Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cubanlord]

So, I'm looking at HD camcorders. Look at this:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4540543&CatId=4451

It's $300 US.

Now, here is the same thing:

http://gen.gmarket.co.kr/challenge/neo_goods/goods.asp?goodscode=173358137&pos_shop_cd=SH&pos_class_cd=111111111&pos_class_kind=T&keyword_order=hmx%2Dr10&search_keyword=hmx-r10

for about $700 USD.

WTF?!??!?!?!?!?!?!

[sunnata1]

The price difference between Dell Korea and Dell US is amazing. There is about a $500 difference between the XPS Studio 16" with the U.S. being cheaper.

Plus, the Korean laptop has a lesser video card for the money.

[bassexpander]

Cue the apologists quoting dirty spoon food prices on soup that smells like it's been strained through socks.

[skim234]

Is it a Korea issue or is it a world issue? The US is far and away the best place to buy just about any item in the world. Not many countries outside of the US are immune to price gouging. At least Korea isn't a 3rd world country with high inflation.

[Kryten]

Wow.. it's even a local brand, Samsung.


Bass, this may be of interest to you. I have the same laptop you were selling the other day, an HP dv2000. I saw the exact same one at Yongsan going for W800,000!!! This is for a a 2+ year old model and I got it new for a really good deal, maybe $500 CAD. Un-freakin'-believable. At the time I was laptop shopping with a friend and scoffing at prices, but once I saw that it was game over. Pure rip-offs.

Some good deals can be found for some electronics, computer peripherals for example, but when it comes to notebooks I found they were on average 35-40% higher than back home. Apparently this applies to HD camcorders as well.

[oskinny1]

[bassexpander]

[cubanlord]

[darkjedidave]

Its like Samsung and LG cell phones in Korea, theyre almost 3 times more expensive buying here than in the States

[chevro1et]

It seems that any type of high-end electronics are considered to be 'luxury' or 'status' items and are priced as such. Utter crap, I know.

[pkang0202]

Don't put all the blame on Korea.

Do you honestly think product managers at Dell, Apple, Samsung, LG, Sony, or wherever sit there and say, "Hey, lets charge the lowest price possible!"

Get real. These companies hire industry experts in Korea and they say, "Hey Kim, whats the highest I can charge for this Camcorder in the Korean market?"

Companies don't care about sales here. The market is so saturated that they are lucky if they sell 100,000 units of a particular product. So, because they know they aren't going to get large sales volume, it doesn't make sense to lower the price. Instead, it makes better sense to keep a high price to get the maximum return on each item that DOES sell.

The USA is a consumer driven economy. Out of all the countries in the world, the US has the LEAST restrictions when it comes to selling products there. The easiest International Business you could ever setup is a Import Business, selling foreign goods to the US. Why? Low tariffs, low regulation, and low red tape. The US loves to have products sold here.


From a business standpoint, lowering the prices of goods to get more sales will not work here in Korea. For one, Koreans associate quality with price. Secondly, Koreans believe the best products are sold in Department stores. Good luck negotiating with Hyundai, Lotte, and Shinsegae about gettig your product in. Korean companies are notorious for their choke hold on distribution and supply. Thirdly, most koreans are ignorant about consumer goods. There is no "Consumer Reports" or other nationally recognized group that gives Koreans an unbiased view on common goods.


Think long and hard WHY prices are higher. Its not just 1 entity that dictates it. Everyone from the Company execs, to the Korean Government, to the Suppliers, to the Distributors, to the retailers have a hand in marking up those prices.

[Bloopity Bloop]

[pkang0202]

Before I get flamed, I want to be clear that I would like lower prices in Korea. I'm appalled by the prices as much as the next guy. Banana Republic clothes are twice as much here than in the US. CLOTHES. They should be CHEAPER in Korea since the Chinese factories they are made in are just a stones throw away.

Many things got to happen to get the prices lower. Lowering government protections won't do it. On top of reducing tariffs and taxes, you have to education consumers so that they know a 32" LCD TV should NOT be 800,00w. Korea needs a popular blog, magazine, or some sort of media like Consumer Reports. You have to break up the chokehold on distribution. There is a reason you only see Samsung and LG TV's at Emart. You gotta get retailers incentive that selling products cheaper will give them more profit.

[eamo]

I'd agree with Pkang there......the current situation perfectly suits the Korean Chaebol and government, high-volume cheap exports, low-volume expensive imports, so nothing much will change.

I'm told by some Koreans that the car market is showing signs of a big change. We can maybe expect a lot more imported cars soon. Especially European.

As for electronics, regulars here will know it's one of my favorite gripes with living in Korea.......anything even slightly up-market is priced way above what one should expect for a country with the per capita GDP level of Korea.

How can a Samsung laptop exported to the US, where there are supposed to be much higher income levels, end up being 30% cheaper there than the same product when sold in Korea?

Something is fishy in Denmark......

[bassexpander]

My wife works in marketing at an international company. You aren't entirely wrong, but you guys don't know the half of it.

For starters, it is COMMON for everyone along the line with any sort of power or say-so to cheat the system for personal profit.

How?

For example, Korean managers often collude with advertising agencies to create fake billing records to send to the home office of the international company. As a part of this agreement (often made in room salons), the ad agency sets up a secret account which the extra cash over the true cost is sent to so that the manager makes a personal profit. This is often done to guarentee that a manager will choose a certain ad agency over another.

All of the paperwork appears legal -- but it's all fake. Only the manager and the ad agency accountant know the true billing cost. The international company is none-the-wiser and just pays it.

This, among various import taxes, high building costs, etc., adds up to higher prices.

Another example of the Korean system....

You want to sell a cosmetic product in XXXXX Mart street corner chain stores? Your company, by law, must employ a set number of part-time staff (product doumi) to be available at EVERY location to help customers understand the product. "But there are no such people at XXXX Mart" you say.... that's right! What happens is that companies must hire this special agency that provides lists of part-timers (that never actually show up for work) which are considered paid employees hocking these products in XXXXX Mart. Essentially, it turns out to be one big additional tax that somebody (or some family member) gets rich off of for doing absolutely NOTHING!

I could go on... basically, marketing and selling a product in Korea is a scary endeavor.


Further reading: http://www.escapeartist.com/efam19/Investing_in_Korea.html