Camera Shop experience and price quotes.

[ombre]

I swear I didn't see John 3:16 too, I walked around 5th floor twice, reading the names of each shop.



Anyway, regarding the other question, whats the appropriate bargaining style anyway? Since these guys auto-discount. Or actually sometimes they are unwilling to auto-discount.

 

[IsenGrim]

hmm if u have done some reading up, or asking for some advice here.

the first shop anyone here will point a newbie to is john 3:16. Its almost near impossible to get conned there. its also near impossible to get much discounts there. their first qoute is usually their best liao. top notch onsite and post purchase service.

most of CP's items are 200% priced. and its an everyday thing that they slash the price to 50%. Service is good.

went to OP once... not exactly friendly.

TK photo is a shop that carries alot of bags. great service there too.

ruby photo has alot of film stuff i heard, but never bought there b4.

The others not recommended by CS-ers, dont even bother.

 

[IsenGrim]

I swear I didn't see John 3:16 too, I walked around 5th floor twice, reading the names of each shop.



Anyway, regarding the other question, whats the appropriate bargaining style anyway? Since these guys auto-discount. Or actually sometimes they are unwilling to auto-discount.

for CP, if the moment they sense that u have done some kind of research, they will auto 50% if not, u just ask for 50%, they will give w/o hesitation. original price to chop ang mo nia.

john is near one of the down riding escalators. they have a BIG nikon sign on their window. also displays some vintage leicas. its near "Portable World" which sells fujitsu lappys

 

[ombre]

for CP, if the moment they sense that u have done some kind of research, they will auto 50% if not, u just ask for 50%, they will give w/o hesitation. original price to chop ang mo nia.

john is near one of the down riding escalators. they have a BIG nikon sign on their window. also displays some vintage leicas. its near "Portable World" which sells fujitsu lappys

I'll take a look again. Thanks.

As for CP doing that... aren't they concern that it might have implications on how people view them?

Anyway shall go experiment with asking for 50% someday. Thanks for the tip.

 

[sjackal]

When buying things that have possibilities of ganna chop, cameras, watches, jewelery, luxury products, etc:

Look local.

Speak Singlish.

Establish and maintain eye contact. Sales newbies find it harder to chop someone who look at them in the eye, (sense of guilt in humans), but hardened old timers won't.

Try to speak with stronger, lower pitch, even if your a girl. Lower voice tone projects more authority.

NEVER look nervous. Nervousness is carrothead's number 1 common trait worldwide and its telling sales people come and chop! Maintaining eye contact is one good way to project confidence.

Hold a piece of paper in your hands with the words MS, TK, J316, Lords and CP written boldly in columns against your shop list. It shows that your comparing prices and it will make their 200% quotes ridiculous.

Always ask for net prices. Credit card price is 2% extra, thats the common standard. Once Lords tried to pull 3% on me, lucky I know 2% is the common standard. Lucky Plaza is only lucky for retailers if they find carrots.

Last rule; if a shop appear that they are not interested in selling or serving you, then they do NOT deserve your business, there are MANY other camera shops.

 

[ombre]

When buying things that have possibilities of ganna chop, cameras, watches, jewelery, luxury products, etc:

Look local.

Speak Singlish.

Establish and maintain eye contact. Sales newbies find it harder to chop someone who look at them in the eye, (sense of guilt in humans), but hardened old timers won't.

Try to speak with stronger, lower pitch, even if your a girl. Lower voice tone projects more authority.

NEVER look nervous. Nervousness is carrothead's number 1 common trait worldwide and its telling sales people come and chop! Maintaining eye contact is one good way to project confidence.

Hold a piece of paper in your hands with the words MS, TK, J316, Lords and CP written boldly in columns against your shop list. It shows that your comparing prices and it will make their 200% quotes ridiculous.

Always ask for net prices. Credit card price is 2% extra, thats the common standard. Once Lords tried to pull 3% on me, lucky I know 2% is the common standard. Lucky Plaza is only lucky for retailers if they find carrots.

Last rule; if a shop appear that they are not interested in selling or serving you, then they do NOT deserve your business, there are MANY other camera shops.

Good list that we think we all know but forget during the situation. Thanks for your input.

However I must propose a slight disagreement about eye contact. I study psychology and one of the things we learn is that to command "conversation dominance", look away when your subject is talking to you, and look at them when you're speaking. In this manner you sort of "lower" their importance.

Although commonly we say look at people so they don't lie to you. Which does make sense, but you could always look away and just glance once in awhile, they should unconsciously avoid contact for a split second. (In theory only!)

Speak singlish, at least perfect singlish is amongst the things I find hard to do, I can only manage broken english =X. However, it makes perfect sense, something I wouldn't have thought of. In fact, surprisingly, at Alan photo that day, an american stepped in and started an extremely technical conversation with the old salesman, and the salesman was even trying to mimic his accent and his english proficiency was acceptable. Totally took me by surprise, I thought old uncles in camera shops can't speak for nuts. My experience at least, from all electronics stores in fact.

So does that mean Lucky Plaza shops aren't worth my time? I was thinking of going down to see the difference in environment and prices... maybe I should reconsider.

