here cheaper than I could buy the same model here. Nearly all the computers etc. sold here have different components than those in the states although most are made in China and Malaysia regardless of where you buy. Buyer beware.

[Jeffrey346]

Keep in mind, when you see a price from Walmart, Amazon etc.. That price does not include VAT. All prices here include VAT. As for a genuine product. If you buy Apple Sammy Asus etc you are getting the real thing.. Not a copy.

[TheSiemReaper]

You might want to consider heading to Cambodia - where these things are appreciably cheaper than Thailand. I saved 15% on camera kit buying it in Siem Reap rather than Bangkok and laptops are much cheaper here too.

[AgentSmith]

In Holland there are several online price lists making it very easy to find our which stores (both online and real life) sell a certain product, including price and stock information. Certain websites also couple shop ratings based on customer experience thus making it almost too easy to find cheap devices at reliable businesses.

These price lists have been around for over a decade and of course contribute to low average prices. This concept has yet to emerge in this part of the world. It's even fairly impossible to just shop online in countries such as Thailand let alone find a decent shop, in English, with good prices. Plus I would never buy a laptop here because I really don't like those Thai keyboards but that's only a personal thing.

Yes I agree that prices in Thailand are too high for most IT related products. That and limited or often no availability sometimes makes it hard to buy what I want here. For example, I roamed half the city of Bangkok to find a Samsung Galaxy Pad Pro tablet, but all they have everywhere in the country it seems is the more expensive Note Pro series. And try finding a matching click-on Logitech keyboard for it. Mission impossible. All they have are ipad keyboards, even in the big stores.

My guess it that the market here simply is way less developed than in western countries. Less diversity, and high tech still seems to be part of the social status so it's ok if it's expensive, whereas in the west it's more a utility thing now, for the masses.

[gjoo888]

For the most part I think laptops are generally more expensive here, but not always. I recently bought a well-configured Thinkpad in Thailand and saved hundreds over prices I saw at Newegg, the Lenovo website and a few other sites. I've had friends and family bring laptops over for me before, but the last two laptops I bought (both Thinkpads), were hundreds of dollars cheaper here in Thailand the way they were configured.

I think it depends on the brand and model. Most are probably cheaper in the States, especially if they're on sale there, but sometimes they are well priced here as well.

Edited December 27, 2014 by gjoo888

[Zumteufel]

Given that the cost of living is generally lower than in the west, the import tax (and increased costs due to transportation etc)., it's not really one of _my_ biggest concerns, considered that a new computer is a relatively rare expense.

[bangkapi]

On the other hand, cables and wires and mouses and keyboards and other small accessories tend to be much cheaper in Thailand than in many (Western and surrounding) countries..

[AgentSmith]

Yes but cables and mouses also tend to be of considerable lower quality. I threw away several usb extension cords and LAN cables simply because they were broken, some of them even new from the package. I'd rather pay double and never having to replace again to save the time and the trouble. Plus otherwise it's just a waste of resources. But again, cheap stuff that breaks easily and is replaced easily is what the Thai wants.

Edited December 27, 2014 by AgentSmith

[balo]

No need to shop in the US, in Phnom Penh you can buy laptops and pay "normal" prices.

[Johnnie99]

Many of these comments seem very odd.

I buy a lot of tech stuff here and the prices are fair and reasonable.

If you try to buy cheap, then that's what you'll get. Buy a Windows device from a dodgy source, you'll get a dodgy product with dodgy software.

It's not really difficult, my fine fellows.

Is it me, or do I just have a slightly more realistic view than some of you?

[TheSiemReaper]

Many of these comments seem very odd.

I buy a lot of tech stuff here and the prices are fair and reasonable.

If you try to buy cheap, then that's what you'll get. Buy a Windows device from a dodgy source, you'll get a dodgy product with dodgy software.

It's not really difficult, my fine fellows.

Is it me, or do I just have a slightly more realistic view than some of you?

I buy high end equipment with real software licenses - I buy it in Cambodia because it saves me a lot of money. A single lens for a Canon camera is often $2.5K USD - a 15% saving is considerable. I only buy legit kit from authorized dealers with warranties. I don't mind paying for stuff - I mind throwing money away without reason.

