Buying Laptop In Thailand Vs Home Country

[lambous]

Hi guys,

In my preperation to moving to Thailand I'm seeking some advice in relation to my plan for buying a new laptop. I am weighing up whether I should purchase one in Australia or should i wait till I arrive in Bangkok. I am aware that Pantip Plaza is the place to buy anything associated with computers.

I am not looking for anything fancy. Just need something suitable for running an E-commerce business. Has to be capable of internet browsing (modem), uploading photos off digital camera etc (USB capability) What price range am I lookng at for purchasing a laptop with the basics possibly with a CD burner and printer in addition.

Would I be better off purchasing one in singapore during a stopover or perhaps duty free. Also is there a market for secondhand computers in Bangkok?

As always guys any feedback is very much appreciated.

Lambous

[astral]

With laptops you may find better deals in Australia, but they will be for

"no name" brands.

Checkout the web sites for the major vendors in Thailand, like HP, Compaq, Acer etc and I think you will be pleasanty surprised by the prices.

By buying here you are assured of service!!

Pantip Plaza and the like are great for building your own desk top with all the bells and whistles.

Do you really need a laptop?

Comparatively they are under configured and expensive

[lambous]

Thanks heaps for the advice mate,

I am really keen to purchase a laptop as I am needing something mobile. Would the same deal you suggested go for Digital Cameras in relation to buying one in australia vs dutyfree/pantip?

Cheers Again

Lambous

[Firefoxx]

Digicams are outrageously expensive here when bought from retail stores. Gray market import stores are cheaper, but are still relatively expensive and no different warranty-wise from you bringing it in from Japan, where they get the cameras. So are printers. Many times they're more expensive than the MSRP. I recall getting my aunt a 5MP canon digicam from the US (asked a friend to bring it) for $400. The retail price here (at any retail store) was $650. The price difference between Oz and Thailand might be less, but Thailand is still very expensive. The cheapest places to get these things would be the US or Japan.

Other than printers and digicams, anything that's not brought here in huge quantitites is usually very expensive. Hence, although CDRW drives may be cheap here, DVDRW drives are typically 2x the price in the US. Same goes for DVDR media.

I recall that an Acer Centrino laptop with all the bells and whistles is about 45,000 baht here. Increase the ram to 512mb and you have a decent system.

Yes, there is a big secondhand market here (a lot of stuff comes from Japan), but secondhand stuff tends to be quite old.

BTW, you don't HAVE to go to Pantip to get computer stuff. You might get slightly cheaper stuff and more variety at Pantip, but it's crowded and right in the middle of Bangkok. There are lots of computer places now, such as IT Mall (has subway station right in front) and Seri Center.

Singapore has lower prices than Thailand, but is not as cheap as the US or Japan.

[stu_$]

dude,

i bought a laptop last week at pantip, and happen to live across the road

i paid 53,000 bht for a sony PCG-K64S,2.8 G 40gb hard drve, memory stick slot

with an extra slice of ram to get it up to 512...,its got dvd,cd burner,10 base network connector,usb 2.0,ati igp 345m card and sony software for digital photos and videos,

nice middle of the road machine

i plan to use for a business machine after i finished playing with it (ha hah)

anyhoo...

i figure its about $100 cheaper than aust, check sony site for yourself,

if u would like i could have a look for a specific machine ,pantip has all brands

its no sweat as im usually there everyday anyway

up 2 you !

chock dee

stu_$

[lambous]

Thanks heaps for all your help guys, very much appreciated. Stu when i figure out which system I want in particular I'll send you an email. Cheers mate

Lambous

[BlissfullyIgnorant]

Lambous,

If you're stopping by in Singapore go to Sim Lim Square - it's pretty much the cheapest Electronics & Computers around. Outshines Pantip in every way possible, and everything's legit.

In my experience consumer electronics and computers are around 20%-30% more expensive here than they are back in Oz. That said, there are some isolated examples of regional pricing here - the Toshiba range of notebooks seem to be a lot more affordable here than in Australia, but they are also in the top-of-the range bracket too (100,000 to 200,000 baht).

My Advice:

Shop around in Oz to get an idea of what you need and want from a salesman that knows what they're talking about and can give you a good recommendation - you won't be able to do that in Singapore or Thailand.

Note down the model numbers and prices. Do some comparison pricing over the phone in Australia to find the best deal (once again, can't do that here) - usually I'll ring a couple of bigger chains and 3-4 smaller shops to get a feel for the market. Never accept a price off a shop that doesn't have the model you're after in stock.

Go to Sim Lim Square in Singapore with your list in hand. If they can offer you anything better than 10% less than your Oz price, take it and be happy - it's a good deal. If not, take your list to Pantip or MBK and see what they can do.

I would be surpised if Singapore wasn't the best deal.

[lambous]

Thanks mate,

I'll be sure to take a look around si lim square

[Goat Roper]

dude,

i bought a laptop last week at pantip, and happen to live across the road

i paid 53,000 bht for a sony PCG-K64S,2.8 G 40gb hard drve, memory stick slot

with an extra slice of ram to get it up to 512...,its got dvd,cd burner,10 base network connector,usb 2.0,ati igp 345m card and sony software for digital photos and videos,

nice middle of the road machine

i plan to use for a business machine after i finished playing with it (ha hah)

anyhoo...

i figure its about $100 cheaper than aust, check sony site for yourself,

if u would like i could have a look for a specific machine ,pantip has all brands

its no sweat as im usually there everyday anyway

up 2 you !

chock dee

stu_$

Hey Stu, this Sony model you bought is normally 256 Ram, did they uprade to 512 free of charge for you or is there another series of this model that comes with 512 Ram? I see the 256 at IT City for the same price you quoted.

Still like it? I'm in the market.

Thanks

[Rangsit]

I'd be doing some more research on camera prices Australia versus Thailand if l was you. I keep hearing people say Thailand is very expensive but when l compared prices for well known cameras makes like Canon and Nikon l found Thai prices to be at least 20% cheaper.