 

[sjackal]

Good list that we think we all know but forget during the situation. Thanks for your input.

However I must propose a slight disagreement about eye contact. I study psychology and one of the things we learn is that to command "conversation dominance", look away when your subject is talking to you, and look at them when you're speaking. In this manner you sort of "lower" their importance.

Although commonly we say look at people so they don't lie to you. Which does make sense, but you could always look away and just glance once in awhile, they should unconsciously avoid contact for a split second. (In theory only!)

Speak singlish, at least perfect singlish is amongst the things I find hard to do, I can only manage broken english =X. However, it makes perfect sense, something I wouldn't have thought of. In fact, surprisingly, at Alan photo that day, an american stepped in and started an extremely technical conversation with the old salesman, and the salesman was even trying to mimic his accent and his english proficiency was acceptable. Totally took me by surprise, I thought old uncles in camera shops can't speak for nuts. My experience at least, from all electronics stores in fact.

So does that mean Lucky Plaza shops aren't worth my time? I was thinking of going down to see the difference in environment and prices... maybe I should reconsider.

Many people have good experience with Lords at Lucky Plaza, I just didn't, no biggie.

I just bought some stuff from J316, I like the shop and the manager. Old school brick and mortar shop, its obvious they want to built a relationship with the customers, I get the impression that they want my continued business more than just my money. So I will be returning. :thumbsup:

 

[Octarine]

When buying things that have possibilities of ganna chop, cameras, watches, jewelery, luxury products, etc: [...]

We should make that a sticky guideline for newcomers
Not sure about your psychological tricks, could work. I noticed that female sales staff mostly check with the male ones before they quote. Either they are new or they feel already uncertain whether to cheat me :bsmilie:

 

[Octarine]

the price tag is showing $20 but Florence give me a discount of $5. I told him some shops are selling about $10+/-.

Don't forget the other half of the equation: time and petrol / MRT / taxi fares. You can run around the whole day to hunt the lowest bargains in town - but you need to spend on the other end. Knowing this I prefer to have one or two trustworthy shops where I don't mind paying S$5 more for an item if
a) Service and attitude is excellent (how many shops serve water during conversation?)
b) Prices are reasonable at the first quote and no games about GST, NETS or CC fees
c) Sales staff knows more about the items than what is written at the box
We all have rice bowls to fill, customers as well as sales people and shop owners.

 

[ombre]

Anyway I was just wondering, as Lord Soth was mentioning a few posts back about GST and credit cards.

Whats the rule really? Credit cards have admin charges of 2%? I thought the shop owners should absorb this?

And GST... If I remember correctly, only a shop with above 1 million in annual profit margin will be GST taxable. Isn't this so? Are you sure these tiny camera shops are million over profit organisations?

Alternatively, I heard that a product over 400 can be GST taxable if its an imported product. (Or maybe even local, I really dont remember). Anyone clearly knows the GST guidelines here? Care to share?

And also, do you think the mods will mind if we create a list of shops to avoid? Is that classified as flaming?

 

[euterpe]

GST can only be charged by persons who are registered for GST - watch out for the GST certificate of registration that should be displayed in the shops - the general rule is that if you have to register if you have a turnover per year that exceeds S$1 million.

The $400 level you are talking about is when you personally buys things from overseas and bring them in (either because you do online shopping or if you go on holiday and did some damage to your wallet) - if the value of what you bought exceeds $400, you are supposed to pay GST on them on import into Singapore.

 

[sjackal]

Anyway I was just wondering, as Lord Soth was mentioning a few posts back about GST and credit cards.

Whats the rule really? Credit cards have admin charges of 2%? I thought the shop owners should absorb this?

And GST... If I remember correctly, only a shop with above 1 million in annual profit margin will be GST taxable. Isn't this so? Are you sure these tiny camera shops are million over profit organisations?

Alternatively, I heard that a product over 400 can be GST taxable if its an imported product. (Or maybe even local, I really dont remember). Anyone clearly knows the GST guidelines here? Care to share?

And also, do you think the mods will mind if we create a list of shops to avoid? Is that classified as flaming?

Most camera shops charge 2% more for CC. CC facilities are overheads. If they absorb this, it means they already factor and added it to the price, so you are still paying ultimately. Therefore usually shops will quote their best price without the 2%, so that customers paying cash can save 2% and at the same time they can make their prices look lower.

If you buy something online and is shipped into Singapore from another country, you get GST taxed if the declared price is above the equivalent of SGD$400/- Even if you receive a gift. Even if you like stayed in the US, moved back to Singapore but forgot to bring back your $2000 camera and your US friend/family courier it back to you... you still gotta pay GST even if its your own belonging. Unless you can prove you already paid GST for it, eg the camera is bought in Singapore before you went overseas.

That is why, people often try to underdeclare. But Singapore customs people are not stupid, they might flag your item if they think its underdeclared, and send you a letter to attend their custom office for you to show prove of value before they release the item to you. Otherwise they will compare it with an item of equivalent value and tax you accordingly.

