Hong Kong is a free port and known for it’s shopping and dining. You are spoilt for choice and everything is very conveniently situated. In fact, if you are familiar with the pedestrians walkways and underground metro system (Mass Transit Railway), you can go about your day without even having to step outdoors when it rains.
When shopping in Hong Kong, you will find that most department stores will have the price clearly visible. In such a case, most likely it is a fixed price and the shop attendant may not be open to bargaining. If the prices are not clearly visible, chances are you can bargain or at least try.
Most visitors to Hong Kong will end up staying or visiting the "Tsim Sha Tsui“Tsim Sha Tsui district (or TST) by the waterfront of Kowloon peninsula. This is where the famous "Nathan Road" begins and you can find people from all corners of the globe.
You will most likely come across a shop or two selling the latest electronic products like videocams, cameras, Xbox or Playstation, they have colourful and flashing neon signs which claim “Duty Free” or “Tax Free”. It is better to stay away from these, what the neon sign indicates is irrelevant.
In the past, some tourists that went into one such shop located beside their hotel in TST, the salesman welcomed them in. Since the tourists are Caucasian and quite obviously new to these parts. The salesman asked “how long are you staying in Hong Kong?”, to which one of the tourist answered “just 2 days, leaving tomorrow morning at 07:00am”,
Oblivious to the fact that she had just exposed herself by her reply, when in fact it sent a signal to the dishonest shopkeeper that this was the ideal target. The tourist asked for a specific Nikon videocam and was told by the salesman that there was no stock in the shop, but not to worry as he sent one of his staff to fetch the videocam from the storeroom. As she waited, the salesman continually convinced her into a different model which the salesman said, was far superior in functions and quality. The lady gave up and after some bargaining, agreed to purchase the videocam which the salesman recommended. The purchase was made and they left the shop with their new videocam all packed up in a plastic bag. Everything was normal until they returned to the hotel and opened the plastic bag and box to try out their new videocam. What they discovered was a different videocam from what they purchased in the shop, it had no lense, no battery and it was not even a Nikon. The videocam they wanted was switched just before it was handed over to them. Upon examining the receipt in more detail the description was of a different brand of videocam. By then it was already close to 11:00pm and they reported this to the local police station and returned to the shop with a police officer. However there was nothing the police officer could do as the authority for handling such cases in Hong Kong falls under the Consumer Council, which opens it’s doors at 09:00am the following day. Ofcourse, the salesman was aware that the ladies had a flight to catch at 07:00am…
Some of the tailors which have signs claiming they can tailor make a suit in 3 hours, also deploy similar tactics.
Not all the electronics shops with the “Tax free” neon signs do this. If you do decide to look in such a shop, you should know what you want, instead of what the salesman wants and the approximate price range. Ask whether the product offers international warranty. Always double check your purchase and receipts before leaving the store and you will have an enjoyable time in Hong Kong!
