Canon Ixus 200 Is Price Singapore
Canon Ixus 200 Is Price Singapore

Thailand is known as a destination for cheap holidays and exotic, but it can save money by buying a digital camera for vacation somewhere and Bangkok?

We receive a certain number of e-mails from readers asking us to provide information on the price of some cameras. These tend to be "Point and cameras such as Nikon and Canon people but there are some people who seek high-end cameras and semi professionals.

What they have in common is that they are coming to Thailand and do some shopping before going to Bangkok to the beach and they want to buy a camera thinking probably put a little money.

To begin, Thailand has a VAT rate of 7% so they can begin to compare the rates of VAT their own country. You can be "saved" money there, even if the pre-tax rate is the same. But there is also an import duty of well-bred, which is often reflected in the prices of many goods and cameras are no different.

We have done much research on this subject and find that fluctuates with the rate of change. A savings of one day can be made and some weeks later, it is not cheaper.

However, you can save if you collect VAT at the airport and it does not use the product before leaving the country, frustrating those who want to buy and use during your vacation.

You probably want some examples at the moment and we are pleased to do so by providing two examples. One of them is a point and shoot and the other a semi-professional digital SLR.

For point and shoot, We randomly selected the Canon Digital IXUS 980 IS because it looks good and Canon are the market leaders in point and shoot digital cameras.
For semi-professionals D-SLR, we have chosen the Nikon D300 (body only) and because we want a pass every moment of the day if you can actually afford it.

For the price, we chose two sites in Thailand by the price and then compared these prices with those found on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Point & Shoot – Canon Digital IXUS 980 IS

Rates from Thailand:

1 site:
fotofile.net –
15,900 Thai baht VAT
VAT 14,787 Thai baht

Site 2:
tohome.com –
VAT 14,990 Thai baht
13,941 Thai Baht without VAT

U.S. Price:
Amazon.com –
$ 310 (10.635 Thai Baht)

The camera is called Canon Powershot SD990IS

Price UK:
Amazon.co.uk –
290 pounds (15.715 Thai Baht)

The Semi-Pro D-SLR – Nikon D300 (Body Only)

Site 1:
fotofile.net –
VAT 53,800 Thai baht
VAT 50,034 Thai baht

Site 2:
No comparison website available

U.S. Price:
adorama.com –
$ 1,697 (57,790 Thai baht)

UK Price:
amazon.co.uk
£ 1099 (59 510 Thai baht)

From the above results, we can see that if you come from the United Kingdom, small economies savings available in point and shoot, but very important (about £ 200) is available in semi-pro as far as back VAT on departure.

However, if you come from the United States, it is cheaper to buy point and shoot at the house instead of Thailand, but the camera is also semi-pro cheaper, with and without the VAT claimed.

All this is very interesting when the price is concerned, but other factors must be considered such as security and honesty that can be tricked into buying in Thailand, especially when it comes the legitimacy of the battery supplied or contained in the box.

Can we go shopping in Thailand for a digital camera?

We live in Thailand and they have no other option, but if we should go to Singapore or Hong Kong, we would probably wait and there shop instead, as it may be cheaper in parts of Thailand. That said, however, we are not worried about being victims of Thailand as in most photo shops, especially those of the photo specialty stores and department stores, are faithful and honest.

More information about cameras and buying a camera in Bangkok can be found at www.thebangkokshoppingguide.com

The Bangkok Shopping Guide Team
http://www.thebangkokshoppingguide.com

Lin Feng at 新加坡e乐大赏2009 OMY awards