[HUAHIN62]

If you buy online and dont pay import tax and vat on it, it will be cheaper. If you however have to pay both online shopping may not be that cheap. If you want to buy items on line that dont ship here get Shipito which will solve your problem. As to everything is cheaper in the UK than here is well lets put it mildly a stretch. All UK products thats imported will be more expensive, but can you live on £ 1000 in the UK but here you can if you want to.

[RigPig]

Importing computers to here (from the States) is not always that easy because of the U.S. govt's rules on technology.....

[ThaiSanookGuy]

Quite similar, and anyway what is a 10% difference ?

The big thing now is that outside Mac it is impossible to find a good small lighweither powerful ultrabook.

All manbufacturers focus on shiite touchscren laptops or tablet laptops and it's impossible to find a very good one WITH A SMALL SCREEN even for 50000+

[recycler]

No, not just laptops, about everything in Thailand is overpriced by now!

[2fishin2]

Importing computers to here (from the States) is not always that easy because of the U.S. govt's rules on technology.....

Has nothing to do with buying computers....any computer equipment you purchase feom the US came from Asia anyways

[ThaiSanookGuy]

Many of these comments seem very odd.

I buy a lot of tech stuff here and the prices are fair and reasonable.

If you try to buy cheap, then that's what you'll get. Buy a Windows device from a dodgy source, you'll get a dodgy product with dodgy software.

It's not really difficult, my fine fellows.

Is it me, or do I just have a slightly more realistic view than some of you?

You are right, we also buy at least 10 computers a year for office and it is of course not worth buying abroad (even if we could because we often have staff going to US or EU).

[RigPig]

Importing computers to here (from the States) is not always that easy because of the U.S. govt's rules on technology.....

Has nothing to do with buying computers....any computer equipment you purchase feom the US came from Asia anyways

I think it was more to with what was (might be) installed on it.

[manarak]

All branded consumer electronics are more expensive in Thailand by about 10 to 25% except for brand new products that were just launched.

That's just the way it is.

I usually shop abroad.

P.S.

never had a problem with software sold in Thailand by a proper shop (JIB, InvadeIT, ...)

Edited December 27, 2014 by manarak

[Emster23]

Yes laptops cost lots more than in USA. But you should look at guitar prices: about 50% more. Let's not even mention autos..... On the other hand, toothpaste is far far cheaper here, for same brand and flavor. Got to take good with the not so good.

[gandalf12]

Go to the manufacturers outlet you will get genuine software installed on your computer there.

[AgentSmith]

Many of these comments seem very odd.

I buy a lot of tech stuff here and the prices are fair and reasonable.

If you try to buy cheap, then that's what you'll get. Buy a Windows device from a dodgy source, you'll get a dodgy product with dodgy software.

It's not really difficult, my fine fellows.

Is it me, or do I just have a slightly more realistic view than some of you?

I guess it all depends on what you have as a reference. Identical products are often quite a bit more expensive here than in Europe. And warranty is usually of way less quality, with often only 1 year limited manufacturer's warranty. This is not a complaint really. It is what it is.

[Skeptic7]

Everything is overpriced in Thailand now. I used to buy nearly everything there and bring the stuff back to the States. Now I buy everything in the States and carry it to The Land of Snarls. For the past 5+ years we've had a saying...if you want to pay double, come to Thailand.

[Pinot]

I find prices to be about the same. I buy things on sale at PowerBuy usually. Sometimes they have computers on sale but not advertised there as well. You have to ask.

I was in America in September when the laptop I had with me stopped working (it was the HD). I stopped at Frys in California and bought a 4Gb ram 500 Gb HD, 15 inch Toshiba for about $250. No CD player and you couldn't upgrade the RAM. It's a cheap laptop. The only thing bad about the computer was the evil Windows 8.1 OS. 20 years of computer experience and I just gave up on trying to figure it out. It works fine as a media center with Classic Shell. A little add-on that makes it work like Windows 7. I don't understand what Microsoft was thinking. Hopefully Windows 10 will be better.

[Bardeh]

In general I find they're a little more expensive. I recently built my own desktop computer, and the individual parts were probably 10-20% more expensive than if I'd bought them in the US or the UK. As many have said, the major difference between buying a laptop at, say, Tesco or JIB or whatever compared to back home is that you'll very rarely get an OS included in the price. If you're not willing or able to install a bootleg copy of windows, that can really jack up the price.