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The Lemon
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
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 Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2005 9:31 pm Post subject: |
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| mindmetoo wrote: |
Also remember, imported (Japanese) electronics have a heavy tariff on them. Retailers can set the price of Korean made electronics higher for their captured domestic market. They have to compete with the world at the Best Buy counter but at Yongsan they compete with no one. A Korean MP3 player only has to be a little cheaper to win domestic market share.
Yeah, I pity the fool who comes here thinking it's a cost mecca for Korean electronics.
About the only bargain to be had is on Hollywood DVDs. |
This is only partially true.
Consumer electronics are expensive. Computer components through Korean on-line vendors, however, are among the cheapest in Asia. And more recently, the price of some models/brands of digital cameras (though strangely not Korean brands) have become competitive with the rest of the world. The HP camera I bought in Korea online last year was much cheaper in Korea than at Best Buy and CompUSA in the US a month later.
But a CD or DVD player or camcorder? Forget it. Unless you've run into a rare deal, buy anywhere but Korea. |
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Demophobe
Joined: 17 May 2004
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| Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2005 12:49 am Post subject: |
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Seems like everyone expects something like the deal of a lifetime evrytime they go to buy something. Yongsan (for computer parts) are comparable to anywhere. Why should they give a whopping discount? Because of the reputaion? Because there are so many stores?
Its well-known, or at least I thought it was, that they are essentially all in cahoots with each other. As was outlined earlier, they have a source and that is where the bottom line comes from.
I too have gotten many perks from Yongsan, as well as great after service when I had to return parts.
Korean business is a shady place for sure, but one can still buy in a competitive environment here.
The thing that strikes me as odd is older hardware pricing. Look at the sites for the aging ATI 9800Pro....it's 3 generations old and it still costs almost as much as the current crop, even though it gets left in the dust by them.
Other retailers take a loss on older items...they cut the price just to reduce overhead I guess. Yongsan must not care about that for some reason, as many products just don't go down much at all in price.
Anyhow, Yongsan is great for me for the aforementioned reasons; competitive prices, good service and most of the new toys get here in a timely fashion. I am talking computer stuff here, not DVD players or handheld gaming gadgets.
No complaints at all. |
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The Lemon
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2005 5:40 am Post subject: |
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| The thing that strikes me as odd is older hardware pricing. Look at the sites for the aging ATI 9800Pro....it's 3 generations old and it still costs almost as much as the current crop, even though it gets left in the dust by them. |
You think that's weird? Enter the bizarre world of modern musical instrument sales in the Nakwon building (where the theater is at the front end of Insadong) and see 2nd hand, 15-year-old synthesizers being sold at higher prices than they fetched in Western countries over a decade ago. In some cases the pieces have achieved "classic" status and arguably warrant the higher price, with most of them it's shameless exploitation of a closed market, particularly to the dominant Japanese brands (Yamaha/Korg/Roland).
The customs guys at the airport zero in on related gear, as I found out firsthand a few years ago. Korea's closed market is actively protected by the authorities.
Incidentally, an exception is the Kurzweil units which are world class, and a reasonable deal as they're made in Incheon by Young Chang. |
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panthermodern
Joined: 08 Feb 2003
Location: Taxronto
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| Posted: Tue May 24, 2005 8:53 am Post subject: |
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You can maybe get better deal these days at Technomart becuase the are losing merchants.
Business there is slow ... thus they are more willing to deal.
Also always deal in CASH not "cheques" ... MAN WON BILLS ...
MAN WON BILLS are untraceable and those "cheques things" have to be signed, by someone sometime ... |
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mack the knife
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: standing right behind you...
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| Posted: Tue May 24, 2005 5:45 pm Post subject: |
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You can buy almost any electronic item online from The States for a cheaper price. Then, when you ship it to Korea you claim it's worth, say, $30. Or even better, do what my buddy did and claim you brought it here, then shipped it back to the U.S. (or wherever) to be repaired, and then you'll pay no tariff at all.
Korean merchants are, by and large, d**kheads. I've bought everything from MD players to computer crap to huge AC units. The best you can do is shop, shop, shop around. I've been flat-out lied to at least a 1000 times. You'll notice they get all huffy if you ask a lot of questions. They may even refuse you service!
"What, you don't trust me?"
"No, f**kface. I don't."
Last edited by mack the knife on Wed May 25, 2005 5:20 am; edited 1 time in total |
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The Lemon
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Wed May 25, 2005 1:26 am Post subject: |
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You'll notice they get all huffy if you ask a lot of questions. They may even refuse you service!
"What, you don't trust me?"
"No, f**kface. I don't." |
haha... funny cause it's true. They hate questions, yet act like you're obliged to buy from them just because they've provided the burdensome service of a price quote. |
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