Ahhh … Shopping! This is considered one of Singapore’s favorite pastimes. Shop shop till you drop!
Seriously, finding a shopping centre is probably one of the easiest things here, no matter where you are on the island. You can buy (almost) anything, all major brands are here, from luxury to down-to-earth to no-brand. The main shopping areas are in the City centre off course, the most well known being Orchard Road which has dozens of large and small shopping centers and department stores.
Prices in Singapore are not extremely low but most of you will find them quite reasonable to good if only because the GST (VAT) is only 7% (as of July '07). Electronic goods are relatively low in price and so are luxury goods, such as watches, and brands, such as Vuiton.
If you are a European and wonder when to shop? Anytime! In the shopping centers and main shopping areas shops are open roughly from 10 to 10 seven days a week. Some shops open-up a bit later, supermarkets earlier (8 am) and there are several supermarkets with 24 hour outlets. In the Orchard Road area there is also Nightshopping once a month, what more can you ask for.
If you have been here a while you will know that there are sales about half the year, there is the yearly ‘Great Singapore Sale’ but there are also year-end sales, Chinese new year sales etc. So, if you just arrived and need some stuff but not that urgent maybe just wait a while.
One thing though; learn how to bargain (fast)! Many shops do not have fixed prices, you have to ask the price and then bargain it down. Even stores which do show price tags, apart from the big departmental stores (maybe), are open to a question of: “You have a better price on that?”
Note that the merchant will first estimate the size of your wallet which is generally considered to be bigger if you are Caucasian, Japanese or Korean looking. There is unfortunately no ‘fixed’ percentage you should offer below the asking price, it differs per type of product (upto 80% on jewelry !). A good guide is to check what the stuff costs back home and subtract taxes and a percentage (and then offer below that price, otherwise you don’t have bargaining room!). You can also ask the price in several locations (don’t start to bargain yet!) to get a feel for the range and then bargain. If you need to buy a lot and are a lousy bargainer you can also ask a local friend for help.
For details on some specific shopping items:
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