Which 42" LED Smart TV to buy from Singapore?

[paragk]

Hello Friends,

This is my first post on this very esteemed forum. Believe me I have searched the forum before posting but didn't get clear answers for the queries that I have.

My wife and I would be visiting Singapore during 8th and 14th July. I would like to bring a 42" TV on my way back. I am a complete noob with regards to the LED TVs as I am still using a 21" Panasonic CRT.

So please help me in choosing a good LED TV which would have Smart Features and also is a good 3D TV and it shouldn't cost a bomb .

Lastly since I am flying by Singapore Air, do I need to take any special precautions while bringing the TV with me.

Best Regards,
Parag

 

[just4kix]

I believe that you should go for the 46" size. Reasons:

- 46" is margnally bigger than 40-42" but in terms of viewing experience it goes a whole bigger
- you should maximize your TV returns; 46" TV are way expensive in India as most go for 32" or 40" and hence cheaper; this means that the price difference is not that great in smaller sizes
- you saving on 46" will be as much as 30K if not more
- a TV is not something you will buy every couple of years; hence go for the biggest size possible within the budget and believe me that even 46" will appear small six months down the line

The W800 from Sony is a very good choice. You could also look at Samsung 6 Series. To get such a TV, you should take the following steps:

- ensure that you are outside India for at least 4 days and in Singapore for 3 days (you need to be out of the country for 72 hours or more)
- carry less personal baggage so that you can bring a 46" without paying excess baggage fees
- be ready to pay customs duty up to 8K; could be less

 

[paragk]

I believe that you should go for the 46" size. Reasons:

- 46" is margnally bigger than 40-42" but in terms of viewing experience it goes a whole bigger
- you should maximize your TV returns; 46" TV are way expensive in India as most go for 32" or 40" and hence cheaper; this means that the price difference is not that great in smaller sizes
- you saving on 46" will be as much as 30K if not more
- a TV is not something you will buy every couple of years; hence go for the biggest size possible within the budget and believe me that even 46" will appear small six months down the line

The W800 from Sony is a very good choice. You could also look at Samsung 6 Series. To get such a TV, you should take the following steps:

- ensure that you are outside India for at least 4 days and in Singapore for 3 days (you need to be out of the country for 72 hours or more)
- carry less personal baggage so that you can bring a 46" without paying excess baggage fees
- be ready to pay customs duty up to 8K; could be less

Thanks for the quick response. It seems that W800 has been replaced by W804 in Singapore as seen on sony.com.sg and they come in 55, 47 and 42 inches. Based on the prices on the site the 47 inch would be out of my budget. Will check out the actual store prices when i go there.

Thanks for the tips regarding the customs as well. I will be leaving India on 8th and will be in Singapore from 11-14 July, leaving on the night of 14th so that should be fine I guess. Regarding less personal baggage...need to convince my better half .

 

[just4kix]

W800 or W804 are same series with minor changes.

 

[paragk]

Just noticed that the Sony SG site is quoting SG$1699 for the 42" W804 TV which roughly comes to 78K before deducting GST and comes to approx. 71K after deducting GST. Is it worth bringing a TV from Singapore or should I just buy one locally as I can see some ebay ads for 65K? At least I will get the warranty if I buy here.

Can anyone tell me the lowest cost of W804 in Singapore that I can get and the shop?

 

[tanmayj]

W800 or W804 are same series with minor changes.

Can anybody list out the changes between 800 and 804?

 

[Haren Asher]

Hi .. recently got back from singapore.

Prices are lot cheaper there. My suggestion is that Samsung and Sony albeit superb tvs and have great range, to avoid haggling or overcharging with customs, Strongly look at LG/ Toshiba/Philips/ Panasonic.

When i was heading into bangalore, a lot of people had picked up 40-55 inch tvs from samsung and sony, and they were being charged anywhere between 10000 to 30000 (depending on size) as customs. Official with receipt.

