Buying a laptop in China, recommendations?

[sujeto]

I'm goin China to University, not sure yet if SJTU or HIT. But i likely will buy a laptop inmediatly after i install mysel in dormitory. I want to know if i can go any mall and carry my money  in wallet and buy a laptop. Will i find good variety of options in Malls in China? It has to be English Windows by the way.

[abcdefg]

Buy it before leaving home if possible.

 

Where do you live? Where are SJTU and HIT? Am guessing the latter is in Harbin.

[sujeto]

Why do you recommend to buy before leaving home? I live in Southamerica goin China by september, Is that hard to buy a laptop in China? I'm goin Shanghai or Harbin ,not sure yet.

[Simon_CH]

Electronics in China are more expensive than in many places, but perhaps with the exception of South America.

 

To your question, it's easy to buy a Notebook anywhere, and you should be able to tell them to install an English OS for you. (usually pirated)

[sujeto]

I can install it by myself, but actually what i hate is buying knock off stuff, i reeeeally hate this. When i get there, i'll need to buy real stuffs for Engineering class.  Scientific Calculators, Ultraligth laptops, maybe a camera. Why i don't want to buy this in my own country? Cause i'm not sure yet where i'm goin to stay, so i want to travel as ligth as possible and furniture my dorm once install myself in University.

 

So guys, i want to avoid imitations and knock off stuffs. Where should i go in in Shanghai. I plan to open a bank account and get all my money there, then buy using my card. Is there any thrusted place where i could go and buy with 100% confident? Maybe should i buy only in amazon china?

 

About the price, are the Chinese prices too much higher compared to US prices? Beside Electronic stuffs i plan to buy clothing also.

[Simon_CH]

Don't worry too much about knockoff notebookes, the real deal is easy to buy even if perhaps a bit (10-20%) more expensive than in the US.

 

There are plenty of branded stores in Shanghai, no problem. But most software is pirated, you will struggle to find genuine software in most places.

 

Clothes are very, very cheap in China unless you buy branded goods, then it's more expensive.

[sujeto]

I don't understand why a genuine laptop may come with pirated software. Then it isn't genuine at all. Just wondering. I have never bought a brand new  laptop which came with pirated windows.

[abcdefg]

You don't say where you are from, so it's difficult to compare buying "at home" and buying in China. If you are from certain parts of Latin America, it might be better to wait and purchase in China.

 

I'm from the US, and when I wanted to buy a new laptop a couple years ago I found the following disadvantages. (Note that I'm in Kunming, which is not as good for electronics shopping as Shanghai.)

 

1. Higher prices in the retail stores (by which I mean higher than my part of the US -- Texas.) Plus you must bargain hard at every turn. You can save taxes by purchasing in Hong Kong.

2. You get last year's components by default. For example, it cost a lot and was considered an "upgrade" to get a Pentium 7 processor instead of a 5 or even a 3. Many people figure they will find the latest stuff in Mainland China because it's close to Japan and Korea, but that's wrong. At least that's what I found.

3. Pirated software which may have problems. I'm running Windows 7 and I had to buy Windows Ultimate (Windows Premium would not allow the needed language changes.)  I purchased MS Word, but got a 2003 edition that the guy just transferred onto my machine in the store from an external hard drive that he had in his backpack.

4. A mixture of languages (or all Chinese) in the programs you download and install yourself after purchase. The download site recognizes your location and automatically sends you the Chinese version of internationally-branded software. Sometimes there are workarounds at an operating system level, but they take extra effort.

5. Local warranty service will exist for major brands, but it may or may not be easily available. (This may still be better than what you could get on a machine purchased somewhere in rural Ecuador and brought to Shanghai.)

6. I had the problem personally of having to learn appropriate vocabulary to do a decent job of shopping. You need to learn all the specs in Chinese. Store attendants most likely will not speak English. That's not a major drawback, but will cause some delay in the process.

7. It's important because you need to check that you are actually getting the proper hard disc drive, the proper graphics card, the proper amount of RAM and so on. You cannot assume that it will all be just like on the brochure; there can be substitutions of specific parts.

 

There were enough other problems that I resolved never again to try and tackle the project here in China, but instead just update my computer and peripherals during annual trips back home.

 

I do know that Shanghai has an authorized Apple Store as well as an authorized Sony Store where you can be assured of getting legitimate products built out and equipped to factory specs and even with safe software. But don't expect to be happy there if you are a bargain hunter.

 

Some people buy from Taobao and find good prices as well as good gear. I cannot tell you how to do that, since I don't know.

 

Disclaimer: I will freely admit that I am not the smartest guy around when it comes to computers. I'm an average consumer with skills and knowledge in the lowest quartile. So if you are some kind of computer whiz or a person who deals with them for a living, you might be able to avoid some of the pitfalls that plagued me.

