No pricetag scam
Most of the shady shops put their products without price tags. Obviously products without a pricetag are subjected to varying quotes from the seller. The seller normally will asses how stupid the buyer in before quoting a price. Remarks like ‘I am not familiar’ or ‘I am tourists’ will definitely result higher quote. In some instance, sellers will try to convince the buyer that the price they offer are the best by making the conversation seem secretive or uncomfortable for the seller.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) scam
In this scam, sellers would first quote potential buyers a price and then just before the buyer makes
the payment they would tell the buyer that they’ll need to pay 7% GST on top of the quoted price. Most people would take this as something that they have no choice but to pay for. However, this is not true.
GST registration is not mandatory for all shops in Singapore; GST registration is only mandatory if the turnover of a business entity exceeds S$1m annually. A proper GST registered retailer is also required to quote prices inclusive of GST during a sale and at the same reflect their GST registration number prominently on the sales invoices along with the exact amount of GST paid.
More unscrupulous shops will quote GST that is differ from the norm. Like 8% or 9% accounting for random stuff they make up themselves. Some shops even purposely miscalculate the amount of GST that buyer need to pay.
GST Refund scam
This scam will usually be employed together with normal GST scam. The seller will tell buyer that they can claim their GST back at the Changi Airport, Harbour Front or even Checkpoint.
Most people do not know that tourist can only claim GST back at Changi airport. Not even at Harbour Front. And thats assuming the GST itself are charged from valid shops with proper GST registration number.
Counterfeit scam
This normally applies for software, but also to hardware at times in case they deemed the buyer to be stupid enough. Some Sim Lim Square shops were busted by the police for selling counterfeit copies of Microsoft Windows.
Many stores are also selling counterfeit copies of the popular Apple iPod music players. They have the same packaging, material, shape and even colour choices. But what’s inside of these chinese “MP4″ players are nothing like a real iPod. I do not mind if they are honest with the counterfeit, but some unscrupulous shops sell the items as original products.
Missing component scam
In this scam, the seller would quote the buyer a price that seemed awesomely cheap or too good to be true or both. After the buyer makes the purchase, the seller would then ask the buyer if the buyer would like to purchase accessories that would otherwise have been bundled with the product ranging from stupid stuff like straps to critical stuff like charger, battery and data cable.
“Top-up” scam
Many scammy shops usually do not allow buyer to test a brand new unit unless the buyer is committed to buy it. In this scam, the seller would convince the buyer to purchase something that he/she would later find to be unsatisfactory (e.g. faulty or of lower standard or incomplete set) and then offer the buyer a top-up for a pricier product.
Bait-and-Switch Scam 1
This is probably one of the most popular scams around. In this scam, the seller tries to lure the buyer into his shop by quoting a super low price for items that buyer wants – say Item A. When seller and buyer negotiate, the seller starts to make Item A sounds like a lousy products and start promoting Item B which buyer is not familiar with at ridiculous price. During the process, some shop used some ‘tweaked’ equipments to demonstrate how inferior Item A is.
Bait-and-Switch Scam 2
In this scam, the seller and buyer negotiate for one item, but the seller delivers another. For example, the buyer is seeking a 16GB memory card, but is handed an 8GB card. If the buyer does not notice the switch before the money is exchanged, or the switch is done after the money is exchanged, the seller will pretend that the negotiation was always for the inferior product. Even if the buyer has not yet left the store, the seller
will refuse a return or exchange.
False Warranty 1
During negotiation the seller tries to give impression that the item is indeed covered by manufacturer’s warranty while in reality the item you are buying are grey market without official warranty. Upon payment, buyer may or may not be notified that the warranty is actually shop warranty and not manufacturer’s warranty. Which leads the seller to …
Hardselling (Extended) Warranty
The seller starts by trying to convince you on how ‘fragile’ / ‘valuable’ / ‘crappy’ your purchase is especially after manufacturer warranty expired. The seller could further comparing manufacturers warranty with piece of worthless toilet paper. This is often done after they are pretty sure you are going to buy the item (or worse… have bought the item).
False Warranty 2
This happens to some friends of mine who bought Nokia handphone from one of the seller in Chinatown. Everything looks fine until the phone broke down few months later. Upon visiting Nokia care, my
friend was informed that the phone he bought was not covered under warranty and the warranty card that he owned were not for that phone – regardless whether it was an original copy or not.. Note that handphone’s warranty card usually contains IMEI number of the phone it covers (google ‘IMEI number’). Mismatched IMEI number usually results in warranty not being honored.
Oh yeah… forget about refund. No such things for shops you normally found in Sim Lim Square, Lucky Plaza or Chinatown. Thus before making payment, buyers should insist that they test the product. If it’s a product cannot be tested
(such as RAM or hard drive), make very sure that it’s covered by a
manufacturer’s warranty, not the store’s own warranty!
