Buying Apple Mac

[spot]

Where can I buy an Apple mac in Bangkok?

I'm after a new and latest core 2 macbook pro...

Thanks

[copywriter]

Where can I buy an Apple mac in Bangkok?

I'm after a new and latest core 2 macbook pro...

Thanks

www.thailandapple.com

[spot]

Thanks for the link.

Unfortunately (and as usual) some of the links to the stores don't work -and the ones that do are only advertising out of date (not the newest) macbook pro models.

I just wish some of the IT depts connected to these stores would get their acts together...

[sleepyjohn]

Consider the white Macbook it's just gone on sale up here in CM for 39,900 a steal in my book and barely more than the iBook was reduced to as it was phasing out. Upgrade the RAM with generic it's much cheaper and the same.

That's great value I paid 71,000 for a Blackbook recently and it not that much different except I like black.

The Pros simply don't look as good...more like a big old powerbook......and looks are everything.

Edited November 8, 2006 by sleepyjohn

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

Consider the white Macbook it's just gone on sale up here in CM for 39,900 a steal in my book and barely more than the iBook was reduced to as it was phasing out. Upgrade the RAM with generic it's much cheaper and the same.

That's great value I paid 71,000 for a Blackbook recently and it not that much different except I like black.

The Pros simply don't look as good...more like a big old powerbook......and looks are everything.

You know about the Apple reseller store in Siam Square on the 4 th floor?

I went with the MBP. Lots of advantages over the MB such as dedicated video ram and larger screens and quite a few other features. I love mine.

I got mine at www.applechiangmai.com

[dog412]

you might want to check out the "authorized" on-line apple store in singapore for a good idea of prices and custom ordering.

[ourmanflint]

Pantip Plaza has thre apple resellers, two on the 3rd floor, and one on ground right at the very back...

I think black macbooks were a shade under 70,000, but if you take my advice buy yourself a return to Penang on air asia, and they are just over 700 quid... bloo_dy bargain!

Edited November 9, 2006 by ourmanflint

[Meerkat]

Bear in mind that Apple have recently updated their range to Dual 2 Core procs, so make sure you're not going to get sold an earlier model.

[bubba]

I was sort of surprised to see that Big C (Phaholyothin) were selling Apple iMacs and MacBooks. Prices looked ok as well. I have a dual core Intel iMac and it's a very nice machine indeed. Be sure to check out Parallels so that when it is necessary, you can regress and run Windows XP simultaneously with OSX.

And on another note: SleepyJohn - nice avatar there. Sort of "fast and bulbous" I'd say.

[spot]

The prices for Apple in Thailand tend to be on the high side- they also don't seem to stock the new core 2 units.

I've worked out that a trip to Hong Kong - flights and 1 nights stay would still work out alot cheaper than buying in Thailand, plus they have the latest models in stock.

[Meerkat]

The prices for Apple in Thailand tend to be on the high side- they also don't seem to stock the new core 2 units.

I've worked out that a trip to Hong Kong - flights and 1 nights stay would still work out alot cheaper than buying in Thailand, plus they have the latest models in stock.

Odd. I bought two identical 20" iMacs about a month apart for my Thai and HK homes earlier on this year. Both loaded up with the larger HD and extra RAM (I should have bought the RAM from somewhere other than Apple, but never mind). The one I bought in Thailand was about THB 10k cheaper! I bought the one here from the Apple reseller in Panthip (3rd floor), and the one in HK direct from Apple HK.

Can't comment on the stocking of the new Dual 2 Cores though; I got mine before the new chips were released.

[spot]

I just got a price list from 'copperwired' mac dealers in Bangkok. They do stock the new Macbook pro (which are still not available in the UK yet) and the prices seem close to prices here in the UK, but still quite a few thousand Baht higher than HK.

Obviously the prices will vary on current exchange.

I'm bringing some Sterling travellers cheques over, so can anybody tell me the current exchange rate in Thailand?

I'm back on Tuesday...

Cheers

Spot

[sleepyjohn]

And on another note: SleepyJohn - nice avatar there. Sort of "fast and bulbous" I'd say.

Dancin' t' the fiddle 'n saw

He ran down behind the knoll

'n slipped on his wooden fishhead

The mouth worked 'n snapped all the bees

[dodgy]

I’m a hugh mac fan/ lover. I own several apple laptops, G5’s, G4, ipods and stock. Made a ton of money off Apple stock!

I have to say the Apple dealer in the Paragon and the one in Siam Square (they are the same people)… is so disappointing! They over charge on accessories by double the US and Singapore prices. I understand they may need to charge a little more but double! What a rip off. They misrepresent Apple warranties and service. They provide poor or untruthful information on the product. They sell you product with the wrong plug...claiming... it comes from Singapore its not our fault.

I have never been so disappointed in an apple reseller ever!

Funny thing I have purchased 4 Macs since I moved to Thailand.... everyone I purchased in Singapore.... at least the prices are fair and the staff is educated.

Well Im a lover of Apple … but honestly if they don’t get control of horrible distributors like the one in Paragon and Siam Square ….. Apple will lose its best of industry title.

So I strongly do not recommend the Apple reseller in the Paragon and Siam Square.

Edited November 14, 2006 by stevehaas

[spot]

I got my new macbook pro from Apple shop at Siam- Price was reasonable.

One annoying thing is that they couldn't supply me with the crossgrade software for Logic 7 pro - which is needed for Logic pro to work on the core 2 duo mac.

They actually told me to buy it from the Apple website??

Thailand does not have an apple website, and the nearest sites (Singapore, Hong Kong) will not ship outside of the area. They are simply not interested in getting me the software.