[sujeto]

wow, well i don't speak a word of mandarin, since i'm goin Shanghai (or Harbin, still waiting for confirmation) to an International  Engineering School taugth in English. So i don't plan to learn chinese by the moment.  I was thinking in something easy trusted like an Apple store, bestbuy or amazon etc. i was refering international stores,  pick the laptop, pass the credit card, done. By the way, there isn't any Pentium 7, 5 or 3. You migth be talking about Core I7, i5 and i3, right?

 

I'm not sure yet what problems you had. Certainly, if you buy a full brand new laptop it wouldn't come with pirated software at all. If you buy a Genuine MS Office suite it shouldn't be "transfered". Whenever you buy genuine software it should have the option to choose language and english should be the norm.

FYI i'm from Caracas, Venezuela. Certainly, here electronic stuffs are a hell prohibitive to buy for normal people, but we don't have such of problems, stores won't sell knock off or pirated software unless, it specifically says it is. It is against the law and you got not any warranty.

 

Anyway, yet there is amazon.cn, i'm guessing i will need a buddy who help me to buy from them.

 

PD: I see what happened to you. You bougth a laptop with pre installed software etc. The dudes of the stores make you the favor of installing basic Software along with OS. And since it's china your laptop came with chinese windows so, the guys of stores installed you a not good English pirated version. Rigth?

[abcdefg]

By the way, there isn't any Pentium 7, 5 or 3. You migth be talking about Core I7, i5 and i3, right?

 

Yes, that's what I meant. (My ignorance is showing.)

 

Better let other more computer savvy people who live in China take it from here. I've said my two cents worth.

[grawrt]

I think you're better off buying one at home. I'm not a computer whiz but I think the last thing anyone is going to want to do when they first land into a country that they don't even speak the language is to hunt for a place to buy a laptop.

Besides, the weight isn't that much. Plus you'll be too preoccupied with other things like registering for classes, getting settled down, etc. Make things easier for yourself and carry the extra weight, its worth it.

[Lu]

I agree that unless you really know your computer stuff, know from the top of your head what is what and what is a good alternative to what you wanted if they don't have what you want, I wouldn't buy a computer in China, especially not when you only just set foot in the country.

If it's only the lugging around you're worried about, it's certainly less of a hassle to bring a laptop on your trip than to buy one in China. On all non-discount airlines I know of, you're allowed to bring a laptop bag in addition to your carry-on luggage. All airports have luggage carts, so you don't have to haul it around all the time. Once you get to Shanghai, you'll either take a taxi or the metro to your university, so the only part where you need to carry the computer is from the gate of the uni to your dorm. That's not that big a deal.

I get the 'travel light' thing and by all means, don't drag a desk lamp or clotheshangers to China. But a computer is a major, expensive purchase that gets a lot more complicated when you try to do it in an unfamiliar country in a language you don't know. Arriving there and setting up will be enough of a hassle in itself, no need to make things even harder.

If you do buy a computer in China, make sure to come back and let us know how it worked out!

[sujeto]

wow i never tougth it was that problematic to buy a laptop in China. I mean, i bet any US person could came tomorrow to my country (Venezuela) and could buy a nice shiny laptop english  Operatie systems almost everywhere, even paying in  US dollars and shouldn't be worried anything else but muggers and stuffs which is unlikely in big malls. So this result baffling when too many expa aware me about buying electronic  stuffs in China, when actually it's China the origin of many or all electronic stuffs in the world.

 

I'm guessing i could even buy a laptop in Houston US when i have to do scale fligth there for one day. 

[abcdefg]

So this result baffling when too many expa aware me about buying electronic  stuffs in China, when actually it's China the origin of many or all electronic stuffs in the world.

 

China manufactures lots of electronics for foreign companies on a contract basis, then exports them. Quite a few things that are "made in China" are not available here in China unless they are "re-imported."

 

If you are going to spend a day in Houston, it would be easy to find a good selection of laptops at decent prices.

[Lu]

It's not that hard to buy *a* laptop in China. What is hard is to buy the laptop you want, with the specifications you want, for a reasonable price.

I'm sure that if I came to Venezuela it wouldn't be hard to buy *a* laptop, for a reasonable price even. What would be a lot harder for me is to find the laptop I need, because I don't know much about laptops, so I would need a lot of information from the salespeople (and I don't speak Spanish), compare some prices and systems, do some more research online... I don't even find it that easy to buy a laptop in my home country. Perhaps that's not the case for you, but still, 'buying a computer in China' is rather advanced computer-buying, even for someone who speaks enough computer-related Chinese.

I agree with abcdefg that buying a laptop in Houston sounds like a good idea. Computers there should be cheaper than in China, you can talk about the computer with the salesperson, and you won't need to worry about pirated parts or software.