A lady who had a 42" philips, was asked how much she paid, and she furnished a bill amounting to within 35K allowance and was allowed to go. I had an LG 42 - and i got charged Rs. 800/- (eight hundred) at customs. Even though i was just above the 35K allowance, the officer "requested" me to pay 800/- as he had got chewed out by his senior for an error in calculation with the previous guy, and for giving him his passport back with ensuring that he paid the duty!

Further Philips offers 1year international warranty on its 42" smart 3D Tv, and the price for it was 850 SGD ( around 40K).. I loved it .. but didnt want a 3D tv with assorted features, so went with LG

my 2 cents

cheers
Haren Asher

 

[matoind]

Also returned from Singapore. Didnt plan to pick a TV so just casually looked at the prices. But they seemed to be at par with India or just marginally cheaper. I wouldnt be surprised to find Cheaper Tv's in Delhi Ghaffar Market. My advice is that Enjoy Tourist activities and dont waste time on Tv's. Didnt see many people picking Tv's while checking in either. Even the people to checked-in, had brands other than Sony/Samsung/LG. (They would be cheaper in India as well.)

Had a talk with some Sardar in Mustafa. According to him, Tv's were cheaper in Ghaffar.

But AVR's seem to be well priced in Sim Lim square. There is some promotion on Old models. Onkyo 616 was available for SGD 600.

 

[m.a.sara]

Recently have custom's started acting heavily on these imported TVs? I've some sharp/panasonic models shortlisted to be carried by relative from s'pore next month from Mustafa online. Sharp is LC-39LE440 (39") and priced around 500s$, pana LED TV TH-L39EM5S 42" for around 700s$. sorry for hijacking the thread.

 

[tanmayj]

Recently have custom's started acting heavily on these imported TVs? I've some sharp/panasonic models shortlisted to be carried by relative from s'pore next month from Mustafa online. Sharp is LC-39LE440 (39") and priced around 500s$, pana LED TV TH-L39EM5S 42" for around 700s$. sorry for hijacking the thread.

They dont consider the overseas prices at all. They will consider 70% of the India MRP as the value of the TV

 

[paragk]

Thanks everyone for your inputs. Based on the above feedback I am seriously reconsidering on getting a TV from Singapore . Will surely keep all the suggestions in mind. Also now I am leaning towards a non 3D model which would be cheaper as I am not very sure on how much 3D content I would be viewing. I guess a Smart TV should be enough.

 

[paragk]

Warning - Long Thread!!

Hi Friends,

Just wanted to update on this thread regarding my purchase. I bought 42 inch LG LA6200 from Singapore's Mustafa Mall. I was thinking of a Sony W804 but they were out of stock and they had the more costly W904 which was out of my budget.

So following is what I paid for my TV:

Cost: SG$ 1099
Shipping to Airport : SG$ 30
GST Refund: - SG$60
----------------------------
Total : SG$ 1069 (~ INR 50243 with 1 SG$ = 47 INR)

