Korean Job Discussion Forums

[atwood]

Black Friday has come to Korea (with a bit of a vengeance if news reports are accurate) via the Internet.

Koreans bought TVs, washing machines, refrigerators, etc. in the U.S. and even with shipping and customs they were cheaper than the same or similar products in Korea. No wonder so many of the U.S. shopping websites I visit for buying gifts and the like are giving me the prices in won.

Hopefully, more and more Korean consumers will wise up and force local Korean retailers to price their goods competitively. But I'm not holding my breath.

[dairyairy]

There's just no fight in these people when it comes to consumer rights. They seem to care little about getting the ridiculous prices lowered. Instead, they go elsewhere to shop. It may be cheaper for some but it doesn't address the long-term problems.

[Speck7]

Korean consumers here think the vendors are doing THEM a favor by selling them a ridiculously high priced item instead of the other way around (which it should be) -- the vendor being appreciative of the customers. But they (the merchants) just collude, so the consumer doesn't really have a choice in the matter in the long run.

[jvalmer]

I think part the expensive pricing for luxury items here is the extra goodies they constantly throw in. Free delivery and installation, maybe an extra doodad here. And Koreans expect it from every vendor. If prices are reduced, expect vendors to start charging for things like delivery and labor.

[Deja]

Koreans expect discounts... what we most often pay for anything in Korea is at least 10% higher than what Koreans pay.

I have a friend who carries a wallet with 30+ different point cards (from KT, which gives him 10% discount just about anywhere, where no other crap works, to Samsung and Lotte which offer 50% discount for many things).
That's on top of asking for a discount at a store.


I went to buy an anti-allergy blanket. The shown price was 1.000.000. As soon as we looked at the price, they offered it for 800.000. When we said we'll consider it, it was already 700.000. By the time we finished the talks, the total cost was 1.300.000 for 2 blankets and pillow cases (cases were 300.000). That's 50% off... and we got two 50.000 KRW discount coupons in addition, for anything else we might buy.


The prices at e-Mart or such might be ridicolous, but elsewhere haggling is 90% of the price in the East (not just Korea, but anywhere from Turkey, via the Middle East and Singapore, Hong Kong, to Japan/Korea)

[WadRUG'naDoo]

[atwood]

[mayorhaggar]

I really don't get the prices here, especially when you consider Koreans are so skinflinty about paying for anything but their smartphone and car.

In the US, LG and Samsung and Hyundai products are generally known for being affordable but well-made. Here in South Korea, where these things are designed and made, it's like 30% to 50% more expensive for the same things. And on top of that, a lot of these high-priced chaebol goods are flimsy crap that would never get sold in the US, like my cheesy Samsung washing machine.

And it just kills me that Samsung makes great dryers and dishwashers, but nobody in South Korea knows what either of those two things are.

So, Koreans finally wising up and buying stuff from America is a good sign, maybe they are finally tired of rolling over for the chaebol. The government will step in at some point for the chaebol if consumers start buying overseas a lot though. You know how it is here.

Though I wonder how they got their Korean bank cards to work with American websites. Korean banks generally seem to operate under the assumption that there is no outside world beyond South Korea's shores.

[alongway]

[Savant]

My girlfriend tells me that if we're going to update our TV in the future (nothing wrong with my PAVV 42" HDTV now) then any TV 50" or bigger, we're going to order from the States and ship it over. Even including shipping and customs taxes we would still save a lot of money on a similarly priced item in Korea.

The Chaebol are slowly waking up to these influx of US goods into Korea by offering to acknowledge warranties on electronic items, even if they originate in the US. However, they could lower prices to make domestic products as competitive to their US equivalents but Korea has too many middle men wanting to get their maximum profit on goods.

On the US goods front for instance, my girlfriend recently ordered a 16-piece Corelle dinner set for $20 from Amazon (free shipping with her BC card). In Korea, I could probably get at most 2 plates for 20,000 won.

Korean consumers are waking up to rip-off Korea.

[Steelrails]

[furtakk]

The op was in reference to appliances (correct me if I'm wrong).

At the end of the day, the cheapest price you'll find for a TV, fridge, whathaveyou, will still be far more expensive than the exact same model in N.A.

This wouldn't be so absurd, you know imports and whatnot, except for the fact that these are domestic brands!

I am in the market for a TV and an equivalent LG model is almost twice as much here as it is abroad. It's absurd.

LG 47LN5400

Cheapest price in Korea, just over a clean million.
In the U.S., $640.

Something's not right here.

http://prod.danawa.com/info/?pcode=2125308&cate1=149&cate2=180&cate3=15527&cate4=0
http://www.amazon.com/LG-Electronics-47LN5400-47-Inch-LED-LCD/dp/B00BB9OPP0

[NohopeSeriously]

And this is why I rarely buy any stuff from Korean internet websites. You always lose if you buy things from a Korean.

[alongway]

You have to keep in mind that exchange doesn't automatically correct itself.
How long ago was that $640 USD worth near a million in Korea?

When Canada's exchange rate was really all over the place a lot of Canadians were getting upset because the price between Canada and the US was really out of whack.

It took a long time for some of those industries to correct prices.

[Deja]