Last year I won a Christmas contest and the prize was shipped from the US. The sender did not attach proper documents outside the shipping box to state its commercial value, so it got detained at Customs and I had to pay GST to bail it out. :bsmilie: While waiting in queue, I saw the custom officer questioned the guy in front of me for underdeclaration. He was sweating. :sweat: :bsmilie:

I am curious about whether these camera shops profit over 1M a year too.

 

[sjackal]

GST can only be charged by persons who are registered for GST - watch out for the GST certificate of registration that should be displayed in the shops - the general rule is that if you have to register if you have a turnover per year that exceeds S$1 million.

The $400 level you are talking about is when you personally buys things from overseas and bring them in (either because you do online shopping or if you go on holiday and did some damage to your wallet) - if the value of what you bought exceeds $400, you are supposed to pay GST on them on import into Singapore.

Then I think it is possible, they may not profit that much, but due to the fact that cameras are high priced items, the turnover can be over 1M. Such is the case with other high priced goods too, eg electronics, luxury goods.

 

[Randius]

Anyway I was just wondering, as Lord Soth was mentioning a few posts back about GST and credit cards.

Whats the rule really? Credit cards have admin charges of 2%? I thought the shop owners should absorb this?

And GST... If I remember correctly, only a shop with above 1 million in annual profit margin will be GST taxable. Isn't this so? Are you sure these tiny camera shops are million over profit organisations?

Alternatively, I heard that a product over 400 can be GST taxable if its an imported product. (Or maybe even local, I really dont remember). Anyone clearly knows the GST guidelines here? Care to share?

And also, do you think the mods will mind if we create a list of shops to avoid? Is that classified as flaming?

Please drop the impression that small shops are not able to make millions in profit. I personally know of a shop in SLS selling mainly cheap connectors and cables and it is GST taxable.

 

[ombre]

Please drop the impression that small shops are not able to make millions in profit. I personally know of a shop in SLS selling mainly cheap connectors and cables and it is GST taxable.

Are you serious? Well maybe that shop has other branches, since the profit margin is summed together for tax. Also at least connectors and cables are more of mass retail items, such as supermarkets, they don't really have such a high profit margin yet they make loads. I don't doubt small shops can make a bit, but camera shops... with that condition, I'd like to believe that GST doesn't apply to them.

As for cameras, no doubt they can be high priced items, but are they really able to sell that many pieces a year? Given that so many of us resell our lens/cameras 2nd hand, and one camera probably lasts us 3-5 years before we get a brand new and not 2nd hand?

Maybe a shop size of CP can get 1M turnover, they have a few branches all over and provide other services too, but what about the tinyest of shops in Peninsula or other places, and they try to tax you 7%?

Moreover, they don't keep their books nor issue receipts (those little shops). I believe thats not a proper practice also, especially since they double/triple quote their prices, I doubt they are going to declare the exact amount of their revenue either?

 

[viix]

Are you serious? Well maybe that shop has other branches, since the profit margin is summed together for tax. Also at least connectors and cables are more of mass retail items, such as supermarkets, they don't really have such a high profit margin yet they make loads. I don't doubt small shops can make a bit, but camera shops... with that condition, I'd like to believe that GST doesn't apply to them.

As for cameras, no doubt they can be high priced items, but are they really able to sell that many pieces a year? Given that so many of us resell our lens/cameras 2nd hand, and one camera probably lasts us 3-5 years before we get a brand new and not 2nd hand?

Maybe a shop size of CP can get 1M turnover, they have a few branches all over and provide other services too, but what about the tinyest of shops in Peninsula or other places, and they try to tax you 7%?

Moreover, they don't keep their books nor issue receipts (those little shops). I believe thats not a proper practice also, especially since they double/triple quote their prices, I doubt they are going to declare the exact amount of their revenue either?

LOL you have no idea what is the profit margin of all the camera items then. also, if you hang out at the shops long enough, you'll see the amount of people buying camera is alot!

 

[Octarine]

Please drop the impression that small shops are not able to make millions in profit. I personally know of a shop in SLS selling mainly cheap connectors and cables and it is GST taxable.

Profit is not equal Revenue (also called turnover). According euterpe the annual revenue is the threshold.
Some small calculation: Assuming the shop opens 6 days per week then it only needs S$3200.00 of sales per day to achieve an annual turnover of S$1m. That's not much, especially for shops in malls like SLS or Funan.

 

[Dennis]

Can apply to government to collect GST for them even if you don't have 1 mil in turnover, just need to give a reason like hardship. :sweatsm:

 

[teebs]

Can apply to government to collect GST for them even if you don't have 1 mil in turnover, just need to give a reason like hardship. :sweatsm:

Not true actually.

For companies with SGD 1 million and above in annual turnover, GST registration is compulsary.

For companies with less than SGD 1 million in annual turnover, GST registration is voluntary.

The advantage of GTS registration is that you can enjoy the benefits of claiming input tax incurred in the course of your business.

When a company is GST registered, when GST paid exceeds GST collected, the difference can be claimed from IRAS as a GST refund. When GST collected exceeds GST paid, you have to pay the difference to IRAS.

 

[jacquesvile]

if a newly establish company, do they have to pay higher tax ?