Following is my buying experience:
1. Visited Mustafa on 11th July. Checked out the Sony TVs but found that they don't have W804 in stock and were expected by 15th July. So had to drop Sony. The cost was also high.
2. I wasn't very keen on Samsung so went to checkout LG.
3. Got a good promotion on 42LA6200 where they had dropped the price by 100 SG$.
3. The salesman was excellent. Answered all my questions and convinced my wife also who was actually against me in investing so much money in a TV.
4. Checked out their policy for delivering the TV directly to Airport. He showed me multiple TVs lying there which were supposed to be delivered to Airport and convinced me that it is very safe and reliable. I noticed couple of 55" TVs there.
5. Completed the billing formalities and went for testing. The salesman carried out basic testing by connecting to a BD player and tested the sound and picture.
6. The salesman then packed the TV in front of me and asked me to write my name on the box with a marker. No special packing was done.
7. Got an Airport delivery receipt with airline name, terminal, date and time of delivery. The receipt has the name and mobile of the delivery person and I was asked to contact him once before reaching the airport and once after reaching there so that there are no last minute hiccups.
8. Got the GST formalities done at Mustafa itself for which Passport was required. The refund was given at the Airport though. The process was very hassle free.
9. Went Home with my pocket lighter by SG$ 1100.
10. Called the Delivery person before leaving for airport. He said he was on the way and asked me to call me once I get there.
11. Reached airport and call him and asked him to come to the gate where I was. Got the TV.
12. Did some repacking to adjust the weight of my bags so that I was under the 20KG per person limit set by Singapore Airlines. The weight of the TV was 15.5 KG.
13. Checked in the luggage. No questions asked by the airline. No extra charges for oversize luggage or handling of fragile luggage. The airline employee attached the Fragile stickers on both sides of the TV and asked me to place it on a separate trolley used for fragile luggage.
14. At Mumbai airport, was a bit shocked to see the TV on the conveyor belt. I thought the fragile luggage is handled separately. Got hold of the TV and checked for any damage to the packing. Was happy as didn't find any :clapping:.
15. As I was approaching customs, one of the customs officers saw me with a TV and asked me to go to the Red Channel.
16. The customs officer was friendly and was happy to see that I belonged to his native city.:yahoo:.
17. He asked me the size and I told him that it was 42". There was a lady from Customs who pointed out to the officer that this was a 3D model .
18. The officer consulted his list of TVs with prices and didn't find this model in the list. But he arbitrarily chose a LG 42 inch model which had cost as 69900. Did his calculations by deducting Rs.35000 and arrived at Rs.9000 as customs.
19. I asked that can he consider that my wife was also travelling and combine both the allowances of 35000 but he said that is not possible. I asked him what if I had bought two tvs, so he said that was allowed as each person can carry one TV. He said there are families who bring 3-4 TVs from Dubai.
20. Next I told him that I don't have 9000 cash with me and have only 2000. So he said he will do something and went and chatted with a police hawaldar. BTW I was talking to him in Marathi which is our mother tongue. May be I should have bargained more but I was tired and wanted to head home ASAP.
21. He told me to get all my baggage scanned which I did. After the police hawaldar took me inside a room where there were no security cameras and asked me for Rs.2000 which I paid.
22. Next thing, I was out of the airport and on the way to home.
23. Next day call the LG Customer Service toll free and booked an appointment for installation. Told him to make it urgent.
24. Got a call in 1 hour and the person was at home within 2 hrs to do the installation and demo. Since the product is not covered in indian warranty, i had to pay the installation fees along with the wall mounting bracket cost.
25. The guy asked if I needed a bill and I declined so got a Rs. 200 discount.

So in all here is the final cost in Rs.

TV 50243
Customs 2000
Airport to Home
in Pune 1600
Installation 1300
------------------------------
Total 53543


Next Steps:
1. Need to buy a surge protector - looking to buy one of the Belkin protectors. Please advise if I need to buy a stabilizer instead as the the installation guy said that it is not required but if you want to buy go for VGuard.

2. Get a HD Package - I already have a HD Set top box from Tata Sky but there are few free Showcase movies that I havent consumed. If I upgrade to HD now, they would lapse.

3. Get a good BD Player - currently I have a basic DVD player by Sony. (Free gift from ICICI ).

So far I think the TV is excellent and I am happy that I went for the 42" and not the 32".

I hope this helps.

 

[paragk]

Warning - Long Post!!!

Hi Friends,

Just wanted to update on this thread regarding my purchase. I bought 42 inch LG LA6200 from Singapore's Mustafa Mall. I was thinking of a Sony W804 but they were out of stock and they had the more costly W904 which was out of my budget.

