Alan Photo - very bad experience

[night86mare]

Correct but at least there they tell you what the price is. Nothing slimy about it.

not true once again.

there is slime even in london. i haven't been slimed by any camera dealers, mainly because i have not purchased much equipment here.

i once went to change money for polish currency (zloty) and danish currency (krones) at an area with many moneychangers (king's cross). one particular money changer gave me a rate slightly better than usual for zloty, slightly below par for krones.

i said fine, your rates are alright, i will go draw money.

when i came back, the krone exchange rate stayed the same, he claimed that there had been MAJOR MARKET MOVEMENTS and that the zloty had somehow become a lot more expensive in the 3 minutes i stepped out to draw the cash.

naturally, i told him what i told of him with a gesture and left the place.

it is not fair to overgeneralise. if you actually notice, you are probably less likely to get ripped off in the less touristy areas of poor countries which are peaceful. the people there are simple, they lead simple lives, money is not a major concern to them - hence they don't resort to such means. on the other hand, once you have tourists and money coming in, things change.

slime has more to do with greed, and development introduces new things, new concepts, consumerism. of course, there are also things like laws and enforcement to ensure that unfair practices do not happen all the time, but i think it is more than safe to say that being careful all the time will never give you the wrong result.

 

[sabee]

wooooaahhhhhhhhh. i wouldn't extrapolate one shopping experience to the whole of singapore. walk into challenger or harvey norman and ask for the price of batteries and you will get a reasonable price!

1 shopping experience? I think if you read the forums often enough you'll notice that there are many...

 

[night86mare]

1 shopping experience? I think if you read the forums often enough you'll notice that there are many...

yet, with many purchases i have never gotten a price that i didn't want. :think:

 

[pokiemon]

yet, with many purchases i have never gotten a price that i didn't want. :think:

i am just wondering the same.

when was the last time someone had a good experience and posted it online? you only hear abt horror stories but rarely praises.

 

[sabee]

Let's phrase it another way.

If foreigner posted in CS asking for a photography store to go to when he visits Singapore which would one confidently recommend without a chance of him getting ripped off?

I find it kinda sad that with the exception of large retail chains like Harvey Norman, Courts, etc which sell close to the SRP, there are no stores in Singapore where you can confidently walk in, get a good street price and walk out with your gear.

Doing your homework on prices, asking around is fine and all, but sometimes you wish just that as a 'shopping haven', Singapore has a store you can go to and make a purchase confidently knowing that you're getting a good price - ala the B&H Photo Video NYC store.

 

[night86mare]

i am just wondering the same.

when was the last time someone had a good experience and posted it online? you only hear abt horror stories but rarely praises.

got la, always got people post.

i have seen people happy about john 3:16, OP, TK, etc..

it's just that the unhappy threads seem to get more attention.

 

[pokiemon]

Let's phrase it another way.

If foreigner posted in CS asking for a photography store to go to when he visits Singapore which would one confidently recommend without a chance of him getting ripped off?

I find it kinda sad that with the exception of large retail chains like Harvey Norman, Courts, etc which sell close to the SRP, there are no stores in Singapore where you can confidently walk in, get a good street price and walk out with your gear.

Doing your homework on prices, asking around is fine and all, but sometimes you wish just that as a 'shopping haven', Singapore has a store you can go to and make a purchase confidently knowing that you're getting a good price - ala the B&H Photo Video NYC store.

i can name you 3 - MS Color, Cathay Photo, John 3:16.

 

[night86mare]

Doing your homework on prices, asking around is fine and all, but sometimes you wish just that as a 'shopping haven', Singapore has a store you can go to and make a purchase confidently knowing that you're getting a good price - ala the B&H Photo Video NYC store.

oh, if only you knew......

http://www.mail-archive.com/nikon@majordomo.cs.waikato.ac.nz/msg04576.html

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/cameras/bh_photo.html

http://photo.net/neighbor/view-one?neighbor_to_neighbor_id=166065

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1008&message=13960460&changemode=1

http://photo.net/neighbor/view-one?neighbor_to_neighbor_id=316933

 

[night86mare]

i can name you 3 - MS Color, Cathay Photo, John 3:16.

i have never heard anyone complaining about being ripped off at orient photo.

for john 3:16, for popular brands, fair enough. for my brand, they are a bit more expensive.

cathay is on the higher side, but i agree, you know what to expect.

haven't dealt with ms colour yet, but i remember they couldn't be bothered to entertain my tripod problems when i was looking for a replacement head a few years back.. so i never went back there again, although most people seem happy

 

[sabee]

i can name you 3 - MS Color, Cathay Photo, John 3:16.

All of which were accused of various incidents recently - true or not, maybe its a setup by competitors I do not know. But I cannot confidently send a 'pasty face gweilo', in the TS's own words, to these stores alone without first letting them know about the approximate prices, or accompanying them.

