Thailand- the best place for buying TV in the grey market?

[mav]

Morning Folks !

Quite a few of us dont really mind the grey market option. In fact I have decided that the next time I am off to Thailand am getting a huge plasma for myself. Whenever I used to be in the queue at the check in counter at Suvarnbhumi airport,Bangkok on my way back to India I used to wonder why half of the folks had these BIG Plasma/LEDs in their trolleys. Much later I found out about the price difference..and its substantial. One can save half the cost including customs if applicable !

However even in Thailand one needs to know where to shop from as the multichain stores price their goods higher than stand alone stores. It would be great if people who are frequent travelers/ Thai members of this forum, could provide more info/options. I guess if one is choosing the grey market route then nothing like buying it from Thailand. For the amount thats saved one can even plan a vacation and come back with a TV There have been quite a lot of posts in the past regarding the Thailand option but they were scattered all over the forum so it would be great if we could discuss all that info in this thread for a quick reference.

I am pasting the link for one of the best options that I have been following for quite a while, at the end of this post. This site is in Thai language so you would have to let Chrome translate it for you.The price that has been quoted in this website isnt the final price and a substantial discount is available if one calls up and asks for the final price.

Cheers !

SETLOFT.COM: The Alternative Channel - LED TV, LCD TV, Plasma TV ?????????? ?????????????????????

 

[ranjit]

Spendwisor a MiddleEast Website offer (deliver in India with warranty) great price. But I am not aware of the Amount of Duties to be paid neither website provides. Once I interacted with them over chat but they suggested to contact custom deptt of India to get the details. If somebody has procured anything from here, please share the details.

SpendWisor: Electronics, Dubai, UAE, Mobiles, Cameras, Major Appliances, LCD, Plasma, Media Players : LG -

 

[rajadeep]

Spendwisor a MiddleEast Website offer (deliver in India with warranty) great price. But I am not aware of the Amount of Duties to be paid neither website provides. Once I interacted with them over chat but they suggested to contact custom deptt of India to get the details. If somebody has procured anything from here, please share the details.

SpendWisor: Electronics, Dubai, UAE, Mobiles, Cameras, Major Appliances, LCD, Plasma, Media Players : LG -

This website with customs & shipping normally ends up costlier than buying in India...

About Bangkok ... I have heard many smaller shops are aimed specifically towards Indian buyers & offer tvs with Indian warranty... One such shop that I have heard about is called Indra market or something like that... So not only are you getting a tv at almost half the Indian price but you are getting it with Indian warranty... Also whatever price you buy it at in a shop in Thailand you get ur 7% vat refunded at the airport... Couple of things to note are
1) do ur complete research before going to Thailand...
2) make sure ur bill says international warranty on it with a specific mention of India in the list of countries the warranty is valid in
3) make a xerox of ur bill or ask the shop owner for an extra copy of the bill... This is for the 7% vat refund at the airport... Most shops geared towards Indian customers should be able to properly guide you about this procedure...
4) as always bargain the hell out of the shops to get the best deal as you will be making a big purchase & not buying the small 32" or 40" like folks normally do...
5) about customs... You can do a setting with the customs wallas to pay just couple of thousand under the table rather than the full customs fees which would be in 10s of thousands... If you are buying a 32-40" tv within the budget of 25k then you can just walk right through the green channel...

 

[kevin23]

I would not risk transportation for a plasma, lcd/led are fine. Dubai is also as cheap as thailand

 

[Moviela]

Is TG (Thai Airways) taking TV's as baggage without a huge fee? I think nearby Singapore has similar prices and maybe a better selection of really high end sets.

 

[corElement]

You guys are brave to buy electronics with a high fatality rate from foreign places and bring it to India without warranty.

 

[gopib]

+1 to that. It is definitely not for the fainthearted....

 

[rbalagopalan]

Duplicate Posting

 

[rbalagopalan]

This website with customs & shipping normally ends up costlier than buying in India...

You can do a setting with the customs wallas to pay just couple of thousand under the table rather than the full customs fees which would be in 10s of thousands... If you are buying a 32-40" tv within the budget of 25k then you can just walk right through the green channel...

1. Setting the customs is always not possible as it is purely dependent on the co officers and the Head on the day of arrival

2. You can bring up to 32" TV only free of customs / per family on arrival

3. When you bring 40" TV it will attract duty even if the cost is in 25000/- catogory. which ranges from 4000/- to 8000/- depending on the model. Only in very rare case 40" TV escapes duty.

4. Otherwise customs duty for the TV is 28% with all duties, cess and surcharge. the original Invoice to be produced. The authorities have the right to levy duty on the cost of the Indian price also if your Invoice seemed to be un realisticaly low.

5. Air line will allow only TVs upto 40 Inches with a maximum single consignment weight of 30 kgs. Above 40" we have to book it as cargo or as UAB (Un accopanied Baggage) which needed to be cleared by approaching a C&F agent.