So following is what I paid for my TV:

Cost: SG$ 1099
Shipping to Airport : SG$ 30
GST Refund: - SG$60
----------------------------
Total : SG$ 1069 (~ INR 50243 with 1 SG$ = 47 INR)

Following is my buying experience:
1. Visited Mustafa on 11th July. Checked out the Sony TVs but found that they don't have W804 in stock and were expected by 15th July. So had to drop Sony. The cost was also high.
2. I wasn't very keen on Samsung so went to checkout LG.
3. Got a good promotion on 42LA6200 where they had dropped the price by 100 SG$.
3. The salesman was excellent. Answered all my questions and convinced my wife also who was actually against me in investing so much money in a TV.
4. Checked out their policy for delivering the TV directly to Airport. He showed me multiple TVs lying there which were supposed to be delivered to Airport and convinced me that it is very safe and reliable. I noticed couple of 55" TVs there.
5. Completed the billing formalities and went for testing. The salesman carried out basic testing by connecting to a BD player and tested the sound and picture.
6. The salesman then packed the TV infront of me and asked me to write my name on the box with a marker.
7. Got an Airport delivery receipt with airline name, terminal, date and time of delivery. The receipt has the name and mobile of the delivery person and was asked to contact him once before reaching the airport and once after reaching there so that there are no last minute hiccups.
8. Got the GST formalities done at Mustafa itself for which Passport was required. The refund was given at the Airport though. The process was very hassle free.
9. Went Home with my pocket lighter by SG$ 1100.
10. Called the Delivery person before leaving for airport. He said he was on the way and asked me to call me once I get there.
11. Reached airport and call him and asked him to come to the gate where I was. Got the TV.
12. Did some repacking to adjust the weight of my bags so that I am under the 20KG per person limit set by Singapore Airlines. The weight of the TV was 15.5 KG.
13. Checked in the luggage. No questions asked by the airline. No extra charges for oversize luggage or handling of fragile luggage. The airline employee attached the Fragile stickers on both sides of the TV and asked me to place it on a separate trolley used for fragile luggage.
14. At Mumbai airport, was a bit shocked to see the TV on the conveyor belt. I thought the fragile luggage is handled separately. Got hold of the TV and checked for any damage to the packing. Was happy as didn't find any :clapping:.
15. As I was approaching customs, one of the customs officers saw me with a TV and asked me to go to the Red Channel.
16. The customs officer was friendly and was happy to see that I belonged to his native city.:yahoo:.
17. He asked me the size and I told him that it was 42". There was a lady from Customs who pointed out to the officer that this was a 3D model .
18. The officer consulted his list of TVs with prices and didn't find this model in the list. But he arbitrarily chose a LG 42 inch model which had cost as 69900. Did his calculations by deducting Rs.35000 and arrived at Rs.9000 as customs.
19. I asked that can he consider that my wife was also travelling and combine both the allowances of 35000 but he said that is not possible. I asked him what if I had bought two tvs, so he said that was allowed as each person can carry one TV. He said there are families who bring 3-4 TVs from Dubai.
20. Next I told him that I don't have 9000 cash with me and have only 2000. I showed him my wallet as well and asked him for some concession. So he said he will do something and went and chatted with a police hawaldar. BTW I was talking to him in Marathi which is our mother tongue.
21. He told me to get all my baggage scanned which I did. After the police hawaldar took me inside a room where there were no security cameras and asked me for Rs.2000 which I happily paid.
22. Next thing, I was out of the airport and on the way to home.
23. Next day call the LG Customer Service toll free and booked an appointment for installation. Told him to make it urgent.
24. Got a call in 1 hour and the person was at home within 2 hrs to do the installation and demo. Since the product is not covered in indian warranty, i had to pay the installation fees along with the wall mounting bracket cost.
25. The guy asked if I needed a bill and I declined so got a Rs. 200 discount.

So in all here is the final cost in Rs.

TV 50243
Customs 2000
Airport to Home
in Pune 1600
Installation 1300
------------------------------
Total 53543


Next Steps:
0. Need to get a surge protector - looking at Belkin. BTW should I buy a voltage stabilizer as well as the guys who came for installation said that it is not required and if I still want to buy one, I should go for VGuard. Suggestions invited.
1. Get a HD Package - I already have a HD Set top box from Tata Sky but there are few free Showcase movies that I havent consumed. If I upgrade to HD now, they would lapse.
2. Get a good BD Player - currently I have a basic DVD player by Sony. (Free gift from ICICI ).

So far I think the TV is excellent and I am happy that I went for the 42" and not the 32".