Buying things in Singapore, help?

[necessity]

Hpw many people enjoy shopping in Singapore? I don't, its boring, the sights are boring, the malls are boring, its largely characterless, the prices are high, the choices are narrow. So I think of shopping not as an enjoyabke pastime but as a chore. Visiting Orchard Road in particuliar is a highly unpleasant experience, something I like to do as little as possible and when I have to to its in and out ASAP.

How anyone can compare shopping in Singapore to London, Paris or New York is beyond me. These places offer variety, value and character.

Cafes in all these places are great for people watching or spending afternoons chatting. Here is just tedious.

[Rentalprices]

I'm not sure what's going on here. Do Singaporeans just have a culture of ripping each other off?

I think it's the shop rentals that drive prices up.  The only people making money here are landlords, that is why Singaporeans are so obsessed with real estate.

I bought a book on amazon, it was $20 in a shop here is was $80.   . 

[localmanjames]

Does anyone have any recommendations on where to buy stuff in Singapore? It just seems that everything here is at least 50% more expensive compared to what they charge in the US.

E.G. A camera in the US may cost $80 USD, in Singapore it costs $200 SGD...and that's the sale price!!!

I'm not sure what's going on here. Do Singaporeans just have a culture of ripping each other off?

I've tried going to the "Great Singapore Sale" last year and it was the worst waste of time ever. 1/4th of the items weren't even on sale, and the rest had pathetic discounts of 20% or less. Most of the items on sale was also the kind of items that nobody wanted (odd sizes, weird colors/designs, etc). There were simply no good deals to be had. Advertised discounts of 80% were mysteriously unlocatable, and none of the sales assistants i spoke to had any idea which items had 80% discounts.

I tried to find a leather messenger bag a few weeks ago, and ran into the same problem...i simply couldn't find one made out of genuine leather for less than $100, while there were near infinite choices on places like amazon.com. I had to get one from an indian ebay seller because he was the only person that wasn't charging $30+ USD to ship a bag here.

For that matter, are there ANY online stores in Singapore? At all? I certaintly don't see any, and nobody i've talked to has heard of any either.

Now i'm looking for a decent leather shoe in size US 13...and am having serious problems finding stores that stock US 13 in the first place....any recommendations?

Everything is cheaper in the USA, since it either manufactures that thing, or it imports it in bulk.

NZ/Switzerland is more expensive because their standard of living is higher.

Wages in Singapore are really really low...a normal degree from a local university will get you less than $3000 at most companies. And with CPF, cost of housing and cost of everything, your spending power is very very low.

Please tell me which things are "cheaper". Besides food or asian speciality goods.

The Kiwis earn much less than 3k per month lol, in fact the 'median' Americans don't earn more than 3k per month as well. And everything is more expensive in NZ compared to Singapore. Take a trip to Sydney or Tokyo and look at the prices of things.

CPF is used to pay off housing for most S'poreans...dumb and...?.

[AhSo]

It's the currency mate. A few years ago when S$ was weaker (or Pound/US$/Euro stronger), a lot of things were cheaper in Sg.  Now that the S$ is strong, and the pound (and US$) is akin to toilet paper, things seem expensive.  Suggest living with it and not whinging about it, unless you have have sufficient means to personally move the currency markets by selling S$

[Question]

NZ has a decent minimum wage. Singapore does not. A diploma in SG gets you $8/hr if you are lucky.

Ive also been in NZ and actually spoken to kiwis there. University grads get much more than $3k/month and are not expected to work overtime for free.

CPF is used to pay off housing for most S'poreans...dumb and...?.

And the average singaporean couple needs 40+ years to pay off their housing loan due to exorbitrant prices. So in the end they don't get any actual savings from their CPF because it all vanishes into the giant sink hole that is singaporean housing.

[Aye]

Things in Singapore may look cheaper from an European standpoint but the quality is also lower.  How often do you buy things in Singapore that are broken from the start and then a hassle to replace them: you mostly need to contact the manufacture directly to get it fixed. In Europe you just drop it off at the shop you bought it at and get your money back. Sure things here are manufactured in China as well and should have the same quality but through the return policy in Europe, quality becomes more important for the vendors.

[errrr....]

How often do you buy things in Singapore that are broken from the start and then a hassle to replace them: 

Never in 8 years.  But then again I don't shop in markets.

[Aye]

How often do you buy things in Singapore that are broken from the start and then a hassle to replace them: 

Never in 8 years.  But then again I don't shop in markets.

"best", "challenger", ... happened all the time, but OK if you stick to bee hoon you should be fine.

[localMANjames]

How often do you buy things in Singapore that are broken from the start and then a hassle to replace them: 

Never in 8 years.  But then again I don't shop in markets.

Things I buy are seldom broken as well, unless I buy them from the cheap Chinese hardware shop, then of course, I don't expect things to last.

Even the cheap stuff I buy online can be replaced, you just to bug them a bit, but most of them will replace it for you.

This guy must be the same clown who thinks Poly grads make 8/hr if they are lucky, and then compare Poly grads' wages with those of Uni grads in NZ.

[errrrr]

How often do you buy things in Singapore that are broken from the start and then a hassle to replace them: 

Never in 8 years.  But then again I don't shop in markets.

Things I buy are seldom broken as well, unless I buy them from the cheap Chinese hardware shop, then of course, I don't expect things to last.

Even the cheap stuff I buy online can be replaced, you just to bug them a bit, but most of them will replace it for you.

This guy must be the same clown who thinks Poly grads make 8/hr if they are lucky, and then compare Poly grads' wages with those of Uni grads in NZ.

this 'aye' caracter is just a prick.  i'm hoping he's a local trying to make expats look retarded and not a genuine expat

[localmanjames]

How often do you buy things in Singapore that are broken from the start and then a hassle to replace them: 

Never in 8 years.  But then again I don't shop in markets.

Things I buy are seldom broken as well, unless I buy them from the cheap Chinese hardware shop, then of course, I don't expect things to last.

Even the cheap stuff I buy online can be replaced, you just to bug them a bit, but most of them will replace it for you.

This guy must be the same clown who thinks Poly grads make 8/hr if they are lucky, and then compare Poly grads' wages with those of Uni grads in NZ.

this 'aye' caracter is just a prick.  i'm hoping he's a local trying to make expats look retarded and not a genuine expat

He is far, far, far from being the worst. Probably from the same region (Europe) as you as well. Though you are probably from an Island in Northern Europe while he is probably not a native speaker of English, a Continental sort.

[localMANjames]

Lol, they are already devolved. Some of them are arguing for independence but they won't succeed, there has never been enough support.

I think he is a non-English speaking country in Continental Europe anyway. Probably the one that likes to eat frog legs and cheese...or thereabouts...or perhaps E.European.

[Local man James you]

Are a complete c*ck... I have just looked at your number of posts. Do you have a job or just reply and pst on this site? F.wit

[localMANjames]

Are a complete c*ck... I have just looked at your number of posts. Do you have a job or just reply and pst on this site? F.wit

I haven't had a 'job' for nearly a decade now. I really only 'work' four-six hours or so per day, four days a week, and I can even go shopping while I 'work', which I often do. It is all flexible, I basically only need to be there when it opens and when it closes. I run my family's business with my family, and I own a touchscreen computer (two in fact) with mobile internet, you see.

Wishing you a good day tomorrow as you go back to your desk and slog it out for another 9 hours tomorrow.

Are a complete c*ck... I have just looked at your number of posts. Do you have a job or just reply and pst on this site? F.wit

Yes I am a complete prick and proud of it!

Spot on.