So I can spend 85,000 Baht on a new machine, but can't buy a low priced bit of software to make the high priced software work on the new machine.

Not happy.

[siamaloha]

A former Dell/Windows XP user, I bought my first Apple - a PowerBook G4 - in Singapore just after I moved here. Saved on the price (lower than copperwired and Pantip,) and the 5% tax refund at Changi helped too. As I remember the savings nearly covered the return ticket BKK-SIN. The staff at the Apple Store in Wheelock Place was very knowledgable and eager to help; they were excellent sales professionals and communicators, and there were plenty of them.

[sylvafern]

The apple shop on the ground floor at the back of Pantip had the best prices when I bought my i-book just over a year ago. They also had the new model out when all the other shops said they wouldn't get it for 1-2 more weeks.

Apparently there is a good apple shop in the basement of Central Latprao. Haven't been there but was told about it by a mac enthusiast advising me where to go. Apparently the owner speaks english and can help with anything mac related.

Also, a there's an apple shop in IT Square (also known as Laksi Plaza near the old airport) that might be ok.

[spot]

While I'm at it - can anyone sugest a good pro music shop in BKK?

Thanks

[nikster]

I was sort of surprised to see that Big C (Phaholyothin) were selling Apple iMacs and MacBooks.

....

Big C selling Macs?? Wow... that's... Big News!

I should up my shares of AAPL right away.

Could you post the exact prices? Macs generally tend to be pretty overpriced in LOS except the 39k entry offer...

[nikster]

A former Dell/Windows XP user, I bought my first Apple - a PowerBook G4 - in Singapore just after I moved here. Saved on the price (lower than copperwired and Pantip,) and the 5% tax refund at Changi helped too. As I remember the savings nearly covered the return ticket BKK-SIN. The staff at the Apple Store in Wheelock Place was very knowledgable and eager to help; they were excellent sales professionals and communicators, and there were plenty of them.

I bought my Powerbook at a store in Singapore as well - excellent service there.

I had purchased 1G of RAM from them as well, and it turned out that this RAM made the PB crash - at the time there was a weird error whereby the PB would simply freeze out every once in the blue moon if the RAM didn't fulfill some very narrow tech specs. Once per day, basically. Lots of RAM at the time had to be replaced, but this wasn't a very clear-cut error at all. Random crashes.

Long story short, I mailed the faulty RAM back to the store with letter and the receipt. Two weeks later I got a very nice return letter with apologies and a brand new RAM stick.

I was _very_ impressed. This was at a shop called X'it on the 5th floor of Sim Lim Square. X'it guys, you rock!

I also had several run-ins with the only authorized Apple dealer in Chiang Mai. I spent a lot of time there so I can say that the service is consistently unfriendly. Have seen nothing like this in Thailand before. The technicians are all right, they know what they are doing. But the staff is completely clueless and unfriendly (what a combination!) and the owners are both very unfriendly as well. It's unbelievable. Avoid if at all possible.

[cdnvic]

If you feel adventureous you can probably find a AirAisa or Tiger flight to Singapore for 3,000 roundtrip and get it there.

When getting a Macbook avoid the white ones as they've had alot of problems with discolouration. They exchange them in North America just fine but finding a place to get warrantee exchanges in Thailand could be a real chore.

http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2006/7/3/4508

[spot]

I could fly to Singapore or Hong Kong to buy the software, but why should I have to?

I emailed Apple in the US and Hong Kong and they both said that I can only buy the crossgrade at resellers in Thailand, or travel - they also suggested that I could get a friend to buy and send to me. OK, I suppose I could....but...Why should I have to go to the trouble and expense?

Why are none of the Apple dealers in Thailand that I contacted interested in ordering a simple CD. After spending so much on the macbook, you would think they would try to help out - especially the Apple dealer at Siam discovery.

Some of them didn't even know what the crossgrade was.

Bad bad service!!

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

A former Dell/Windows XP user, I bought my first Apple - a PowerBook G4 - in Singapore just after I moved here. Saved on the price (lower than copperwired and Pantip,) and the 5% tax refund at Changi helped too. As I remember the savings nearly covered the return ticket BKK-SIN. The staff at the Apple Store in Wheelock Place was very knowledgable and eager to help; they were excellent sales professionals and communicators, and there were plenty of them.

I bought my Powerbook at a store in Singapore as well - excellent service there.

I had purchased 1G of RAM from them as well, and it turned out that this RAM made the PB crash - at the time there was a weird error whereby the PB would simply freeze out every once in the blue moon if the RAM didn't fulfill some very narrow tech specs. Once per day, basically. Lots of RAM at the time had to be replaced, but this wasn't a very clear-cut error at all. Random crashes.

Long story short, I mailed the faulty RAM back to the store with letter and the receipt. Two weeks later I got a very nice return letter with apologies and a brand new RAM stick.

I was _very_ impressed. This was at a shop called X'it on the 5th floor of Sim Lim Square. X'it guys, you rock!

I also had several run-ins with the only authorized Apple dealer in Chiang Mai. I spent a lot of time there so I can say that the service is consistently unfriendly. Have seen nothing like this in Thailand before. The technicians are all right, they know what they are doing. But the staff is completely clueless and unfriendly (what a combination!) and the owners are both very unfriendly as well. It's unbelievable. Avoid if at all possible.

Its true about The Chiang Mai reseller. The management just has no concept of customer service. Its really sad and makes no sense. If they warranty things thru apple then they get money.

They will rarely even reply to email when they know you. The exception is if your interested in buying a high ticket item then you get the time of day. After that its standard cold shoulder.

I still occasionally buy things from them because I have little choice oh but I wish I did have a choice.