And to nightmare, I think there's a difference between sloppy work by employees resulting in missed orders / missing out on good deals vs employees plain trying to rip you off by overcharging you based on how you look like.

In any case, I think we have a disagreement on a fundamental level that cannot be resolved. There are some things I refuse to accept on my part as a consumer perhaps because I am too much of a nitpicker (not sure if I'm using the right word here either). But let's leave it as that. I respect the views of everyone who has participated in this discussion but I am unlikely to change my opinion of the situation.

Thanks to everyone for an interesting discussion.

 

[night86mare]

And to nightmare, I think there's a difference between sloppy work by employees resulting in missed orders / missing out on good deals vs employees plain trying to rip you off by overcharging you based on how you look like.

what i am merely saying is that no shop or system is perfect.

to claim so otherwise is ludicrous.

 

[ed9119]

Love it or Hate it..........Welcome to capitalism

Ultimately, be a responsible shopper (i.e. be responsible to yourself )

BTW the quality of one's shopping experience does NOT come into consideration when the UN/World Bank/IMF classifies the development status of a country

Lastly, if prices were to be 'fair' ......... be prepared for higher prices all round if all shops were to heed your advise and stick to MSRP

 

[coolsigg]

Let's phrase it another way.

If foreigner posted in CS asking for a photography store to go to when he visits Singapore which would one confidently recommend without a chance of him getting ripped off?

I find it kinda sad that with the exception of large retail chains like Harvey Norman, Courts, etc which sell close to the SRP, there are no stores in Singapore where you can confidently walk in, get a good street price and walk out with your gear.

Doing your homework on prices, asking around is fine and all, but sometimes you wish just that as a 'shopping haven', Singapore has a store you can go to and make a purchase confidently knowing that you're getting a good price - ala the B&H Photo Video NYC store.

If I am not wrong, B&H also sell at RRP so doesnt that put them on par with Courts/Best/HN of SG? :think:

 

[coolsigg]

i have never heard anyone complaining about being ripped off at orient photo.

quite true. iirc, got ppl complain say OP "black face" and give monosyllabic answers. :bsmilie:

 

[night86mare]

quite true. iirc, got ppl complain say OP "black face" and give monosyllabic answers. :bsmilie:

lol!

yeah, i guess if people like me find john 3:16 too happy and cheerful

there will be people who don't like how the staff of OP act. i find it fine though, i love gruffness when it comes to salesmen :heart: no need to have people fawning over me like i am a 3 year old kid unless i really need their explanations and help and inane chattings. :bsmilie:

 

[krishna91]

If I am not wrong, B&H also sell at RRP so doesnt that put them on par with Courts/Best/HN of SG? :think:

Well you are wrong. B&H is on the average the cheapest place to buy equipment in the US.

 

[krishna91]

Correct but at least there they tell you what the price is. Nothing slimy about it.

Nothing like you can have the camera but have to buy an expensive battery or filter or whatever else. This is one of the things that makes the difference between first world and not. If you were to buy from either of those shops you would not get the feeling when you came out "Have I been ripped off" simply due to the fact that you would know exactly what you are getting for your money even before you walk into the shop.

In Singapore it really is a lottery, lucky dip, wondering if you're getting what you should be getting at a reasonable price.

I love Singapore and have been here for many years but Singapore will never be a first-world shopping experience as long as these third-world rip-off tactics exist in "so-called" serious "professional" shopping outlets.

Alan

Your definition of a 'first world'/'third world' shopping experience is just wrong. The majority of shops across MOST countries in the world, unless they are retail chains, will rip you off no matter where they are. 'Third world rip off tactics' - I have gotten better deals and service in many 'third world' countries than first world countries.. Remember that the third world is not a world apart. Your statements look as if you're trying to say that salesmen and shop owners in 'third world' countries are not humans or something... Generalization.

 

[ricohflex]

Statistics.

Of course the boss of the store knows what his salesmen are up to. That is why he hired them.

Look, for every Caucasian tourist carrying a Leica into the store who bothers to check the price of the batteries, there are a huge number who do not. They just buy.

So in the end, the store wins.

Alan-ed scores 1
Photo store scores 999

You go back to scold them?
They do not care.

How to stop it?
Maybe cannot.
Willing buyer and willing seller. He can sell the 2 small batteries to you for $1,000 if you are willing to buy. No law has been broken.

But in the age of Internet, there is some payback. The store gets some bad publicity. Then again people who surf and come to CS and notice this thread are probably 0.0000000000000000000000000000001% of the buying public.

So statistically, the store wins again.

We are not Third World in this aspect. Actually we are too First World.
We are too civilised and law abiding.

The culprit photo store mentioned would NOT want to try the pull this stunt in a more violent and Third World country, like say...Afghanistan. The store salesman knows what is going to happen to him. The angry Afghan will not come back just to scold the salesman.....
And the saleman knows what may happen to the whole photo store.
Don't try that in Indonesia either.