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Technomart or Yongsan Electronics Market |
Technomart |
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27% |
[ 3 ] |
Yongsan Electronics Market |
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72% |
[ 8 ] |
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Total Votes : 11 |
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Igen_Weir
Joined: 09 Feb 2003
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Posted: Sun May 11, 2003 11:32 pm Post subject: Yongsan Electronics Market vs Technomart. |
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I have shopped at both and find each has it's advantages.
What do you think and why.
I would really like to hear (as i think would others) reasons and not generalizations.
My opinion:
I have personally had more experience with Technomart and have had good service, no problems returning things and have gotten some pretty good deals.
Yongsan is over and hour and a half away from where I live so, for example, I would be hesitant to buy anything that might need service or to be returned.
As for Technomart, it is only 5 minutes away from my apartment and has the bonuses of being near a Bus Terminal, restaurants and movie theaters.
So my vote is for Technomart. |
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kimcheeking Guest
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2003 12:06 am Post subject: |
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For me Yongsan is a 2500 won taxi-ride or now that I have a car 7 minutes by car. I also found the prices cheaper than technomart with a much larger selection to drool over.
Technomart seems more organized and slicker, but I like yongsan mcuh better, I know where to find most things I want and bargaining seems to be easier for me there. |
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The Lemon
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2003 12:09 am Post subject: |
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They cater to two different markets. Technomart is much more of a retail place. Mom and dad go there when they want to buy a fridge or a computer, don't know much about what they're buying, or what the going rate is. They're also less open to friendly bargaining - with foreigners or Koreans. Electroland in Yongsan also fits this description.
Yongsan is geekier, but ultimately, a more pleasant place to shop. Getting inflated "special foreigner price" quotes is very rare in Yongsan - in fact, it hasn't happened to me in years. Also, if you display a little bit of knowledge about what you're shopping for, they don't treat you like an idiot and try to BS you.
Technomart
Two years ago I bought a monitor at Technomart. My wife's aunt wanted to drive me there, and since I didn't want to carry a 17" monitor from Yongsan on the subway, I accepted her offer of the drive. I already knew what the stores in Yongsan were asking (at the time, between 170,000 and 200,000w and up). None of the stores in Technomart would come close to matching that. When politely pointed out that things were cheaper in Yongsan, I was informed, "Yes, but that's Yongsan. Yongsan is always the cheapest."
I bought a reasonably good 17" monitor of a no-name Korean brand, and paid more than I wanted to, because I needed to buy that day while my aunt was there with her car. Two days later the monitor exploded. It had a one-year warranty, but it turned out that the maker had gone bankrupt.
The monitor went back to Technomart on the subway, and the salesguy told us to call the manufaturer. We told him it went out of business. He gave me a 2nd monitor, a Daewoo. One year warranty, new, he said. Super. Two days later, at my parents-in-law's house, it too exploded.
A phone call to Daewoo revealed that this monitor was in fact three years old, used, and long out of warranty. The vendor refused to provide any refund, explaining that if two monitors blew up, we must have been doing something wrong with them. Salespeople from other stores, all with their "TM" shirts, crowded around to back him up. He acknowledged that he had given us a used monitor as new, but added, "what are you going to do about it?"
He agreed to reverse the charge on the credit card. Which he never actually did.
Yes, my one purchase at TM was a dud. It might have been one bad merchant, but I'll never forget watching all the other nearby shopguys crowding around behind him in support against the foreign customer. This NEVER happens in Yongsan. And I've returned a fair bit of stuff in the past.
Off to Yongsan, where I bought a good Hansol monitor for 170,000w that served me well for the last two years, until I upgraded to an LCD monitor, also from Yongsan, three weeks ago.
Yongsan
I've been shopping there since 1996. I've never had any problems. My apartment is basically a Yongsan showroom, from the scanner to the digital camera to the home network, to the notebook, etc etc. I research prices on Korean websites, and find that the shops in Yongsan (particularly the Sunin building) will often beat the on-line prices. I've returned defective goods on many occasions without any questions asked. Even when dealing with them from Kwangju, they're willing to pay for the shipping of serviced goods between here and there. Just two weeks ago, my new monitor's power supply went on the blink. A new replacement monitor was couriered to me within 24 hours and has been working like a charm since. No hassles.
Prices in Yongsan are 20-30 percent less than at Technomart, if you know where to shop and politely bargain with a little bit of humour. They're 30-40 percent less than Kwangju, and a lot friendlier, too. |
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Harpeau
Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Location: Coquitlam, BC
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2003 5:27 pm Post subject: |
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Ilove Yongsan. I've bought some great stuff over there and the price is right. Technomart aren't bad for the few 2nd hand things that they sell, but their prices are unbelievably higher compared to the rest of the world. But I guess that they don't really care. Also, their attitude kind of sucks.
At Yongan, there is more humor, human touch, haggling, and they're much friendlier, too. I'd say Yongsan all the way.
Harpeau |
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Bulsajo
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2003 5:47 pm Post subject: |
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Technomart is great to go with the significant other, do a bit of window shopping, and buy small items impulsively. Yongsan is where you go to purchase serious hardware. |
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Samantha
Joined: 20 Jul 2006 Location: Jinan-dong Hwaseong
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 4:34 pm Post subject: |
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I know this is an older thread...but I have a question regarding the two shops.
1) Does anyone have a website for either place?
