I would like to know if it is cheaper to buy a camera in Hong Kong than mail order in the USA. I live in the USA. I am little concern about places being reputable in Hong Kong although there are a few places that are bad in the USA too. There are tons of new cameras coming in early August and I will be in Hong Kong in late August, early September.  

Would like to know if it is cheaper to buy a camera in Hong Kong rather than mail order using the Internet. In Hong Kong do they have world wide warranties outside of HK. I also heard things are considered grey market goods in HK with limited warranty or no warranty.

Note in the USA, you have to add tax and shipping cost for the total cost.  In the USA, I only use recommended places with good ratings for Internet mail orders.

Any recommendation for places in TST ?   Thanks.....

[ Last edited by  Weelock at 4-7-2010 01:23 ]

I looked into the same issue late last year, and USA mail order is usually a better deal.  
Most big chain retail like Fortress and Broadway will be more expensive.  A few places at Golden Computer Center Shum Shui Po and 298, 268, and Wan Chai Computer Center in Wan Chai might be cheaper but I wouldn't expect any service once you have paid.  So, I bought my camera body and lens mail order in USA.  

However, I bought all my accessories in Hong Kong.  For examples, camera bag, lens cleaner, filters, adapters, LCD screen protectors......etc

The following places are reputable, have free shipping, and are tax free if you do not live in the state of New York.  
http://www.adorama.com/
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
http://www.jr.com/

Some times Amazon has some really good deals that beat the above three.  I only trust Amazon and not the third party sellers that are also advertised, so please look carefully.  Also, no tax.
http://www.amazon.com/

kordoroff:

Sorry I made a mistake on acceptance pt for you.  I will give you 2 pts later to makeup and correct the problem.  I meant to give you 1 pt.


BTW what's the shopping center is called 268 ?

I know 298 is for WanChai Computer Centre, 298 Computer Zone

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Since Photokina Photo Trade Fair is held every 2 years,  they usually have more models coming out for the fair.  

It takes about 30 to 45 days, after the announcement of a new model to get to the shelves. I hope the timing is right when I'm in HK.  

I didm't know they sell cameras in Golden Computer Center Shum Shui Po. I haven't been there in 3 years.

[ Last edited by  Weelock at 3-7-2010 12:35 ]

Word of warning, I have noticed that supplies for the newest models seem to be tighter in HK than online USA stores.

There are a few on the upper level where the video games sellers are.  There is a nice looking one on one of the corners.
Also, there is one that sell quite cheaply, but I do not know how trust worthy they are.  You cannot reach it from the inside.  You kinda have to walk around the outside of the building to find it.  

For Fortress and Broadway, there is not much haggling since they are a big store.  Ask and maybe they are doing some promotional prices.  Also, depending on which HK credit card you have, there maybe be a discount like 95-80% off.
Also, if you keep asking you will very likely get some free accessories.

Weelock there are some cameras you can buy for cheaper than the US but it'll be "shui fo" or imported goods. You can find those shops around Mong Kok and they will offer you a lower price than anything you'll find mail order. It's negotiable so depending on how hard you bargain the discount varies.

A few things to be careful of: The first is that the goods are not waranteed. Sometimes they offer a week for you to try it and if it's broken they'll give you a new one but generally you get nothing if it breaks. Also the voltage/wattage is from japan so they'll offer you a plug that you can use in the US without anything additional. If you just buy goods in a large department store in Hong Kong, the plugs won't work in the US.

Make sure you also ask for bargains and promotions wherever you go in Hong Kong for electronics. Generally there are always promotions going on but unless you ask they won't tell.

Contrary to what most people believe, large stores like Broadway / Fortrss DO give discount - on just
about everything except fixed price items like Apple products and PS3 ! They give discounts from
electronic items to home appliances !!! All one needs to do is ask !

Now, buying a camera depends on the make and model ... I bought a camera great for punting
a couple of months back from Broadway, it was an older model (10 months old) and the price at most places
was around 2.5K ... I got it for 1.9K.

Weelock ... let me know the info on the camera you want and I'll find out the price so you can compare !

i agree with twice on the discount, and most of the time, i get freebies from broadway like memory cards, extra battery, camera case, etc.. although i must say, the prices for cameras from US online stores, even from amazon, which is not known to offer rock bottom prices, are very aggressive compared to HK prices.

