Photography Thailand Forum

[bjorn slis]

I know it's not really photography but anyway:
Does anybody know a good (read cheap) mac shop pref. online, since I live in Chiang Mai,
I found two, and the price differences are huge:
for example in one shop a 1.5 ghz mac mini for 36.000 in another shop the 1.6 model for 24.000 baht.
So I want to look around to see if there's any other ones.

[bkkdave]

I bought a MacBook Pro from www.bhphoto.com and saved a significant amount compared to an Apple Store. Part of the savings was from not having to pay tax. I bought it the last time I was in the US but I think they ship to Thailand. I would be careful about looking for something that is advertised to far below what everyone else charges. I have been buying from B&H for about 17 years and have never had a problem.

There was a story recently (maybe I read it here on the forum) about a farang who ordered a Mac from the Apple store at Siam Paragon and when he went to pickup the order the sales person informed him there was a mistake and it would be another THB 12,000 if I remember correctly. Anyway the customer refused the order and reached over and tore up his credit card slip that was on the counter. He was chased through the mall and arrested before he could get out of there.

[bjorn slis]

thanks dave,
I just bought a core duo mac mini at istudio in CM for about 25.000, i found the price differences strange, at another (online) thai mac shop the exact same one was 44.000, also the prices for ram vary from 3000 baht for 1 Gig to 6000 baht (same brand) 

[bkkdave]

bjorn -

 That is really a big difference! I did not realize that Mac shops quoted different prices. The savings on my purchase were the difference in paying tax and not paying tax in the US, however many times when I compare prices between BKK and the US the real difference amounts to the tax in the US that I do not have to pay versus the  VAT in Thailand that I am not eligible for a refund any longer.

For example on a recent post I read about the 'Kata T-214' camera bag. Although I have not found it available yet, the price I was quoted by telephone was THB 4965, and B&H has it for THB 2900. I am making my annual excursion again in Nov so I may just order it from B&H.

For my purposes at todays exchange rate that means I would pay about $99.00 US W/shipping from B&H compared to about $165.00 here in BKK.

Thanks,

Dave

[Bryan Bondurant]

  With anything MAC your better off waiting till a friend is coming and then having them had carry it through customs for you. The other alternatives are just to dodgy to work with.

  I do like the chased through the mall story, thats classic whether true or not, it certainly is possible. I cant imagine Steve Jobs approving of the running of a IMAC store the way my old friends run stripper bars on Bourbon Street but the whole idea has me smiling. Tourist seem to always be caught off guard by such things and are shocked by the end game, For me Ive learned the subtle arts of Jai Yen Yen and Ya Yeab Ngu Jong Ang.

[Marc Schultz]

Bjorn, do you happen to know the name of that shop where you bought your Apple stuff in CM and if they have a web site?

I am just cruious what they might be selling the 23" Cinema Display monitor for. Here is one price I found:

http://www.maccafethai.com/apple_displays.html

I am not sure though I even want Apple at this point. I bought the 20" 1.5 years ago and the display quality of the screen has degraded considerably already.

There are lots of good monitors out there now for half the price right which are also now on par with the display quality of Apple and I am stuyding the reviews on CNET Asia at the moment.

[bjorn slis]

http://www.applechiangmai.com/
is/was their website, it has been down for a couple of days now.

I just bought 2 gigs of ram for 5000 baht in Panthip downstairs, all the way in the back. Compared to other shops very cheap.

[Marc Schultz]

Thanks Bjorn. I am looking into the 24" Dell monitor right now, which is about 24,000 Baht in Thailand and seems like a better value than the 23" Apple version:

http://reviews.cnet.com/lcd-monitors/dell-ultrasharp-2407wfp/4505-3174_7-31899303.html

[bjorn slis]

Call me old fashioned but for accurate colors I still prefer CRT, as a graphic designer I have been working with Apple cinema displays and Lacie CRT's and for any serious color work I would always choose Crt.
For me the only bad thing about them is the size. But you'll get a much better monitor for your money.

ps. the Lacie lcd's are made by NEC and they sell the same models a lot cheaper, only difference the blue lacie color.

[Marc Schultz]

Thanks Bjorn. I don't know any graphics people using CRT anymore now that the LCD screens have advanced so much in the last 3 years in terms of technology, but it comes down to personal preference I guess. Also LCD is much better on the eyes over the long term.

[bkkdave]

Does anyone have the name of a Apple Repair Center close to Sukhumvit / Asoke?

I have a DVD stuck in the drive of my MacBook Pro.

Thanks,
Dave

[bjorn slis]

Did you try keeping the eject button down while starting up ?

[Marc Schultz]

The closest one I think is inside Siam Discovery on the same floor as the bridge that connects it with Siam Center. When you come off the bridge there is a Mac shop right there. Walk past the Mac shop and past Asia Books and then veer to the left and it is towards the end of that short corridor.

[bkkdave]

Bijorn, Yes I did try that already with no success.

Mark thanks for the info and thanks to both of you for the timely replies.

Dave

[David Salmanowitz]

I had bought a Mac laptop a few years back from B&H as well as tons of other things over the years with no problems. I would have bought my most recent laptop from them but they were out of stock so I bought it from a mail order Mac dealer (either MacMall or Mac Warehouse, cannot remember which). In addition to being a lot more money than mail order, the Mac stores in USA only want to sell what is already ready to go. For example, when I wanted some extra ram in the computer they said they had to order it that way and it would take a few days. I said you sell the RAM, why can't you just install it so I can buy the laptop? I know I could easily have installed myself, but it was the principle of it all and perhaps a tad better price. A friend in NYC went thru the same thing at Apple store, he raised his voice loud enough (short of a scene hah hah) and they installed the RAM. They really are shooting themselves in the foot with that one. Was visiting my dad in Florida and went to local Mac store, if they would have put in the RAM I would have bought it even though it was more $, as I wanted it then. I said to the salesman why should I really buy stuff here as I can go on line and it is a lot cheaper w/o tax--he said we offer free training. At the training table was a slew of octogenarians and I remember the one old lady saying "I just hit this button and the computer goes on?" I told the salesman I have actually advanced beyond some of the training. :-)
The Mac store in Siam Discovery is right across from Starbucks. Thought they were going to close up after new big Mac store at Siam Paragon, but they are both in business and overpriced, at least as compared with USA. So if you can get a friend to bring what you want from USA it will be cheaper. All that aside, I have used both stores when I had a problem and they were very helpful.