Shopping

Personally, I don't shop unless there is a need to & NEVER go for a holiday with shopping as one of my main activities. That means that I'm really lousy at writing this page. Singapore is also being promoted as a shopping paradise. Depending on which country you come from, Singapore may be a good place to shop. However, competitive prices from around the region is making Singapore slowly losing it's edge. There is still a wide range of electronics goods & branded clothes that are definitely cheaper here compared to the region. 

There is a 5% Goods and Services Tax (GST, aka VAT elsewhere) that you have to pay. This amount can be rebated at the airport. Basically you need to spend S$300 or more and takes the goods out of Singapore. Go to Singapore tax free shopping for more details. This tax is charged by shops that make more than S$1m in sales annually. So make sure if that shop charges GST, it is clearly stated down in the receipt. The relatively low GST here makes things cheaper here.

Singapore is generally a 'safer' place to shop meaning that the shop owners here usually don't jack up the price if you are a foreigner (Many practice fixed price labeling). I went to Kuala Lumpur and almost got 'killed' by the sharks there who jack up the price of stuff by 100% of what they sell to locals. They are good at spotting foreigners as I can't speak fluent Cantonese (a Chinese dialect as I speak Hokkien). Refer to my Others page for tips on how to avoid traps.

However, being a tourist at a non-fixed price shop (e.g. Sim Lim Square), you will have a higher chance encounter such unethical retailers. Knowing the market price is essential to get a good deal. This characteristic of marking up price for tourists is found not only in Singapore, but throughout many countries. You might not be aware that such practices exist because you are a local. Japanese tourists are prime target worldwide for example. In New York, Japanese tourists are subjected to such unethical practice in restaurants where a different set of menu printed in Japanese have prices higher than those in English. This is not hearsay but experienced by a close friend. In Europe's touristy spots, I am often mistaken as Japanese (because to cretins, all Asians look alike) and quoted higher price. One merchant in Venice greeted me "Ohaiyogozaimasu" (Good morning, I speak some Japanese) and spoke to me in Japanese even when I spoke English. The price of the item is 3x higher than a similiar one sold everywhere else. I have this same experience in Korea (where Japanese forms a major portion of their tourists).

One more trap to avoid: avoid buying accessories from the same shop unless you know their market price. For e.g. some sell you dirt cheap cameras only to con you to buy accessories for more than 2x their actual retail price. Big department Stores have fixed price and you don't have to worry about this. However their price tend to be more expensive.

How to pay?

Other than cash, credit cards are widely accepted here. These includes American Express, Diners Card, MasterCard and Visa Card. Most Hotels, retail outlets, pubs, discos, restaurants, travel agents accept them. Small shops usually only accept cash. When paying by card in smaller shops, check if they have a surcharge. Shops displaying the Visa/Mastercard/AMEX and etc sticker on their shop should not surcharge card user. Challenged their claim by saying you will check with the Card issuer. Chances are they will wave the surcharge. However, some shops give huge discount when you pay by cash and will charge 2-5% if you pay by card.

Cash is always preferred, since these notes will look foreign to you, make sure you have the habit of checking before keeping the change or making payment.

When to Shop

Singapore shops generally open from 11am to 9.30pm daily including weekends. It is only during the Chinese New Year do you see many shops closed for the holidays. Most shops remain open during other holidays including Christmas and New Year.

Singapore is promoting her shopping festival during the month of June - July. It's called 'The Great Singapore Sale'. Bargains are not bad but it's especially hard to find sizes sometimes. Some shops just simply dump post seasons clothes for sale.

Also, usually in June, there's a PC Show at a large convention center where many good deals can be found. In 2004, it was from the 4-6 June. Take a Canon Ixus 500 digital camera, the price was slash from S$899 to S$799 with a free battery, 128MB card, camera case and a air purifier thrown in.

Places To Shop

Singapore's main place to shop is Orchard Road. From Cheap S$5 T-shirt to Dolce & Gabbana latest rave. Well, I guess budget travelers are not here to shop. However, if you are, the shoppers' paradise starts from Orchard MRT Station to City Hall MRT Station. Start walking from Far East Plaza (Scotts Rd) to CK Tangs dept store, Wisma Atria, Lucky Plaza, Takashimaya Shopping Centre (Mall), Paragon, The Heeren, Centrepoint, Plaza Singapura, Bugis Shopping Centre, Raffles Shopping Centre, Citylink, an underground shopping mall that links to Suntec Shopping Centre. All the shopping malls are airconditioned, have toilets and almost all have resturants/food court.

Places to get cheap everyday products are not in Orchard Road. Singaporeans get their stuff from neighbourhood stores. Luckily there are a few cheap shops in town. Around Bugis MRT there are a few residential areas and shops around (They may speak limited English). My advice is buy stuff from a shopping center. The 1 or 2 dollars you save is not worth the time hunting down bargain prices. Do try to look around before committing yourself to a big ticket item. For daily items, many locals shop at Carrefour, a French megamart. They operate at Plaza Singapura or Suntec Shopping Mall. 