Most of the shady shops put their products without price tags. Obviously products without a pricetag are subjected to varying quotes from the seller. The seller normally will asses how stupid the buyer in before quoting a price. Remarks like ‘I am not familiar’ or ‘I am tourists’ will definitely result higher quote. In some instance, sellers will try to convince the buyer that the price they offer are the best by making the conversation seem secretive or uncomfortable for the seller.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) scam
In this scam, sellers would first quote potential buyers a price and then just before the buyer makes
the payment they would tell the buyer that they’ll need to pay 7% GST on top of the quoted price. Most people would take this as something that they have no choice but to pay for. However, this is not true.
GST registration is not mandatory for all shops in Singapore; GST registration is only mandatory if the turnover of a business entity exceeds S$1m annually. A proper GST registered retailer is also required to quote prices inclusive of GST during a sale and at the same reflect their GST registration number prominently on the sales invoices along with the exact amount of GST paid.
More unscrupulous shops will quote GST that is differ from the norm. Like 8% or 9% accounting for random stuff they make up themselves. Some shops even purposely miscalculate the amount of GST that buyer need to pay.
GST Refund scam
This scam will usually be employed together with normal GST scam. The seller will tell buyer that they can claim their GST back at the Changi Airport, Harbour Front or even Checkpoint.
Most people do not know that tourist can only claim GST back at Changi airport. Not even at Harbour Front. And thats assuming the GST itself are charged from valid shops with proper GST registration number.
Counterfeit scam
This normally applies for software, but also to hardware at times in case they deemed the buyer to be stupid enough. Some Sim Lim Square shops were busted by the police for selling counterfeit copies of Microsoft Windows.
Many stores are also selling counterfeit copies of the popular Apple iPod music players. They have the same packaging, material, shape and even colour choices. But what’s inside of these chinese “MP4″ players are nothing like a real iPod. I do not mind if they are honest with the counterfeit, but some unscrupulous shops sell the items as original products.
Missing component scam
In this scam, the seller would quote the buyer a price that seemed awesomely cheap or too good to be true or both. After the buyer makes the purchase, the seller would then ask the buyer if the buyer would like to purchase accessories that would otherwise have been bundled with the product ranging from stupid stuff like straps to critical stuff like charger, battery and data cable.
“Top-up” scam
Many scammy shops usually do not allow buyer to test a brand new unit unless the buyer is committed to buy it. In this scam, the seller would convince the buyer to purchase something that he/she would later find to be unsatisfactory (e.g. faulty or of lower standard or incomplete set) and then offer the buyer a top-up for a pricier product.
Bait-and-Switch Scam 1
This is probably one of the most popular scams around. In this scam, the seller tries to lure the buyer into his shop by quoting a super low price for items that buyer wants – say Item A. When seller and buyer negotiate, the seller starts to make Item A sounds like a lousy products and start promoting Item B which buyer is not familiar with at ridiculous price. During the process, some shop used some ‘tweaked’ equipments to demonstrate how inferior Item A is.
Bait-and-Switch Scam 2
In this scam, the seller and buyer negotiate for one item, but the seller delivers another. For example, the buyer is seeking a 16GB memory card, but is handed an 8GB card. If the buyer does not notice the switch before the money is exchanged, or the switch is done after the money is exchanged, the seller will pretend that the negotiation was always for the inferior product. Even if the buyer has not yet left the store, the seller
will refuse a return or exchange.
False Warranty 1
During negotiation the seller tries to give impression that the item is indeed covered by manufacturer’s warranty while in reality the item you are buying are grey market without official warranty. Upon payment, buyer may or may not be notified that the warranty is actually shop warranty and not manufacturer’s warranty. Which leads the seller to …
Hardselling (Extended) Warranty
The seller starts by trying to convince you on how ‘fragile’ / ‘valuable’ / ‘crappy’ your purchase is especially after manufacturer warranty expired. The seller could further comparing manufacturers warranty with piece of worthless toilet paper. This is often done after they are pretty sure you are going to buy the item (or worse… have bought the item).
False Warranty 2
This happens to some friends of mine who bought Nokia handphone from one of the seller in Chinatown. Everything looks fine until the phone broke down few months later. Upon visiting Nokia care, my
friend was informed that the phone he bought was not covered under warranty and the warranty card that he owned were not for that phone – regardless whether it was an original copy or not.. Note that handphone’s warranty card usually contains IMEI number of the phone it covers (google ‘IMEI number’). Mismatched IMEI number usually results in warranty not being honored.
Oh yeah… forget about refund. No such things for shops you normally found in Sim Lim Square, Lucky Plaza or Chinatown. Thus before making payment, buyers should insist that they test the product. If it’s a product cannot be tested
(such as RAM or hard drive), make very sure that it’s covered by a
manufacturer’s warranty, not the store’s own warranty!
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