R. Balagopalan

 

[rajeshkr76]

Is TG (Thai Airways) taking TV's as baggage without a huge fee? I think nearby Singapore has similar prices and maybe a better selection of really high end sets.

To add to Moviela's query what are the extra baggage charges incase it crosses the limit.. the website does not mention anything neither there is any option of prebooking extra baggage..

 

[lovesara999]

i heard about patnip plaza n indra market. suggest me where to get LED Tv in Bangkok with dealers rate. am travelling this month end

 

[Casablanca]

Samsung products are cheaper in Thailand , since they have their factory there. other brands may be costly. the cost of samsung products are almost 50% cheaper than indian price (including the VAT refund). one of our forum member ravin is in BKK. you can PM him for further info. He may guide you.

 

[rajeshkr76]

I bought a 40" Samsung LED Series5--40EH5000. Yes the price difference is substantial almost 40-50%. this model cost me 18000THB.
The airport officials at Bangkok handle them carefully as TV's are to checked in at a separate counter. In India they usually deliver them at the end and the staff will keep on asking for "chai-paani".
As long as the total value is less than 35000INR after conversion, the customs officials do not bother. However you need to show the proof like cash receipt or credit card payment slip.
inspite of one of the forum member suggesting to take a xerox of the bill, i missed it and i had to give the original one for VAT refund. so essentially i am without a proof of the purchase and hoping that the TV does not give any trouble.
2 places in Bangkok for electronics--Pantip plaza and Indira Market(electronics store at the ground floor)

 

[mav]

I had promised myself that the next time I go to Thailand I would get myself a big screen and finally last week the opportunity presented itself. After a thorough search in more or less all the malls of Bangkok I ended up being the most impressed by Samsung 43" Plasma 490 Series

Samsung 43" Plasma 490 Series - OVERVIEW | SAMSUNG

Its a 720P 3D Plasma TV with stunning visuals. I got the best offer at Indira sounds at Indra Market in Pratunam. Ended up paying $ 607= 19,000 Bahts and as part of the offer got 4 glasses free. At only one other place - the IT mall at Panthip plaza was I getting an equal deal but what swung the decision towards Indra Sounds was the fact that owners speak fluent Hindi and informed me that they end up selling 300 TVs every week to Indians !!!

Btw the Samsung International warranty is applicable for 1 year in India. Wd be posting a detailed review soon !

 

[Lijo]

I had promised myself that the next time I go to Thailand I would get myself a big screen and finally last week the opportunity presented itself. After a thorough search in more or less all the malls of Bangkok I ended up being the most impressed by Samsung 43" Plasma 490 Series

Samsung 43" Plasma 490 Series - OVERVIEW | SAMSUNG

Its a 720P 3D Plasma TV with stunning visuals. I got the best offer at Indira sounds at Indra Market in Pratunam. Ended up paying $ 607= 19,000 Bahts and as part of the offer got 4 glasses free. At only one other place - the IT mall at Panthip plaza was I getting an equal deal but what swung the decision towards Indra Sounds was the fact that owners speak fluent Hindi and informed me that they end up selling 300 TVs every week to Indians !!!

Btw the Samsung International warranty is applicable for 1 year in India. Wd be posting a detailed review soon !

Even if it has intnl warranty Samsung tells items bought from Thailand will not be covered under warranty

Sent from my GT-S5830 using Tapatalk 2

 

[cherryleo]

Can anyone let me know the price of Sony KDL-46HX850 and Samsung UA46ES8000R price in Thailand. Planning to buy them this December and how much difference is there between prices of Thailand and Gaffar Market.

 

[rrana]

hi guys,
recently i meet a local guy who offer me low price for led tvs from brands like sony and samsung. Imported from Bangkok. He quoted 48k for kdl 40ex650 with one year warrenty. Is it a good deal ? Do u know how much is the actual price in bangkok? Is he quoting more? pls give u r opinion.

 

[mav]

Here is an update. On my last trip I had thoroughly searched ALL malls of Bangkok to find out the best deals and found out that the best place for buying TV are the following two:

(1)Power Buy Shops at some malls where you can get some particular models on sale price if you are lucky. They were offering a 43 inch L.G plasma for around Rs 20,000 and a 51 inch Samsung Plasma for around Rs 26,000. Both these models were non 3D.

(2) Indra Sounds at Indra square in Pratunam: Thats where I bought my TV from. In fact thats where 90% of Indians going to Bangkok buy their TV from and at any given time you would find at least 20 Indians in the shop. That shop gets so much business from us that the assistants have started speaking fluent Hindi !! According to him on an average around 100 TVs are sold to Indian travelers ever day.

Power Buy at Central:

L.G 42 incher for Rs 20,000 at Power Buy

L.G 42 3D

Samsung 51 inch Plasma

Indra Sounds at Pratunam:

Samsung 43E490

 

[kookitan]

26k for Samsung 51 inch is a steal! What's the model number? E450 or E470?

 

[mav]

26k for Samsung 51 inch is a steal! What's the model number? E450 or E470?

I dont remember the model number but have posted the pic above.