Korean Job Discussion Forums

[appletarty]

Hi guys

Im from the UK and technology is not so cheap here compared to the states. I was wondering whats its like in Korea. I want to buy a point and shoot camera but dont know whether to wait until I get to Korea. I want a cano - does anyone know how much roughly a canon powershot 2200 would be or the canon ixus 105? Any feedback wold be greatly appreciated!!

Lynsey

[ktkates87]

I'm not really up to speed with Point and Shoots as I've owned an SLR for the past 4 years...however it has been my experience that prices are about on par in Korea when compared to the states when it comes to alot of electronics. You aren't going to pay half-price in Korea or anything like that. The technology will likely be exactly the same---as in you'll have the same selection as back home. If you wait til you get to Korea you might hit up Yongsan or one of the open air markets to find a good deal.

[spicy]

things will tend to be a bit more expensive here than in the US, and if they're korean brands (which koreans view as being superior to everything), they'll be between 1.5x and 2x as expensive than if you were to buy them in the US -- same with any well-known western electronics brand like apple.

given that it's a bit more than in the US, my guess is that things will probably be fairly similar to what it's like in the UK.

some other things to keep in mind are the warranty stuff. you can buy official imports here for the aforementioned prices, which come with a full warranty that's valid in korea and world-wide. grey-market imports will be a bit less expensive (not like 50% or anything like that, probably closer to 80% or 90% depending on what you're buying), and while you'll have a world-wide warranty, you won't be able to do warranty repairs here in korea.

also, and i don't know about stuff with the point-and-shoots, but dealing with the salesmen here regarding d-SLRs and equipment and stuff like that can be a bit of a hassle, even though my korean is decent.

i haven't found any wild deals here. my general advice would probably be to buy stuff before you leave (possibly at the airport at the duty-free electronics spot), since buying stuff here will likely be roughly as expensive, more of a hassle, and potentially without a Korean warranty.

[carleverson]

Buy it in Korea. Prices are much lower here and there is a greater selection of camera models here.

[Vagabundo]

[jst]

[Lazio]

The result of a quick search:
Canon Ixus 105: 160.000 Krw. That's in case of online order. If you go to a place like Technomart or Yongsan etc, you can expect to pay a bit more. 200,000-ish you are good at dealing with these guys
Did not find the other one.

[Slowmotion]

[Burndog]

[Slowmotion]

But i'm sure back home your salary offsets the cost of living. Where as in Korea we make less and pay more.

[nathanrutledge]

Wait until you get here, learn to haggle.

Go to the Namdaemun camera shops, find what you want, negotiate. There are plenty of them there, and you will be able to get a good deal (less than or equal to what you'd pay in the US). I personally got a DSLR about 10% lower than what was being charged in the US at the time. It's doable.

[warmachinenkorea]

I've found prices to be similar on most cameras here. Just research and compare models. Usually the models that are released in the North America have different model names than the ones in Asia and Europe. It will be the exact same camera just a different model name. From my experience the big department stores will be higher than most of the smaller shops.