What's the deal?

[Neverna]

I have been looking at new phones and looked a bit more closely at the Samsung Galaxy S10e. In the shops I saw them priced at 26k+ baht for the 128GB/6GB RAM model. I looked up specs etc on the internet a few days ago and while at it came across this website: https://www.expansys.in.th and saw them priced at 16,540 baht. At the time I couldn't find that model on Lazada but a few minutes ago I found some priced at 16,500, 17,880, 18,490 and 26,900.

The 26k Lazada model is the 8GB RAM model, all the rest are the 6GB RAM models. The model I saw in the shop was also the 6GB RAM model. How is there such a difference in price between the same models? 10,000 baht difference between lazada/expansys and the shops. Are they identical phones or is there something I'm missing?

And is buying a phone off Lazada easy and reliable?

https://www.expansys.in.th/samsung-g...-green-315771/

https://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?q=...m=..search.go.



NB: I wasn't sure of the best place for this thread so if there's a better part of the forum, mods please feel free to move it there.

[cyrille]

Online a lot cheaper than high st.

Welcome to the 21st century.

Tell chitty!

[Neverna]

Yeah, I expected online to be cheaper than the High Street but not by as much as that. Could they be grey market phones?


















PM sent to Chitty.

[Topper]

I would suggest looking at Samsung's A series, rather than the flagship models. I've seen the A50 and it easily is a nice piece of gear for one third the cost.

[Neverna]

Thanks for your comment, Topper. I'm not interested in the A series. I am not desperate for a new phone and the one I currently have is OK for now but the S10e looks a better fit for me. I won't pay 26k for one but I could be tempted at 16k ... but I've never bought a phone on the internet so thought I'd ask here what the deal is.

[happynz]

I've ordered (actually the wife ordered and I gave her the money) mobiles from Lazada and there was no drama at all. The phones arrived in a few days in their original packaging. Best part is Cash on Delivery. No delivery, no out of pocket.

[Neverna]

Thanks, happynz. Which company did they use to deliver? Kerry? Thai post?

[happynz]

I don't know. Sometimes it was a bloke on a motorbike and other times a small delivery van. My wife lives out in the back blocks of Surat Thani and even that didn't cause any issue or added cost.

[baldrick]

but I've never bought a phone on the internet so thought I'd ask here what the deal is.

read the reviews - I have bought a tablet from lazada - the company had about 1000+ reviews which were mostly positive

Which company did they use to deliver? Kerry? Thai post?

usually kerry then handed off to some dodgy local thai contractor the further out in the sticks you are - trying to find some ones place in ban nok can be difficult unless you grew up there - why they don't just ask for GPS co-ord now

and not seeing your phone on invateit samsung page would indicate it is a grey import - you need to take the model number to gsmarena to see the exact specs

https://www.invadeit.co.th/category/...hones/samsung/

[lom]

How is there such a difference in price between the same models? 10,000 baht difference between lazada/expansys and the shops.

16.600 - 18.000 seems to be the price range for an S10e with 6GB RAM and 128GB ROM.
The ~26.000 baht version is an S10e with 8GB RAM and 256GB ROM and the price diff from its smaller brother is realistic.
There is one more variation of S10e which affects the price - single SIM slot vs dual SIM slot which usually for Samsung phones is a diff of ~2000 baht.
Sometimes a certain color is more expensive than others.

[Headworx]

+1 for Samsung phones, they're all I've used for years now and they're good stuff.
++1 for Lazada, bought heaps of items from that site (always Local Location and COD selected before buying anything) and delivery time via Kerry to Jomtien is normally 2 days, 3 tops.

[Bettyboo]

Samsung phones are pretty good.

The wife says Lazada is a bad place to buy a cellphone, she stated DO NOT BUY from Lazada - get yourself to Powerbuy or online Powerbuy. She likens Lazada to MBK phone shops - a lot of fake goods. Apparently, the Thai online communities such as Panthip are very much against buying cellphones from Lazada.

To be honest, I've bought a lot of phones over the years in Thailand, and Powerbuy was usually the place I bought them from...

6GB RAM 128 internal storage (SD card storage upto fukloads...) will do the job well, imho. I'd be happy with that rather than my Note9 which cost far too much...

The wife followed her Thai friends and got an Oppo 11 which they all seem to love in Thailand. Decent phone, cheap, but within a week she was telling me she wanted a new Galaxy Note 10... Samsung phones are decent; the 10E seems like a good phone at a nearly reasonable price.

[cyrille]

The wife says Lazada is a bad place to buy a cellphone, she stated DO NOT BUY from Lazada - get yourself to Powerbuy or online Powerbuy.

I'm afraid to say that she has things completely arse about tit.

Lazada is great. Powerbuy is shit.

It's true that bargains too good to be true may well be fake, but if you know your way around reasonably well they are pretty obvious

[baldrick]

(always Local Location and COD selected before buying anything)

this is important along with the reviews - some reviews are quite funny as it seems the thais will complain online about anything

[Dillinger]

If it has a Snapdragon processor rather than an exynos, then it's an import and you can't root them I don't think. Not that you'd wanna do that yet.

Funny how there's no reviews on Lazada about them and they can undercut the manufacturer by 10,000 baht.

I'd say they were definitely a grey import with 1 sim card slot and no Thai warranty

[David48atTD]

Powerbuy is shit.

We bought our TV from PowerBuy without significant issues.

Good price also.

[Neverna]

I bought one today from a small stall in Central for THB 16,990. The 128GB/6GB RAM model, the last one they had in stock.

[jabir]

I've ordered (actually the wife ordered and I gave her the money) mobiles from Lazada and there was no drama at all. The phones arrived in a few days in their original packaging. Best part is Cash on Delivery. No delivery, no out of pocket.

Not popping any balloons and Amazon et al probably monitor their vendors to weed out at least the more obvious scammers, but original packaging doesn't prove a thing.

Years back I bought a new phone, packaging and contents looked ok, days later a friend's gf that works in a phone shop had a look at it, said it's not new, removed the battery and showed me two coloured marks that would have been put there by the shop/s that 'repaired' or packed it. Apparently it isn't or at that time wasn't unusual for secondhand phones to be industrially polished and repacked with bumf and genuine new accessories to look good as new.

Good luck whatever you decide, and lettuce know as I'm also thinking to upgrade from the pos I bought in June.