Gadget Freaks Should be Wary in Singapore; 5 Steps to Avoid Scams

From personal experience, Singapore is a great place to look for—and buy—gadgets. But you have to be careful about where you buy. Or at least know when it’s ok to fork over those hard-earned funds.

The stories as related by the victims are practically the same. It involves a seller and a buyer agreeing on a price; after the latter hands over the money, the former suddenly claims that he already gave the merchandise. Continue reading for a sample account, which details how these unscrupulous sellers take advantage of tourists.

After haggling for a while, he and the seller agreed on a selling price of Sing$300 [$213]. So the guy hands over the cash, and the seller then suddenly asks, “Ok, so where is your Playstation?” The buyer was perplexed, but when he looked at his receipt, the item listed there was a memory card.

…the buyer says “I’m buying it from you remember?” The seller then says, “No, you asked for a memory stick for your PSP.” The buyer was initially more puzzled than mad, and tried to clear things up. But the seller insisted that he had bought a memory stick, not a PSP. The buyer …called a policeman outside the mall. When the cop arrived, the seller gave him the spiel about the memory stick. When the cop asked to see the receipt, sure enough, the item listed is a memory stick, not a PSP.

The cop [asks] the buyer if he wants to file charges. Since the guy has only two more days in Singapore, this isn’t viable as it could take a long time for a hearing to be set. He demands that the cash simply be returned and they forget about the whole thing. The seller asks him to return the non-existent MS, which of course, he can’t… an Indian couple comes by, report that the seller had done the exact same thing to them earlier. But since they were leaving the following day, they couldn’t press charges either.

Five easy steps to keep this from happening to you, in Singapore or any other place:

1. Beforehand, try to find out what comes with the gadget you’re buying (power cords? adaptors? software?)
2. After agreeing on a price, ask the seller to bring out the merchandise and open the box in front of you
3. Request that the seller take out each item in the box, and identify it for you
4. Ask the seller to close the box and put it into the plastic/paper bag in front of you
5. Hand over the money as the seller hands you the bag

Sellers should (read: must) have no problems with the requests outlined above. Remember, you can always walk away and look for another seller! Don’t let the need to save a few dollars cloud your judgment, and always use your common sense! (philmug.ph)