After much negativity and major hoo-haa on how some Sim Lim Square black hearted retailers have been cheating money off tourists and students:

Case investigates Sim Lim mobile shop which paid in coins
Vietnamese tourist kneels and begs for refund of iPhone 6 at Sim Lim Square
Another Sim Lim incident: Student reduced to tears after being charged $1,000 for warranty fees for iPhone 6

It’s good that probably there’s a buying guide on where to buy mobile phones safe from being cheated off your hard earned money in Singapore.

 

1. Do your research!

Although locals are usually well-informed of the popular retail shops through friends. But tourists, students and businessmen on trips may be unaware without proper research. However, there are still cases of locals being cheated of their money too, and usually they fall into the trap because of the lack of research.

There are always price lists of electronics and mobile phones, so always rely on these to get a guide on roughly how much they cost.

Here are a few price guides that you can refer to when you are planning to buy stuffs:

• Hardwarezone Price Lists – Mainly for you to check on Computer systems, components, even microSD, SD, thumb drives price guide can be found here.
• Mobile Phones Price Lists – MobileSquare, Mobyshop, WhyMobile
• Camera Price Guide – ClubSnap Forums (more complicated as you probably need to register to ask around for price)

And to be safe, you can always check out the Consumer Complaint Alert Guide here to know which shops to avoid
https://www.case.org.sg/consumer_guides_consumeralerts.aspx

2. Check out the “correct/safe” shopping centres

There are a lot of places in Singapore that people would recommend you where to buy stuffs, but do note that some places may not be as ‘safe’ as you think.

A. Sim Lim Square

Good for – Computer components, speakers, thumb drives, memory cards, etc
Selected shops good for – Cameras (Alan Photo)
Not exactly good for – Mobile Phones

B. Lucky Plaza

Not good for almost everything, except shopping for perfume and having meals there.
There are still good shops there like iPhoto

C. Funan Centre

Good for – Computer components, speakers, thumb drives, memory cards, cameras, etc
This place is almost safe to buy anything without being cheated, BUT always refer to point 1 – DO YOUR RESEARCH!

D. Peninsula Plaza

Good for – Cameras, and only one shop – Cathay Photo
Also good for camera accessories like tripods, flashes, etc – SGCameraStore

E. Far East Plaza

Good for – Mobile Phones (3 shops – MobileSquare/Mobyshop/Whymobile)

3. Warranty

When you buy electronics and gadgets, always check for warranty with the salesperson. Check whether there’s international warranty, how many years, etc.

• As a safer rule of thumb, unless you’re not bothered by warranty, avoid “Export Sets” as much as you can.
• Laptops usually come with international warranty, but always do a double check.
• Extended warranty sometimes are by the shop or through a 3rd party vendor, so always check whether the extended warranty you bought is actually valid overseas.
• AppleCare for MacBooks can be purchased usually with discount when you’re buying with a valid APR (Apple Premium Reseller), extends your laptop warranty for 2 more years.
• AppleCare for iPhones can be purchased from APRs (Apple Premium Resellers) like EpiCentre, Nubox, iStudio. Retails for S$138 and extends 1 more year of warranty.

 4. Shop Recommendations

With that being said, here are some of the recommended shops that you can go to as a safe guide.
This is my personal list and there are of course other shops that offer good prices and customer service, leave comments below if you have other recommendations.

Mobile Phones

A. MobileSquare

Address: #02-98, Far East Plaza, 14 Scotts Road Singapore 228213
Tel: +65 6733 3747
Opening Hours: MON-SAT : 11AM – 9PM / SUN: 12PM – 8PM

B. MobyShop

Address: #02-52, Far East Plaza, 14 Scotts Road Singapore 228213
Tel: +65 6733 4110
Opening Hours: MON-SAT: 12PM – 9PM / SUN&PH: 12PM – 8PM

C. WhyMobile

Address: #03-126, Far East Plaza, 14 Scotts Road Singapore 228213
Tel: +65 6733 6881
Opening Hours: MON-SUN: 2PM – 9PM

Cameras

1. Cathay Photo
   Peninsula Plaza
   Address: 111 North Bridge Road #01-04 / #01-05 to 08 / #01-11 to 14 Peninsula Plaza Singapore 179098
   Tel: +65 6338 3881
   Operating Hours: MON-SAT: 10AM – 7PM. Closed on Sunday & Public Holidays
   Marina Square
   Address: 6 Raffles Boulevard #02-215 to 216 Marina Square Singapore 039594
   Tel: +65 6339 6188
   Operating Hours:  MON-SUN: 11AM – 9PM. Closed on New Year’s Day (1 Jan), Chinese New Year and Labor Day
   https://www.facebook.com/cathayphoto
   
2. Alan Photo
   Funan
   Address: 109 North Bridge Road #02-07 Funan The IT Mall Singapore 179097
   Tel: +65 6883 0922
   Operating Hours: MON-SAT: 10.30AM – 8.30PM / SUN&PH: 10.30AM – 7.30PM
   Sim Lim Square
   Address: 1 Rochor Canal Road #01-38/#01-08, Sim Lim Square, Singapore 188504
   Tel: +65 6336 092
   Operating Hours: MON-SAT: 10.30AM – 8.30PM / SUN&PH: 10.30AM – 7.30PM
   https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alan-Photo-SG/236788585215
3. M S Color
   Main Branch
   Blk 711 Ang Mo Kio Central Ave 8 #01-3501C Singapore 560711
   Tel: +65 6457 6380
   Operating Hours: MON-SUN: 11AM – 9PM
   AMK Hub Branch
   53, Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 #02-24, AMK Hub Singapore 569933
   Tel: +65 6452 2828
   Operating Hours: MON-SUN: 11AM – 9PM
   https://www.facebook.com/mscolorservice
4. John 3:16
   Address: 109 North Bridge Road #04-27 Funan DigitaLife Mall Singapore 179097
   Opening Hours: MON-SAT: 12.30PM – 9.30PM. Closed on Sundays.
   Tel: +65 9674 8664
   https://www.facebook.com/John316Photo

Computer Related Stuffs

1. Fuwell
   Address: 1 Rochor Canal Rd, Sim Lim Square, #04-02F/G Singapore 188504
   Tel: +65 6339-3901
   Opening Hours: MON-SAT: 11:30AM-8:30PM / SUN: 12PM – 7:30PM
   https://www.facebook.com/fuwellsg
2. Cybermind
   Address: 1 Rochor Canal Road, #04-49 Sim Lim Square Singapore 188504
   Tel: +65 6338 2883
   Opening Hours: MON-SUN: 11AM – 8PM
   https://www.facebook.com/cybermindcomputer
3. Challenger
   Main Store
   109 North Bridge Rd #06-00 Funan DigitaLife Mall Singapore 179097
   Tel: +65 6339 9008
   Opening Hours: MON-SUN: 10.30AM – 9PM daily
   Other stores islandwide at popular locations like VivoCity, Bugis Junction, Plaza Singapura
   https://www.facebook.com/ChallengerSingapore

Hope this would be of useful help when you shop in Singapore for gadgets and mobile phones!