Unscrupulous Vendors
Yesterday, we went shopping for a PS2 and a GBA SP. Not for us, but for my SIL. Mami's sister.
Mami's nephew has been pestering my SIL for a GBA and PS2, for days, until she could not take it anymore. So she called us for advice and help. So yesterday, being a public holiday, we went to a shopping centre in the neighbourhood.
There must be at least 10 shops selling game consoles in this shopping centre. Nothing so special about this particular shopping centre, except I only come here for its cinema and DVDs.
We went to almost every shops. Comparing prices and services, checking out the best deal. What we thought would only take a couple of hours, turned out taking us almost the entire day! The problem was the price range (among different shops) was a huge gap. We were quoted between RM600 to RM800 for a PS2. To make things complicated, there are non-original and original parts.
Easy lar, you say. Just take the lowest quote, right? Wrong! This is where you have to be extra careful. What we found out is, these 'special deal' turned out to be not so true after all. The mod machine can only play certain reqion DVDs (there are a total of 6 regions). The controllers are non-original. There is also a possibility that the machine could be a recon unit from Japan. Worst still, there could be second-hand parts in the machine. But what I think is the most ridiculous, is that they sell the items in the package one by one. The power adapter and AV cable are sold separately. WTF? Is like buying a car without the tyres!
There was this shop who told us there are two grades to the original controllers. Class A and Class B. The reason they can sell so cheap is because their controller is the Class B 'original'. Original, my ass! Total nonsense! There is no such thing as two classes of original. There are only two catgories: original and non-original. Period. We left this shop immediately without turning back.
Finally we bought both the GBA SP and PS2 from one of the shop that we think is the most honest. It was also this shop that warned us about those 'cheap' deals with hidden cost by these unscrupulous vendors trying to make a quick buck. We had some good demo from them on how to tell the fake from the originals. Although, we might be paying a little bit more, because we insisted on original parts only, but most importantly, we left the shop without feeling cheated. :)
Mami's nephew has been pestering my SIL for a GBA and PS2, for days, until she could not take it anymore. So she called us for advice and help. So yesterday, being a public holiday, we went to a shopping centre in the neighbourhood.
There must be at least 10 shops selling game consoles in this shopping centre. Nothing so special about this particular shopping centre, except I only come here for its cinema and DVDs.
We went to almost every shops. Comparing prices and services, checking out the best deal. What we thought would only take a couple of hours, turned out taking us almost the entire day! The problem was the price range (among different shops) was a huge gap. We were quoted between RM600 to RM800 for a PS2. To make things complicated, there are non-original and original parts.
Easy lar, you say. Just take the lowest quote, right? Wrong! This is where you have to be extra careful. What we found out is, these 'special deal' turned out to be not so true after all. The mod machine can only play certain reqion DVDs (there are a total of 6 regions). The controllers are non-original. There is also a possibility that the machine could be a recon unit from Japan. Worst still, there could be second-hand parts in the machine. But what I think is the most ridiculous, is that they sell the items in the package one by one. The power adapter and AV cable are sold separately. WTF? Is like buying a car without the tyres!
There was this shop who told us there are two grades to the original controllers. Class A and Class B. The reason they can sell so cheap is because their controller is the Class B 'original'. Original, my ass! Total nonsense! There is no such thing as two classes of original. There are only two catgories: original and non-original. Period. We left this shop immediately without turning back.
Finally we bought both the GBA SP and PS2 from one of the shop that we think is the most honest. It was also this shop that warned us about those 'cheap' deals with hidden cost by these unscrupulous vendors trying to make a quick buck. We had some good demo from them on how to tell the fake from the originals. Although, we might be paying a little bit more, because we insisted on original parts only, but most importantly, we left the shop without feeling cheated. :)
posted by Papi @ 4/22/2005 02:45:00 PM
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