Far East Shopping Centre & Lucky Plaza offer great deals but then again they have the most shops black listed by the Singapore Tourism Board. Avoid the 'fast, cheap & Armani cut' tailors in these building and electronics stores that pressurized you to buy. Say no thank you politely and walk away from these merchants. My advice, if you are hunting for an electronic item, it is important to know the street value of that item to avoid overcharging. These prices can be verified at big departmental stores, I suggest you go to Sim Lim Square if you are looking for electronics and computer stuff. Check voltage, warranty and etc. In other word, be a smart shopper. Not just in Singapore but anywhere else in the world. The Basement of Far East offers young adult/hip hop fashion. On the second floor, there is also a good second hand bookstore Sunny Bookstore. the 3rd floor offers more fashion shops and a few sex shops. 

Takashimaya Shopping Centre has upmarket boutique like the luxurious Tiffany & Co, Louis Vuitton to bare basic like fashion house known as Giodarno (e.g. T-shirts from $8) & This Fashion (for ladies). This place has an electronics mart called Best Denki. While they may have better service, the price is fixed and are usually set at recommended retail price. Shamelessly note the price of your electronic item here and go shop elsewhere.  

Suntec Shopping Centre offers many shops. The french Hyper-Mart to get your daily items is located here too. It also sells food. A honey baked chicken sells for S$5. The biggest man-made fountain is also here (See my Sights page) 

Bugis Shopping Centre (Located above Bugis MRT) I like this place because it they converted all old shop houses into one big shopping mall and have a water fountain often with kids playing in it (A great photo opportunity). 

Try Clark Quay on Sunday morning for Flea Market. Selling everything from toys, Coke bottles to local antiques. 

Holland Village - a small unique place (Comes complete with a windmill!) where many small shop houses & good restaurants are located. They sell wares from ratten works, many asian home decorations, cutlery to electronics goods. There are many good restaurants to eat. This place is so popular that even Starbucks Coffee has an outlet here. 

*Some additional comments on shopping - Paris Silk in Holland Village (Lorong Liput, I think) is excellent value for electronic goods, watches, etc. Originally run by two brothers (Kevin & Larry) it has really grown over the 7 years I've resided in S'pore & has become a Mecca for most ex-pats, where they know they will not have to bargain, but get a fair price, which will usually be better than they could obtain elsewhere. 

Your comments on Lucky Plaza & Far East are well made & I would add that vendors will very often pressurized their customers into buying merchandise before they let them see it! Personally, I never shop at such places, since I don't feel I get a good deal, and I do enjoy bartering. Also Mustapha's in Little India is another establishment with a huge range of products at bargain basement prices - maybe worth a mention? *Comments from Tony Smith, an expat working here. 

Where to buy stuff in Singapore

Shoes 

My lady colleagues from America and the UK bought back many pairs of shoes after their trip here. They told me is cheap (average S$25) with great designs and workmanship. 

Clothes 

Young adults/hip hop fashion. Far East Shopping Centre Basement & The Heeren. Petite sized tourists  will find numerous clothes with their size. 

Cheap Ladies Clothes can be bought from "This Fashion". They sell very cheap clothing (S$8 for tops). Giodarno sells good quality clothing at good prices (S$8 Tees). There are too many smaller chains to list but they too sell cheap clothing. Guys with girlfriends/wife beware, ladies rejoice.

Cheap second hand Books

Bras Basah Complex (behind Raffles Hotel) Books going as cheap as $1 or $10 for 3 older best sellers. Good place to get some reading materials while waiting for your flight. For current best Sellers, try Sunny Bookstore at Far East Shopping Centre. 

Music CDs

Music CDs are relatively cheaper in Singapore, but not when compare to prices around the region. But, here we have a wider selection. A current billboard album cost about S$21 in Towers Record along Scotts Rd. Other lesser known local chains prices are way cheaper...S$18 for some hot albums. Singles are much more expensive here at S$10-12. Chinatown sells latest albums at a cheaper price of around S$17. Also, please check if these CDs are copy protected (meaning you can't ripped it to mp3) 

Around Bugis MRT, there are a few music CDs pirates around on and off playing the cat and mouse game with the authorities. A current top 10 selection will cost you S$12. Of course, Malaysia and Vietnam offer albums at US$3. (It is not my intention here to promote piracy. On the contrary, to let you guys know that despite the huge effort the government is doing to clamp down piracy, the pirates are still taking the risk for that fast buck.) 

HMV has a branch at Heeren, along Orchard Road (Between Somerset & Orchard MRT Station). With 3 storeys of CD, remember your budget. It's easy to get dizzy with huge CDs collection if you are a music fan like me. The place to get cheaper CDs maybe from from a local chain Sembawang Music (One is located at Bugis shopping Centre)

Movies: VCD and DVDs 

Video CDs are sold in Singapore at a price of around S$18. DVD are of Code 1 and 3. Check the region code of the title & make sure your player can the said code. Check out Blue Max in Suntec Shopping Centre or check out the bargain bins at HMV. Older movies like Star Wars: The Phantom Menance, Matrix 1 & 2, Speed can be bought at S$19.90. Code 1 DVDs are around S$50 (LOTR 3 code 1 is going for S$40), while Code 3 are S$30.