2) If you are bringing a hardcore techie over to visit (with no Korean skills) will he be able to get a good deal at Yongsan?
3) How hard is it to ship computer products back to the states? Does anyone know the customs requlations on it? |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 6:39 pm Post subject: |
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Samantha wrote: |
I know this is an older thread...but I have a question regarding the two shops.
1) Does anyone have a website for either place?
2) If you are bringing a hardcore techie over to visit (with no Korean skills) will he be able to get a good deal at Yongsan?
3) How hard is it to ship computer products back to the states? Does anyone know the customs requlations on it? |
1) OK... they are NOT shops... they are MARKETS. Yongsan for example covers a large area surrounding the yongsan subway terminal.
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=4367
for the map of the yongsan market buildings. Since the map was made they built and added the I'Park (space 9P building in the new station. That is NOT yongsan market. It is just ONE building. Cross the tracks (via the overhead ped-way) and there is a whole nuther world over there.
2) Yes. Most of the places speak some English and they all speak nerd/tech/puter. He will have to know his pricing. Prices are shown in man won... so for example, an entry level system shown for sale at 55 means the asking price is 55 man won (55 x w10,000) or 550,000 won.
3) You usually have some leeway and a duty free allowance when returning from a vacation. If you are talking about returning home after an EXTENDED stay away (over one year) the rules are even more lax to allow for the repatriation of your personal goods. |
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Samantha
Joined: 20 Jul 2006 Location: Jinan-dong Hwaseong
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 7:05 pm Post subject: |
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ttompatz wrote: |
Samantha wrote: |
I know this is an older thread...but I have a question regarding the two shops.
1) Does anyone have a website for either place?
2) If you are bringing a hardcore techie over to visit (with no Korean skills) will he be able to get a good deal at Yongsan?
3) How hard is it to ship computer products back to the states? Does anyone know the customs requlations on it? |
1) OK... they are NOT shops... they are MARKETS. Yongsan for example covers a large area surrounding the yongsan subway terminal.
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=4367
for the map of the yongsan market buildings. Since the map was made they built and added the I'Park (space 9P building in the new station. That is NOT yongsan market. It is just ONE building. Cross the tracks (via the overhead ped-way) and there is a whole nuther world over there.
2) Yes. Most of the places speak some English and they all speak nerd/tech/puter. He will have to know his pricing. Prices are shown in man won... so for example, an entry level system shown for sale at 55 means the asking price is 55 man won (55 x w10,000) or 550,000 won.
3) You usually have some leeway and a duty free allowance when returning from a vacation. If you are talking about returning home after an EXTENDED stay away (over one year) the rules are even more lax to allow for the repatriation of your personal goods. |
Thank you ttompatz.
1) Sorry for the bad terminology, I think of technomart as one HUGE shop/store. When I was in Korea the first time, I heard of Yongsan Market but I didn't know how to get there.
2) He definately speaks nerd/techie. I think geekspeak and technobabble was his first language.
3) He would only be in country for about 2 weeks maybe 3 weeks. So of course a lot of whatever he'd buy will be shipped if at all possible. Thank you now I have a better idea of what to tell him about.
Repeat question are there any website for either location that can be checked out? |
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The Lemon
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
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Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 6:25 am Post subject: |
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I know it's not really a solution to your situation, given the short times involved, but these days it's really worthwhile to shop or at least browse the Korean online sites and use those as reference prices before hitting the retail shops. Unfortunately, some measure of Hangul reading skills is necessary in order to make sense of the menus.
Two major sites to check:
www.omi.co.kr
www.danawa.co.kr
I've been away from Korea for two years but I'm back for a shopping and family visit at the end of the month. Before I left, Yongsan could be counted on to do better than online prices by about 5 percent. I'll be interested to see if that's changed - I predict on-line is now cheaper. |
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Hanson
Joined: 20 Oct 2004
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Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 3:12 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, online is definitely cheaper than yongsan, by a long shot.
I just went on a trip to Canada and searched for webcams online (here in Korea, before I left) to give as presents to loved ones back home. Then, armed with my price quotes from the net, I went to yongsan to buy the webcams. The net quotes were far cheaper than anything I saw at yongsan. I showed a few of the stallclerks my net quotes and they said no dice. I only had 2 days before leaving - yes, bad planning, I know - so I had to bite the bullet and pay inflated prices at yongsan (still cheaper than back home, though).
I believe yongsan sellers have overhead to pay that online stores don't have, so it's cheaper online.
From now on, I think I'll go to yongsan to view and play with the merchandise and see what I like, and then just go home and order online. |
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Clemens
Joined: 28 Sep 2006 Location: Seoul
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Posted: Sat Sep 30, 2006 4:58 am Post subject: |
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It really has everything to do with what you are shopping for. It's tough to generalize about these things. Some days, Yongsan will yield more fruit. Other times, Technomart is the better ticket. Yongsan has a lot more vintage electronics in the market building next to the Nong-hyup. But you can always pick up some unexpected bargains at Technomart as well. One problem with this poll is that you've left out one very important electronics market in Seoul. the International Electronics Market next to Nambu subway station is very impressive as well. and some of the people there are terrific to work with, especially since they see few foreigners and are a bit off the beaten path for electronics. There's also a huge use electronics market off of Shindang station on the green line. You have to shop very carefully here though as some of the stuff doesn't work very long, but you can occasionally find a very cheap gem in this place. They have used mixers just laying around. |
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Bollocks
Joined: 12 Feb 2009
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