There is one famous website that records camera prices in HK for the best prices - http://www.ygdragon.net/

Here are some links to some local retailers

http://cam2.com.hk/
http://www.dcfever.com
http://www.tincheungcamera.com.hk/
http://www.wingshingphoto.com

For some local retailers, they are willing to undercut pricing with the larger electrical stores like fortress or broadway in order to get the business. In the name of the game here is to haggle for the best price. When I purchased the Canon S90 when first released onto the market, the retail price was HK$3680 with 8GB SD card and extra battery, I bargained down to HK$3280. Just be firm. If they say no, just go elsewhere, usually some retailers will reluctanly agree to your offer or near to it.

In regards to grey market products (i.e. non-HK warranty) these goods' accessories, like the electrical plug and manuals are in Japanese but the local retailers are happy to exchange them to the required perference. The only difference with the warranty is that if your product is faulty they would send your product on your behalf to Japan for repairs.

A 10 month product in the camera market is considered a fossil and I would have bargained down more

wise guy !  
but I'd have you know that same camera - 2 months on - is still selling for 2K after discount in most shops !!!

Well there must be many gullible people or afraid to bargain in this world to buy that camera at that price

I have looked at some US mail order stores and think that at present prices are generally lower which in part is due to the recession. In HK though prices are slightly higher but as TaW mentioned, you can still negotiate discounts and have other accessories thrown in for free. These accessories would cost considerably more in the US. I know for video cameras they are considerably higher in HK because the PAL system is always more expensive than the NTSC system. Think HK would be a better choice to shop for a camera as there are a lot more models on display and you can fiddle around with each camera, unlike direct mail order.

My experience was that in HK, specifically for cameras it was not worth the hassle. You might save a couple bucks if even that. The one potential advantage is that you might be able to get your hands on a hot new model before its release in the US.

When I did my comparison shopping I actually found cameras to be cheaper in Tokyo versus HK. I'm not sure with the exchange rates these days, if that still applies. But has anyone else ever noticed that?

Most cameras are cheaper in Japan but for the hot models from Panasonic and Canon, they only come in the Japanese version with no English menus. Think this is to prevent parallel imports into other South East Asian countries. I did some shopping late last year in Japan and found that only Nikons and Olympus come with English menus and software.

Not only accessories are cheaper in HK, the biggest difference is batteries !  
I think the cost of batteries in HK is by far the cheapest in the world !!

Really? I never knew that some manufactureres had this type of restriction. I wonder if a firmware update could be downloaded as a work around. But its good to know, and something I'll keep in mind when shopping for electonic goodies.

Places like Fortress etc are very reputable and whilst you wont get the cheapest price in HK,you'll get a good price for the REAL DEAL. Shops in Mong Kok offer lower prices, the street parallel with the Ladies Market is a good place to start.

The privately owned electronics shops in TST require extreme caution. Their M.O. is as follows:

You have decided on the new "Sony B1000". You know the price you can get it for at home and are convinced you wont get ripped off.

On arriving at the TST shop, you'll enquire as to the price for the B1000 and you'll be delighted to know it's cheap. At this point, you will get (a) or (b).

(a) They will sell you a parallel imported item that has menu options in Arabic or Japanese only. The manuel will also be in Japanese but they promise to send you an English one when their stock comes in. You'll then be told how the problem with this camera is the battery life is short and you can get an extra heavy duty battery for a great deal if you buy these accessories today... the great deal is 3 - 4 x what you could have bought it for back home. ditto bag, memory stick, stand, case etc...

OR

(b) You'll be advised the B1000 is no longer available, it is a discontinued model that will be difficult to get serviced. It would have been about half what you can buy it for back home... but they're out of stock. However... as luck would have it, they do have the NEW Sony B2000. Much better in every way, bigger, better, faster, cleverer and although it is somewhat higher priced, they'll throw in all the extras to make your deal feel right! You will maintain your enthusiasm about the B2000 until you get home and find you paid about 30% more for it than you could have had you bought it at home.

Take care at these shops.

[ Last edited by  TonyToro at 3-7-2010 11:54 ]

With my experience with Fortress, they are only willing to budge and give discount when you buy more than one item at one time .

I bought a LCD tv the other time and they refused any discount... but i managed to get some freebies - storage boxes/cleaning kit/plates

in my experience, broadway is much easier to talk to than fortress. and more freebies as standard too, and generally pricing is a little lower than fortress

Shame i didn't have a broadway at my local shopping centre (only fortress and chung yuen). I wasn't willing to carry a LCD tv on the MTR .  I'll keep broadway in mind though