Electronics

Sim Lim Square (SLS): Make a stop at a large electronics good shop like 'Best Denki' at Takashimaya Shopping Centre, note the price and go to Sim Lim Square to buy. Hunt around the numerous shops here for the same item, don't be shy to just pop in and ask how much for the model. This is how locals do it to ensure they get the best price. With many shops selling the same item, you can get the best price. Check if price includes GST (5%) and payment can be made by Credit Card without incurring addition 2-3%. How substantial is the discount? Well for e.g. Digital Camera, new Canon Ixus 500 (Apr 04) listed price is S$899 (at any big departmental store), Alan Photo at the ground floor charge only S$750 (this price has since dropped with RRP $799). With the savings you can get a 256MB CF card for the camera. Alan Photo simply quote the cheapest price they offer and you can't bargain. At a star retailer, it quoted S$750 for a Ixus 430 model. Cathay Photo at Peninsular Plaza has better service and reasonable price.

Note Bloody Well, Sim Lim Square is not noted for its service (Star Retailers which are indicated by their certificate are suppose to provide better service but tend to quote higher price). In general, you can expect rude salesmans in SLS & there are many cases where they quote higher price to tourists. Go to shops that are crowded with locals. Many tricks include telling you a very low price and when you decide to buy says it's out of stock, price is for display model etc. Another involves bait and switch. Alternatively, you can try Burlington Square Next to SLS for better service and about as competitive price.

If you prefer to do your homework online, go to www.hardwarezone.com for some downloadable price list. But again, this list is only a reference. 

Computers 

Computers and peripherals are relatively cheaper. Sim Lim Square is where techies hang out to get their parts to build their own PCs. Most stores sell PC parts & OEM stuff and also branded PCs/PDAs/Notebooks. Peripherals like printers are usually a lot cheaper here. However, one point to note is that many h/w parts are sold w/o manufacturer's warranty the store usually will give their own warranty. Check with them what are warranty coverage. If a price of a product is too good to be true compare to the rest of the shops, my advice is to stay away. 

You also can get cheaper PC games here about US$30 for newer games. This is probably due to software houses fighting the war on piracy. Software pirates which used to sell games, warez and a lots of software are no longer in existence in Sim Lim due to the efficient anti-piracy raids. In their hey days, they sell their cracked warez for as low as US$5 for PC games like Quake and Win98, Office software, mp3 for US$7. Now these pirates are no where to be found here and have taken their cat & mouse games with the authorities to the suburbs. Again, I am not here to promote or support piracy but just to let you know what is life here. If you think piracy is 'bad' here, wait till you go to China, Indonesia, Philippines or even Malaysia. With the proliferation of Broadband Internet Access, pirates and normal users are sharing mp3/videos/warez easily available online. 

Another alternative is Funan Center which caters for the less technological inclined crowd where they sell many branded PC, PDAs and peripherals like HP, Compaq & etc. However, the discounts here are not anywhere near Sim Lim Square.

Collectors Toys 

Clarke Quay Shops. The favorite haunt for local toys collectors. From old Star Wars toys to new collectibles from Lord of The Rings.

Souvenirs

If you get the drift by now, you ought to know my recommendation. Non touristy souvenirs. Singapore being the cross roads of many culture has its advantages. That is the unique blend of culture found in a small country. This also means that you can get different kinds of souvenirs here.

• Raffles Hotel - Get your very own Singapore Sling (Cocktail) pre-mix here. A 6 bottle of 50ml each will cost you around S$42. You can also get the authentic Singapore Sling glass
• Arab Street - Arabic handicraft, ornaments and jewellery.
• Chinatown - If you been to one chinatown around the world, you haven't been to every chinatown in the world. Though they sell similiar stuff. You might find different products here. If you are looking for foreign house decor @ Chinatown, try
  - Chinese Spittoons (bowl for spitting)
  - Chinese Hell Money: This item will definitely raise eyebrows. The 'money' made of paper is burnt offering for the dead.
  - Chinese wooden clogs
  - Caligraphy of your name translated in Chinese.
  - Chinese Porcelain
  - Chinese tea set and tea leaves
• Little India - If you love indian food, you will love the smell of this place. Tons of spices and treats. Indian sari, the traditional Indian dress is worth buying.
• Geyland Serai - Sarong is a traditional wrap around wear for both male and female of the Malays. A practical attire for the hot and humid climate. However, most people wear it in the comfort of their home now. Old timers still move around Singapore in it.
• Takashimaya Store at Orchard Rd - Curry Powder by Violet Oon. Love that curry you ate here? Well, get one of these and you will be cooking your own curry back home. Comes in 5 blends  - Chicken curry, meat curry, seafood curry, tandoori and kormah.
• Merlion Figurines - I am not sure about this, it's like buying trolls figurines in Norway. But if you dig that, why not.

*I would like to thank Tony Smith, an expatriate working here for his valuable info on shopping.

Disclaimer

No stores or shops are related to me in any way. I do not benefit from putting them on the net. On pirated stuff available here in Singapore, I am not here to say what is right and wrong about intellectual properties rights. Some feel strongly against piracy and wrote to me to ask me to take this down.

 Disclaimer