Buying in China...Do or Don't?

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Comango

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Has anybody ever bought electronic equipment while visiting China, because my dad is there on business till next Sunday and he can't stop talking about how much cheaper everything is there.

So my question is , is it worth it to buy for example a Xbox 360, laptop or tablet? Would he have to pay import tax and how would he know he's not buying crap? If anybody has experience in buying from china can you give me some pointers or some recommendations on what to buy that I can throw his way, please let me know.

Thanks in advance! :)
 
Is your father tech smart? He could very well come back with a dud.
 
The problem comes with warranty issues - does it have an International Warranty? That's the main thing you need to ask yourself, because if it goes wonky here, and it doesn't, it's going to cost a whack to get it replaced. Many manufacturers have International Warranty programs - just buy a product that offers this, and you should be fine.
 
Been to china a couple of times. Lots of imitations, so be careful.
I bought myself a cool 'fake' northface jacket for 40 USD. (So far my best acquisition in china).
I bought once a carton of marlboro lights 'made in china' for 3USD and they tasted like S*it. I smoked half a packet and the rest i had to give them away.
Lots of pirate CDs. All for 1 Dollar. (Careful with that as well, i heard that airport customs are confiscating pirate Cd if they clearly looks like a 'Pirate')
HongKong was better, but USA was still cheaper.
 
abzo said:
Is your father tech smart? He could very well come back with a dud.
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Not by himself, but we are able to communicate via email for links on what to search for and his phone is open for roaming, so he can call when uncertain about something.
 
No such thing as import duties if you walk through the green lane ;) Lots of fakes so make an educated buy, my father bought a portable DVD player there a few years back for the equivalent of R900 or so, it worked like a charm apart from its battery, be careful when buying consoles as they may be region locked
 
Well, you're technically meant to pay customs duty on the value of your purchases over R3,000 if i recall correctly. Electronics is 20% I think. Else if you have nothing to declare then go through the green channel at SA Customs and you won't owe anything.

Whether your dad is buying a dud or not, i guess that depends on what you're buying? Smaller components would be easier to fake and sell you a dud, but I would imagine if they're so inclined they can manufacture dud/fake anything. i.e. It's common for flash drives to be sold as high capacity but most likely if the price is amazing then you are buying a dud.

I suppose there's a fine line of the electronic product being cheap enough that you take a chance buying it without an international warranty or the product being so cheap that it must be a dud (though I guess it could have also have fallen off the back of a truck?). And their flea market setups can be so good that you think you are in a department store but meanwhile you aren't, lol. I was in Shanghai, bought a samsung camera, extra generic battery and 16gb micro SD card. The SD card lasted 2 years and the generic battery doesn't seem to hold a charge much longer than a few days if idle. Overall that was worth it but I was probably a bit too shopping obsessed back then.

My recent trip to Thailand I didn't bother with any electronics. Only bought cheap t-shirts and trinkets. Didn't want the hassle of potential warranty issues, customs, etc...

As a foreigner, you're always a target for getting ripped off, so you have to be careful. You will always pay the foreigner price, especially if they think you are from some wealthy first world country. One time, at the one flea market type place in Shanghai, we had to ask our Italian friend to leave the t-shirt shop so that we could bargain them down because his mere presence was keeping the price high :p
 
Yo, I live in China now.

Lots of fakes in China, the gadget markets are huge and mostly filled with fake stuff. (but you may get an awesome deal if you spend some time in there.)

If he buys from a legit shop like bestbuy, suning (major electronic stores) then he's not nothing to worry about but then the price is quite a bit higher.

In terms of Xbox, never brought one before so I dunno
Tablets - many fakes, rather buy from a big store unless he knows his sh*t
Laptop - get from big stores else it might be refurbed

Coming back into SA, if the stuff he buys is for personal use then go through the green lane.
If theres loads of stuff, then rather be safe and pay some duties

I came back in October, dressed like a hobo, unshaven for a week, with an ipad 3, new pc for my bro, a new laptop all packed with an old dirty luggage case, through the greenlane; and not one person looked or questioned me.


Some do's:
If he buys from gadget market (not a big franchise), always ask for a discount...if he comes to beijing ask for a 90% discount (they usually increase the ask price by 100% for foreigners.)
If he thinks the price is right but they arent willing, walk away becoz they will call u back.
Test the things before paying, dont leave it out of sight (some dodge places shows u a working phone, then packs a dud.)
Asking for an invoice may increase cost (by 6%) but is useful if you caught at customs, otherwise customs might use the local market price to charge you duty, which may be substantially higher than what you paid. (not applicable for big stores, they always provide invoice even if you dont want it.)

Donts:
Dont cause any fights, if they blame you for breaking something, best to call the police.
Dont follow anyone into a corner
Dont lose ur passport
Dont believe in something that is too good to be true
 
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Nameite said:
Well u never know, this place is so bloody safe you get hot babes walking around alone at 4am...eventually u lose ur guard.
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Prostitutes. Yeah, you get those walking around late at night in most cities.... ;)
 
ClintZA said:
Prostitutes. Yeah, you get those walking around late at night in most cities.... ;)
Click to expand...

Lol, actually walking to other bars or somewhere, not standing on street corners flipping their skirts

I was actually wasted on the streets of Shanghai a few years back with a buddy, and we passed out on the sidewalk outside a bar until morning....had all my valuables on me when I woke up.

Main reason why I moved out of SA 4 years ago...the feeling of being safe is actually....rather comforting. But on the other hand, I miss home :( This place isnt a quarter as beautiful as SA (and I lived and grew up in Jozi)

Anyways Comango, you should come on over with your pops...and bring me some biltong!
 
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