Apart from GSS and post Christmas and Chinese New Year sale, another fantastic time to shop in Singapore is before the start of each school holiday. And this time, its not about fashion, rather IT gadgets, computers, laptops, and flat screen televisions. Even telcos have gotten into the game by giving away free computers with cable subscriptions. Comex starts the weekend before the September school holidays, Sitex takes place at the November year end school holidays, the PC Show takes place during the June school holiday and IT Show takes place the weekend before the March school holidays.
During such consumer IT and computer shows in Singapore, expect huge discounts and lots of freebies thrown in. In fact it is during these shows where big electronics giants make the most as compared to the rest of the year. Expect brands such as Toshiba, HP, Acer, Sony, Lenovo, Olympus, Canon and many of such brands taking up huge booths to showcase their latest notebooks, netbooks, cameras, flatscreen televisions, printers, and all the computer accessories that go with it. For example, a person who buys a camera will not only get a discount, but also enjoy freebies thrown into it like storage card, camera bag, tripod and the likes.
Because a Singaporean knows when it is a good deal, expect such computer shows to be fully packed. I am talking about body to body packed, like sardine during peak periods in the subway. The technique to avoid crowds during peak shopping times which are Friday nights, Saturday and Sunday would be to walk between the booths rather than along the pathways. Some people would spend the first day, usually a Thursday collecting all the brochures and getting the prices, then sit somewhere, or even go home to examine the best deal. They would return later, either on a Saturday or Sunday to pick up the item, and perhaps negotiate for more freebies. To me the best time to shop would be on a Sunday evening, when the retailers try to close as many deals and will give you a better price or more freebies. If you cannot stand too much of a crowd, it will be best to go on a Thursday or Friday afternoon after lunch.
If you are traveling to Singapore, it is great to plan your holiday to enjoy one of these computer fairs. The fairs are usually held at Suntec Convention Center, a 15 minute walk from Cityhall MRT. Expect all public transport including taxis to be full, so I would actually suggest staying nearby, like Pan Pacific, Conrad, or Marina Mandarin so that all you need to do is to lug your new purchases back to the hotel room.
During such consumer IT and computer shows in Singapore, expect huge discounts and lots of freebies thrown in. In fact it is during these shows where big electronics giants make the most as compared to the rest of the year. Expect brands such as Toshiba, HP, Acer, Sony, Lenovo, Olympus, Canon and many of such brands taking up huge booths to showcase their latest notebooks, netbooks, cameras, flatscreen televisions, printers, and all the computer accessories that go with it. For example, a person who buys a camera will not only get a discount, but also enjoy freebies thrown into it like storage card, camera bag, tripod and the likes.
Because a Singaporean knows when it is a good deal, expect such computer shows to be fully packed. I am talking about body to body packed, like sardine during peak periods in the subway. The technique to avoid crowds during peak shopping times which are Friday nights, Saturday and Sunday would be to walk between the booths rather than along the pathways. Some people would spend the first day, usually a Thursday collecting all the brochures and getting the prices, then sit somewhere, or even go home to examine the best deal. They would return later, either on a Saturday or Sunday to pick up the item, and perhaps negotiate for more freebies. To me the best time to shop would be on a Sunday evening, when the retailers try to close as many deals and will give you a better price or more freebies. If you cannot stand too much of a crowd, it will be best to go on a Thursday or Friday afternoon after lunch.
If you are traveling to Singapore, it is great to plan your holiday to enjoy one of these computer fairs. The fairs are usually held at Suntec Convention Center, a 15 minute walk from Cityhall MRT. Expect all public transport including taxis to be full, so I would actually suggest staying nearby, like Pan Pacific, Conrad, or Marina Mandarin so that all you need to do is to lug your new purchases back to the hotel room.