Also, perhaps consider proofreading your posts, less typos will make them much easier to read.

[sujeto]

Sorry for the typos. English isn't my first language and tend to type like shit when i'm too tired or falling sleep. You guys have considered bestbuy it is in Shanghai among other stores, rigth? There should be english speakers who  may help. However certainly, i don't need a seller who help me to choose my devices, i go straigth the label and look for the components and google in the case i don't know it. 

[Lu]

Most Chinese people don't speak English.

 

How are you going to google the components without a computer? On your smartphone perhaps? Then you first need to get a plan for your phone. So you first need to find a shop selling those, figure out which plan you want, remember to bring your passport, and activate it. But the phone people don't speak English either, so first you need to find someone who can help you do that.

 

Alright, then you have a working smartphone. Now off to the Best Buy, let's assume you found the address, it's not too far from campus, and you found the right bus or metro, or got a taxi that understood where you want to go (taxi drivers don't speak English). The labels are all in Chinese, which you can't read. Perhaps you know enough about computers to know what means what, so you can google it on your now-working smartphone. Let's hope google is working and is not semi-blocked, as often happens.

 

So let's say you found the computer you want. It costs an X amount of money. Perhaps you have a creditcard that the shop takes. If not, you need to pay cash, and it turns out that you can only take so much cash out of the ATM in one day. So you need to come back tomorrow. Except tomorrow there is some mandatory introduction class and you don't have time.

 

But in the end, congratulations, with some luck you now have *a* laptop, and if you bought in a big chain store, it's probably even the real thing. But is this really so much easier than just bringing one from home? And remember that you'll be doing all this with the worst jetlag there is (something like 12 hours difference?), after an extremely long flight, while culture-shocked. Not to be mean, but you can barely type straight when you're tired, why do you want to buy a computer in a foreign country on a jetlag?

 

China is a great country, and it's become an easier destination in the past years, but it's still a lot to take in when you just arrive. My advise would be to not make things more complicated than necessary. But if you do decide to get it in China, I really hope you come back here to post how it went.

[tysond]

I always buy computer stuff in Hong Kong.  I buy brand name stuff and it's all legit.  Also it's way cheaper than buying in China, taxes in China are quite high.  

 

A friend who bought his PC in China asked me recently why his Office was saying it has 5 days left for him to enter a code.  He thought he paid for a laptop with legit Windows and Office but actually they loaded pirate versions of both onto his PC and then left him to it.  There was no sticker under his PC with the license keys or anything like that.  He has been here 7 years and his Chinese is OK but he still had problems.   He's going to check his receipt to see if he was charged for the software or not, but still he didn't get what he wanted.  

 

A lot of people think that China will have super cheap electronics... but it's not really true, except for local brands of things like phones, ebikes, etc  (made for local market at local prices).  For international brands, the Chinese themselves shop overseas as much as they can.  My ayi found out I was in Hong Kong and asked me to buy 2 iPad minis and an iPhone 5.  

 

The USA is still king for cheap consumer goods especially if you can buy online and avoid state taxes.  The market is extremely competitive, service levels are great, selection is unlimited.

Hong Kong is a good alternative in Asia.  In China I have found Shanghai has the best range of products, retail experience and sales people, but the prices are not great due to tax.  

 

Shopping in Beijing they frequently don't have stock and try to sell you something they do have and are trying to get rid of.  This isn't true of flagship foreign stores (apple store, sony store), but the general electronics stores are pretty limited still (and only speak Chinese).  And the computer markets are a real challenge - they have lots of stuff but this is expert mode, you need to negotiate everything (in Chinese).    I visited Harbin 6 months ago and the only place I could use English was the fancy western hotel I was staying in.  Everything else was 100% chinese.

 

Buying online from reputable dealers (e.g. Amazon) is probably fine but, taxes are still high, and the website experience is all in Chinese, it took me around 6 months of living in China to be comfortable making purchases this way, setup the appropriate payment etc.  I notice Amazon recently seems to accept credit cards but not sure if they accept foreign ones.  

 

You mentioned buying clothes.  This can be quite cheap in China especially if you can figure out how to use Taobao.  At markets and so on you need to haggle.  I don't think this is a big problem and you can pack light on clothes and buy as you need, but remember you are going to Harbin.  The winter is extremely extremely extremely cold.  You will need layers.  In Beijing I wear 4 layers on my chest and 2 on my legs, sometimes two layered gloves, and 2 layers on my head.  Beijing is 10-20 degrees C warmer than Harbin.  I spent quite a lot of money outfitting myself for my first winter in Beijing, and more again for my second winter. 

