Hong Kong Scam
We went to Hong Kong last September for ten days and decided to buy a new digital camera. We knew what we wanted but we fell for a scam which is rife in Nathan Road, Kowloon. We were sold a Fujila camera which was misrepresented to us as being made by Fuji...which it is not. It malfunctioned after two days and we had the foresight to go into an internet cafe and do some research. Low and behold we found other people who had fallen for the same trick. Now I think I am a bit sharp but those Chinese guys really fooled me. We went back and after threats we got an exchange for a genuine Fuji camera but when we got home we found we could buy it cheaper in the U.K. We were lucky to at least get something back. There are many people on the web who have lost a lot of money in Hong Kong falling for the same scam. So a bit of advice... if you plan to go to Hong Kong buy your camera in the U.K. before you go and shop around for the best price. DON'T buy anything in Nathan Road, Kowloon. . You will probably have a good deal if you keep to the bona fide retailers in the big shopping Malls but it's your choice. Whatever you do, avoid the shops all lit up like a christmas tree and avoid like the plague those that say tax free..it's a lie.
posted by Wolf Man at 1:36 am
1 Comments:
I had a similar experience on Nathan Road on 16 March 2008. I was quoted a price that was very cheap (for a Canon D40), then once I agreed to purchase & provided my creditcard, the product could not be sourced & they tried to sell me a Canon Rebel XTi for the same price. I left the shop & immediately cancelled my creditcard (just in case).
But not all Hong Kong camera shops are dodgy. The majority in the Mongkok area are serious camera shops. They sell a massive amount of cameras. The prices are higher than Nathan Road, but the have the cameras ready to sell, and dont try to force other cameras on you. Following my incident, I purchased the D40 camera from Wing Shing Photo supplies. Fixed price, no bulshit & far cheaper than UK (or Ireland).
Just one other note, prices in Hong Kong are tax free (a sales tax is coming in 2009/2010).
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