Sim Lim Square - Singapore Shopping

Try these if in doubt or confused:

1) Stick to the purpose of coming to this building (be it to buy something specific or just to browse).

2) Words from neither the shoppers nor the salesperson should influence you to change your decision. Sometimes the shopper(s) IS the salesperson's friend.

3) Always ask if the item is in stock. If the salesperson says the item is out-of-stock, go to the next shop that sells the exact item which you want to buy. It will seldom happen that many shops are out-of-stock for this particular item, then you may want to reconsider an alternative.

4) Do not ask for copied or pirated software, there is none. Even if you can find any, it is still a better price getting from some other countries.

5) Take some price lists and do price comparison for the item which you intend to purchase. This is a habit of the typical singaporean. If you do not compare like the locals, the shop will gladly pocket the extra $ paid.

6) Ask whether there is a discount if payment is by cash (SGD). The typical VISA/mastercard service charge is 3% on top of the listed price.

7) If you end up in doubt or confused by the choices or prices of electronics/parts that you see, simply walk away, you may retreat to the basement B1 food court to sort things out.
Give yourself time to reconsider your purchase. You DO NOT get "closing down sale" or "once in a lifetime" prices here, this IS Sim Lim Square, try hunting some more years in this place and you will get the point.

8) Tourists get tax rebates at the information counter (on the ground floor), bring your receipt (prove of purchase) and show it to the information counter, tell them you want to get a GST-rebate.

9) Do not buy any mobile phones from level 4,5 and 6. Notice there are not many shops around selling mobile phones? This IS NOT a place to get a good deal for mobile phones, go somewhere else.

10) If someone else asks you to go somewhere else to buy your computer parts, claiming that it is cheaper, dont bother, you are already here. The widest range of NOTEBOOK,COMPUTER PARTS/ACCESSORIES IS in this place; check the price lists and see for yourself. However, mobile phones, general electronics may be cheaper in other places.

My work in the computer industry as well as working with the people there had given me new insights when making purchases in this building.

If you visit the 4th, 5th and 6th floors of sim lim square, you will find a whole bunch of shops filled with computer parts, accessories & electronics. The first 3 levels of this building are usually not meant for competitive shops selling computer parts (software & hardware) & accessories. Thus, these shops will either not have a price list or have no competitor shops anywhere in sight. These shops generally offer uncompetitive prices or services as they do not need to compete.

Locals will frequent the 4th, 5th and 6th levels, most of these shops will have black&white price lists printed on A4 or A3 size paper. They are for you to take for comparing prices. That IS WHY the price lists are there in the first place. Otherwise you can download digital versions of the scanned price lists when you google for hardwarezone, look under price guides->price lists download. The prices listed in the hardwarezone website is generally not updated, always refer to the scanned price list and the date it was scanned.

Every 9 out of 10 locals WILL compare prices from 3 to 10 shops before buying even the cheapest gadgets. That is the typical singaporean habit. If you prefer not to do it, you may end up bitter after experiencing a bad purchase, it IS common for tourist or even locals who do not compare the prices before buying. Well, some european tourists do not even check the prices back in europe for the same item which they want to buy, in many cases, the price is similar here and in europe. Well, my friend from europe bothered to check the price back in europe and decided not to buy since warranty will not be valid when brought back to europe.

If you have checked the prices on the price list of at least 3 shops for the item which you want to purchase, price range of this item should not be USD$5 higher or USD$5 lower than the average price found on the price lists. If you have done the comparison correctly, you will only select a few shops to buy from. These experienced shops have priced their items very competitively, so bargaining will not be effective, the most you may get is a 2% cash discount if paid in full SGD cash. You may get a further discount if your total purchase is above USD$2000.

I will like to hear your experience and comments while shopping here, please post them ! Happy shopping!

computer parts (software & hardware)
IT accessories
electronics
game consoles & games

Modes of payments:
CASH (SGD, ask if there is any discount if paid in cash)
VISA/MASTERCARD (ask how much is the service charge)
NETS (FOR LOCALS, no discount)

Sim Lim Square, Singapore

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Sim Lim Square, Singapore

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Visiting Singapore?

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