Buying Electronics when in Asia - voltage etc

[fabes]

Hi

As part of my job I am off to Asia in November and am being asked to take the family Christmas list with me - not much, an MP3 player for eldest daughter and a Digitial Camera for wifey

Will be in China and HK for a few days with time to find a shop or market or two

If I stick to models and makes I know (Panasonic camera specifically) will be there an issue with plugs on chargers or voltage?
I should be able to locate an english pdf of the user manual (I am told stuff comes with instructions....news to me! )

I don't suspect there will be, but I don't want to part with a couple of hundred sterling (millions of RMB I think) and not have them work back home - for the voltage / pluggy type reasons anyway?

Has anybody got any experience (and Tips?) for Shanghai shopping or HK for these two items?

Cheers

 

[mr. shr]

Hi

As part of my job I am off to Asia in November and am being asked to take the family Christmas list with me - not much, an MP3 player for eldest daughter and a Digitial Camera for wifey

Will be in China and HK for a few days with time to find a shop or market or two

If I stick to models and makes I know (Panasonic camera specifically) will be there an issue with plugs on chargers or voltage?
I should be able to locate an english pdf of the user manual (I am told stuff comes with instructions....news to me! )

I don't suspect there will be, but I don't want to part with a couple of hundred sterling (millions of RMB I think) and not have them work back home - for the voltage / pluggy type reasons anyway?

Has anybody got any experience (and Tips?) for Shanghai shopping or HK for these two items?

Cheers

I haven't bought anything from that neck of the woods myself but I think their voltage is the same as ours here anyway. You may need to use an adaptor on the plug as they use a different shape but they are only a couple of quid. (Like the travel adaptors you take on your hols)

And if their voltage is different to ours then most electronic gizzmos nowadays use auto sensing voltage transformers anyway (i.e. they are designed to take anything between 100 - 240 VAC)

Obviously wait and see what others on here say but I'm pretty sure you'll be ok.

 

[television]

All of these things use plug top power supplies and the DC content is the same through out the world. providing its 220-240 volts, the Hz do not matter, at the worst you can get a UK plug adaptor

 

[e55]

If you are in HK, theres tons of places you can buy electronics. The best place is around Mongkok MTR station which is on the Kowloon side. But you really need to know where to go or take a local with you who can bargain.

If you cant find a local to take you around there, then the next best area is in Times Square (I think 8th or 9th Floor) above Causeway Bay MTR on the HK side.
Theres a place called Broadway Electrics and then there Fortress (chain store). Theres also a few other places there as well. Just go in and ask for the price etc. You can normally negotiate about 2-5 % off the price depending on the model. I would try several shops up there and compare the prices. Ask them exactly what it includes becauses sometimes a cheap price may not include a cover or batteries or some accesory.

Also make sure it has a worldwide warranty as opposed to an asian wide warranty.

You will be fine with the voltage and stuff if you buy in HK as it was a former British Colony so its the same as the UK.

I would NOT buy electrics in China as theres tons of fakes and grey market goods around and you are bound to get ripped off.

 

[glojo]

Haning read E55's excellent post I decided to let my fingers do the walking

I just typed in the names of the shops supplied by E55 and added Hong Kong.

Good luck with the trip.

Regards
John

 

[e55]

Glojo,

Its a relief to know I was going to the right places for the 7 years I lived there then.

 

[glojo]

Glojo,

Its a relief to know I was going to the right places for the 7 years I lived there then.

Your post was spot-on and as usual this forum produced the goods.

How do the Hong Kong prices compare to the US? I note though that US gadget's will usually give priority to 110v.

When I was in the Far East I found Singapore to be slightly cheaper than Hong Kong, is that still the case?

Well done again,
John

 

[e55]

I cant really compare with prices in the US as I hardly fly there.
But I think prices are about the same as the HKD is pegged to the USD.

One thing for sure though in HK you will get the newer models faster than in the US as they are generally released in Asia first.
I think Singapore prices are about the same as HK prices but you need to shop around and know where you are going in Singapore.

I fly through HK at least once a year to visit family so I always get my electrical stuff when I am there.

 

[BTB 500]

Naive question ... isn't VAT etc. due on these items when you bring them back into the UK (legally, anyway)?

 

[e55]

Naive question ... isn't VAT etc. due on these items when you bring them back into the UK (legally, anyway)?

Technically I think you have to declare goods purchased abroad worth over £200 you are bring back into the UK for VAT purposes.

I dont know anyone who has declared anything ........unless you cant fit it into a suitcase and the customs people can see it

 

[BTB 500]

Technically I think you have to declare goods purchased abroad worth over £200 you are bring back into the UK for VAT purposes.

Wouldn't you have to pay import duty as well, from outside the EU?

Presumably the penalty if customs find undeclared stuff is not that stiff, otherwise people wouldn't risk it?

Having new / boxed stuff complete with warranty / receipt etc. would be a bit of a giveaway really

 

[television]

The fakes use copy names with one letter out, the most common is Panosonic and panoasonic. there are many fake Sanyo brands using the wrong logo, you have Philips with 1 L, and others and Canon and Cannon.

Africa and the Canaries are full of them.

 

[agatward]

With regard to the original question regarding voltages, plugs, etc, this may help:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_AC_power_plugs_and_sockets

 

[fabes]

Technically I think you have to declare goods purchased abroad worth over £200 you are bring back into the UK for VAT purposes.

I dont know anyone who has declared anything ........unless you cant fit it into a suitcase and the customs people can see it

The £200 number is interesting as both these will be under that separately - and BNIB as per EBAY description, agreed that is a giveaway, so that's one to remember.

VAT on personal imports!! - stay calm, take a breath, count to 10...
Have you seen the tax returns of most MP's + chancellors!!! - next to NIL
One of the Sundays did a report on them last year, so I have no issue with a little importing - off thread, but arrgh!!!!!

 

[kenwaic]

i would also recommend NOT buying in china as there is definetly a ton of fakes around plus it will be more expensive because of import taxes.As e55 says mongkok is a very good place for electronics (FA YUEN STREET)but do try and stay away from the shops on the main street on tsim sha tsui ,as alot of them will try and make a extra buck from you when they see a "gwui lo" (foreigner).
If you want to declare your items when you get back why not ask the salesperson to write out a receipt for you that says display and half the original price,thats what i usually do.An MP taught me that,honest.
A good tip is ,if you have a freind staying in hk with a bank account,ask them to go to the bank with you to change currencies, you will get a far better rate which currently is 15.88 dollars to the pound. 200 pounds shoud get you 3176.00 hkd but only 3040.00 rmb

 

[glojo]

i would also recommend NOT buying in china as there is definetly a ton of fakes around plus it will be more expensive because of import taxes.

Great post and very informative

Regards
John

 

[SimonsMerc]

In related funny business, my web cam broke this week in Malaysia so I went to a local store to buy another one. I just wanted a cheap USB webcam, so I paid 40 ringit (about six pounds) for a new one.

It was Lexmark branded, but an obvious copy. I didn't care, I just wanted a cheap working cam. It was obvious due to the misspellings - "1.3 mAgapixel camera" on the box, many more in the manual. But best of all was the fact that the fakirs had copied all of the text on the box, including "COMPLEMENTARY: FREE GIFT FROM LEXMARK"

-simon