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withaciderinsideyer · Joined: 22 Aug 2009 Posts: 33

just arrived in saigon

i wanna find a mall where i can buy a brand new phone

just some cheapo nokia

where's good?

withaciderinsideyer · Joined: 22 Aug 2009 Posts: 33

sorry that is quite lame of me asking you where to buy a phone

i survived 4 years in thailand, i should be able to follow my nose

anyway, it seems i got ripped off

i bought a 500,000 vd nokia phone from nuguyenkim and although the first shop assistant said it came with a sim, the second said it did not (after i'd paid for it). i went to another shop as indicated and seemingly got skanked on the sim (100,000 not 50,000).

i got a receipt and am thinking of going back and demanding the difference but the sales assistant was quite a cute young girl and they all taught me how to say thank you in their language - i thanked them for ripping me off.

inky · Joined: 05 Jan 2009 Posts: 283 Location: Hanoi

As I noted in response to your other post complaining about this phone purchase, just so other new arrivals aren't confused, I don't think you were ripped off. 50,000 for a sim card is quite cheap, and no new phones come with sim cards. The clerk must have thought you realized this, and he was probably agreeing that you could buy one there, or maybe he thought you were asking to put your old card in the new phone. Who knows? Store clerks have no obligation to be fluent in English.

withaciderinsideyer · Joined: 22 Aug 2009 Posts: 33

no, the sales clerk explained that the 600,000 nokia comes with a sim, whereas the 500,000 i bought does not. he offered to change it but i liked the first model and colour. so he pointed me over the road to a small specialist phone store and said i could get a sim for 50,000. they told me 100,000. i paid, got a receipt just in case, and then later saw mobi sims for 60,000. the same or different? anywayz, they were cute and poilte. i guess that's all that matters in this crazy world.

withaciderinsideyer · Joined: 22 Aug 2009 Posts: 33

i don't know what poilte means.

BootOfTheBeast · Joined: 13 May 2009 Posts: 45 Location: SE Asia

SIMs are sold with lots of different amounts of credit pre-paid on them. If you got a Mobifone, dial *101#, and you will get an on-screen message telling you how much credit is left. I'd be surprised if you didn't get what you paid for, especially from the shops surrounding Nguyen Kim.

Boot

withaciderinsideyer · Joined: 22 Aug 2009 Posts: 33

you're right, i am wrong

it's got 50,000 dong on it

silly me

sg9015 · Joined: 03 Sep 2009 Posts: 69 Location: Saigon

I paid 120,000 for my mobifone Sim and it had 120,000 credit on it. I just checked how much credit I have and after 6 weeks of texting and a few calls I've only used 50,000 dong! Amazing really.

Win Kims is very expensive but I suppose you realise that now and have probably spotted the numerous smaller phone shops around.

On the subject of ripping people off, the only bad experience for me has been with some taxis whose metres are rigged. I now have my own motorbike to get about on but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone that doesn't have a proper bike licence in their own country. I already know one person who has died on a bike out here and that was a real tragedy.

Magic8ball · Joined: 08 May 2009 Posts: 27 Location: HCMC

sg9015 · Joined: 03 Sep 2009 Posts: 69 Location: Saigon

Yes, sadly. A teacher at an International School.