n95 in Hong Kong

0

0r39middayway (US)

New member
I'm travelling to Hong Kong in a month, never been there and I'm not Chinese, do you think it will be cheaper there or will I have a hard time getting a deal since I don't speak the Chinese language?

Basically should I wait till I go or just buy one now seeing how prices seem to settle around the $900 CDN or so .........
 
I doubt it would be much cheaper there than it is here. Your best bet is to order one online now, and have fun with it on your trip to Hong Kong. Dynamism.com has the N95 for $749. Go take advantage of their offer before the prices rise.
 
are they reputable? It's just that I don't want to but it for $750USD so about $875 CDN plus shipping and then find it $200 less in Hong Kong..... we'll see.

Is there not anyone from Hong Kong on HOFO?
 
In a month if there is supply you should save a few dollars, first checkout the Nokia store, then shop around there's a huge buliding for electronics, check your travel guide retailers to look at would be Broadway (my fav) or Fortress, there are others but i think these are the biggest?
 
Agreed. It's not been released here yet, but it's expected by the end of the month, in which case prices are unlikely to drop by the time you get to HK.


.
 
Seeing this thread reminds me of when I went down to the International District here in Seattle. I walked into a local store that sells unlocked / unbranded phones - no real plan to purchase (you'll find out why).

I noticed the Nokia N95 sitting on display and immediately inquired about availability and pricing. The women said something along the lines of oh we have a very good deal. On sale for $1280. I said really? That's a great deal, how much for an extra charger. She said she would throw it in free! Alright! I was almost sold *sarcasm*.

I don't have any personal experience recommendations concerning purchasing in Hong Kong. All I can say is that my girlfriend is Chinese and she said never purchase phones in Hong Kong (b/c prices really aren't any better than what you can find on the internet), and never purchase phones from Chinese stores. Wait.. I guess that means the first piece of info gets canceled out.
 
it's not out until the end of april.. and it's around 1k usd..


ahh "alcatraz" posted b4 me.. o yeah.. i wanted to get it from hk too but yeah.. imo if you do get it, get it from local store and reason with them, they might knock off a few prices and give free items like bluetooth ect...

good luck and have fun ! i love hk!
 
There is a huge and quite famous plaza in Mongkok that specializes in selling grey imports. The N93i was going for HK$3500 there last month. Not sure about N95 prices there but they'll most definitely have them in stock as I'm sure all the supply coming into the PRC is coming through HKG. You'll probably be finding Singapore or APAC editions though (SIM free and unlocked) as the HKG edition hasn't been released yet.

Alternately, you could also hop across the border to Shenzhen where they definitely have them also, But the latest prices I've heard there is about 6000rmb for N95.

Have fun in HKG; it's gadget paradise!! Almost as good as Akihabara, Tokyo.
 
FYI you can get it around 5700HKD, but it is difficult to find a reputable shop. In a month, prices will probably drop closer to ~5000 but I highly doubt they'll drop lower than that.

The official HK version is slated for end of April release with a list price of 6980 (don't quote me on that, but I'm fairly sure)
 
Hey, I'm in China and I got one locally (Singapore version, grey import). And I don't live in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or Shenzhen. They're available in China.

If you mean the rest of China getting it officially through Nokia distribution, that's a maybe possible release in June. The issue here is (I think) that the two service providers will not allow WiFi enabled handsets to be sold, forcing consumers to use their data plans (which admittedly are dirt cheap anyway). No 3G (yet) but EDGE is prevalent. Kinda like what happened to the E61 when it was released (finally) in the U.S.

BTW, the local Chinese versions of the E61, N93 and N93i all lack 3G and WiFi.
 
Nice..... @ 5000HKD tha's about $750 CDN........... so I think once prices hit the $800 CDN mark, I'll just get it here and enjoy now. But we'll see, the price needs to hit the $800 before I leave, otherwise I'll just get it in HK.

My other worry about getting in HK is I'll be pretty much screwed if the phone doesn't work after I get it, at least on HOFO guys like Troy from TSAMM are pretty reputable and reliable. Don't know what to do......
 
Just for comparison sake, I purchased my E65 from Citylink (stores in Causeway Bay, Mongkok & Yuen Long), for HK$3,590 (US$463) when CSL and Smartone (two local service providers) were (and are still) asking HK$3,788 (US$489). No matter where you buy in HK, phones are never SIM-locked, but I don't know about versions sold in Shenzhen or elsewhere in China.

I didn't buy from Citylink to save the money; it's just that they were the only guys who had stock at the time, so the discount was cool, but they sell the "intended for Singapore" versions with the Globe as the "My Own Key".

.
 
Currently there's two versions of N95 available in Hong Kong. The APAC Singapore version with English and Simplified Chinese. There's another version that has hacked software that supports both Traditional and Simplified Chinese. Getting the APAC version would probably be safer, either that or wait for the official HKG release.

From my experiences, I've never had a problem with my phones from Hong Kong as long as you buy from a trusted source. PM me if you need a recommendation. However, NEVER buy from that huge and famous plaza in Mong Kok, they are cheap because their phones (or parts) are not new. They can sell phones that cheap because they just give old phones a new casing or include old/fake batteries/accessories. Many friends have had bad experiences purchasing from there.
 
hey im heading to hk on saturday....wat luck that i found this thread!

erm.... i guess ill post up the prices as i come across them

zoopido, wat r some recommendations to check out?
 
i've been to HK 3 times.. and have bought a phone each time i go there.. personally i don't buy from places like MongKok, just because i don't trust them so much... and was told to not buy from there anyways as sometimes and usually they have "water goods"
 
"Water goods" is the literal translation of "shui huo" (Mandarin) or "shui fo" (Cantonese). The meaning is tax/duty not paid, i.e. grey import. And contrary to what many people think, duties are paid in HKG. Just obviously not at the retail level.

Of course you have to be careful when shopping at anyplace other than an official distribution outlet. And the Mongkok plaza is definitely in that category (but then so is Pacific Mall). Yes, they might not give you the headset or they might give you a fake battery. But the cost of getting the real one of those items (from an official distributor) certainly will not negate the price differential between "water goods" price and the official price.
 
Incorrect. The only items which attract import taxes/duties in Hong Kong are alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and fuels. Everything else is duty free. Moreover, we don't have VAT or sales tax in Hong Kong!

Price differences are based solely on cost prices plus markup variances.

.
 
Back
Top