Golden Rich AV Technology LimitedMy suggestion is to bargain all prices! The HK salesman are pretty negotiable (although not very nice and friendly at all in some cases), never accept the first prices they give you! Quote prices individually and then ask for better package price, etc ...
G/F., 55, Sai Yeung Choi Street, Kowloon
(G/F= Ground Floor)
Tel.: 2789-1665, 2391-3592
>There are also a lot of "man eating" (cheat customers crazily) AV >shops in that area. So please really pay more attention to the >pricing, and if there are a lot of local people buying from the shop.The shop I mentioned was probably one of the best looking shops around on that part of the street. Its a pretty big (2 floors) and nice place packed with a large displays/ shelfs of priced items. On the Ground Floor they sell Portable CD/ MD / Tape Equipment/ VCD/ TV, etc. from various brands; and on the 1st Floor sells: Table top equipment: VCR, TVs, CD, MD, Tape, Amps, etc. It was packed with people inside buying (not only tourists; which is good sign!) The salesmen spoke OK english and were kind of friendly when compared to other shops.
>>My suggestion is to bargain all prices! The HK salesman are >>pretty negotiable (although not very nice and friendly at all in some >>cases). >Exactly! From time to time I asked them questions that I already knew >the answer, and found most of them just bull-shix-ing and just want >to cheat the customer!
I agree, the majority of the salesmen over there are not capable of helping you out with the differences/ specs of their products; you need to know up front what you want to purchase, or at least have some product knowledge so that they don't give you the wrong info.
I'd also like to add that many shops do not post price tags on any of their items on display nor on shelves. Thus, I found out that in these shops, every time I requested a price, they would have excessively high prices! They intentionally do this; and if they see that you are a foreigner/ tourist they will quote you a higher price, you can be sure of that.
Try to seek for shops (and compare prices) among the ones that put price tags on all items, to rest assured that they are not cheating you!
-Cristian da R. de Souza ([email protected])
I did not visit any shop on Hong Kong side, as I found it not as convenient in terms of distance as Mong Kok and I did not have a half day available. Before leaving the hotel, I asked the concierge to write down the address for me in Chinese of where I was heading: I believe this is a good habit that saved me a lot of time with Chinese cab drivers, as they hardly speak any English.
I decided to go to GOLDEN RICH directly, without trying others first; however, the taxi driver dropped me a little far from the shop and this "forced" me to go looking around. The road where Golden Rich is located (Sai Yeung Choi Street) is pretty packed with electronic stores with rather few foreigners shopping (a good sign). Prices were lower than I expected (I even found the Sharp 701 at less than 200, but I did not stop by to confirm it...). Finding the place was not so easy, as these shops all look the same!
Once in, I asked for the owner (well, that's what he said....his name card says Mr. Lau) and showed him my printout of the community Page on HK. He was amused. I did not get into any price haggle. I just asked him what I wanted and trusted his quotations. Here is what I got for HK$2820 (about US$ 350):
My Chapter Two was trying to find a nice Stereo Mike for my new MD. I knew that Sony was making several good models and therefore I headed to their shop; they have quite a lot in Hong Kong, but one is specifically dedicated to portable stuff and Minidisc: it is called Sony Walkman PROShop (it is also mentioned on SonyHK web site).
The personnel was quite cooperative, even if not technically prepared (they
welcomed me saying "why do you want to buy a good quality microphone to
record with a MD? The quality is very poor! You should buy a DAT!!" hehheh).
I saw several models there, and I discovered that prices were substantially
lower than those you can find on the net! I decided to buy an ECM957 (the
new version of the 959) and I spent HK$1680 (about US$215); no haggling at
all: fixed prices.
For your info, they also sell prerecorded MDs (not a wide selections, but
few) for HK$110 (US$14).
The address of the Walkman ProShop is:
Fook Yuen Electronic Corp. Ltd.I wish you all good shopping.
Shop G26, G/F, Hollywood Plaza,
610 Nathan Road, Mongkok, Kowloon
Tel 2388 3926
The most reputable dealer in the arcade is at the back right, called Mitsumoto AV. There is another Mitsumoto closer to the front of the arcade on the same side. This isn't the one you want! The second store on the left side also has some great deals. Note that the first store is sort of hidden under the stairs, so you might think the second store is the first store. It isn't.
BTW, they prefer to deal in CASH or sometimes Visa. You may not get a warranty with the unit. If you get a HK warranty for a Sony unit, you can visit the Sony Repair Center on Hennesey Road in Causeway Bay next to the Sogo Department Store to exchange it for an international warranty. BTW, everyone knows that the best way to get cash in a foreign country is to go to an ATM and make a withdrawl, right? When you arrive in HK, you will need to go to the upstairs departure lounge to find the ATMs.