 

You say you are going to arrive an open a bank account.  This task is a bit of an adventure for most people, it might take you some time to sort this out, especially if you have no local phone number, address, no chinese friend to help sign the documents, and may still have steps to take on your visa.  Also, most bank staff only speak Chinese.  It's not usually something people can handle by themselves when they first arrive.  When you are settled in Harbin you can probably do this but until then expect to use ATM to withdraw cash from your home account.   I needed to pay 4 months rent up front in cash.

 

Keeping things simple, arriving self-sufficient and tackling the steps one by one over time is the easiest approach.

Things take time in China.  Patience is something you will soon learn.   

Consider if there is someone back home who can lend you a bit of money if things get tight while you get settled down.  

In my opinion arriving with a laptop (even an old one) would be best.  A smart phone is super useful too.  

 

Good luck on your arrival!   Take it easy and you will have fun!

[sujeto]

Sounds fair. You are rigth, Then i'll have to buy at Houston. Certainly, can't buy at my own country cause here there are not variety and prices rigthnow are skyrocketed. According to my flight plan, i'll be in Houson from 1 pm to 1 am. So time enough to take a taxi and go mall. 

 

But let's discuss some of your totally valid points

 

 

How are you going to google the components without a computer? On your smartphone perhaps? Then you first need to get a plan for your phone. So you first need to find a shop selling those, figure out which plan you want, remember to bring your passport, and activate it. But the phone people don't speak English either, so first you need to find someone who can help you do that.

 

In the very rare case i don't know  a particular component of a device, i would go look for a Cyber cafe. There isn't much to say in a Cyber, but i need to use a Computer and how much should i pay in cash from my wallet.

 

Anyway with laptop or not, certainly, i will need to put my Cellphone in operance at some point, buying a contract somewhere. You say that persons of Cellphone store don't speak english which is odd. In Venezuela any cellphone store knows a little  bit English to help you, and if not, they look it for you maybe the manager. 

 

 

 

 

 

Alright, then you have a working smartphone. Now off to the Best Buy, let's assume you found the address, it's not too far from campus, and you found the right bus or metro, or got a taxi that understood where you want to go (taxi drivers don't speak English). The labels are all in Chinese, which you can't read. Perhaps you know enough about computers to know what means what, so you can google it on your now-working smartphone. Let's hope google is working and is not semi-blocked, as often happens.

 

Taxi don't speak english, but they may at least understand few words, or i draw it in paper for them. drawing always works. I can go my cellphone or cyber cafe with the Number Part of the devices, that's all what i need. Google may be blocked by the government but i think that's only for the political incorrect websites.

 

 

 

So let's say you found the computer you want. It costs an X amount of money. Perhaps you have a creditcard that the shop takes. If not, you need to pay cash, and it turns out that you can only take so much cash out of the ATM in one day. So you need to come back tomorrow. Except tomorrow there is some mandatory introduction class and you don't have time.

 

There isn't actually hurry into buy my own laptop, i could still use my  regular paper notebook. However, the thing is that i'll be carrying at least 4000 USD cash in my pocket to spend. and since there is not muggers in China, i wouldn't feel threatened.

 

 

 

But in the end, congratulations, with some luck you now have *a* laptop, and if you bought in a big chain store, it's probably even the real thing. But is this really so much easier than just bringing one from home? And remember that you'll be doing all this with the worst jetlag there is (something like 12 hours difference?), after an extremely long flight, while culture-shocked. Not to be mean, but you can barely type straight when you're tired, why do you want to buy a computer in a foreign country on a jetlag?

 

I migth rest some days in university before  going out and look for the furnitures. There isnot hurry. University still has computers for free (i guess).

 

 

 

China is a great country, and it's become an easier destination in the past years, but it's still a lot to take in when you just arrive. My advise would be to not make things more complicated than necessary. But if you do decide to get it in China, I really hope you come back here to post how it went.

 

Soon or later i'll have to go out and interact with Chinese stores just saying. I'm not carring this stuffs from my  country for the reason i just told. Here stuffs are too expensives to buy even with US currency, there isn't variety or are outdated, it's silly. I was guessing US and China were totally different.

 

 

I migth be a bit wrong, but i sense a bit of paranoid in US people when visiting other countries? I mean, i know Chinese aren't Shakespeares but few words it's only what we need. Here in Venezuela, every Taxi guy may understand you basic words if not speak fluent.

[Lu]

In the very rare case I don't know a particular component of a device, I would go look for a Cyber cafe. There isn't much to say in a cyber, but I need to use a computer and how much should I pay in cash from my wallet.

In internet cafes in China, you need to bring your passport. Also you need to find one first, and the sign will be in Chinese. Sometimes, they don't want to bother with foreign passports and simply don't let you in (this happened to me in Beijing). And they usually won't speak English.

You say that persons of Cellphone store don't speak English which is odd. In Venezuela any cellphone store knows a little bit English to help you (...) Taxi drivers don't speak English, but they may at least understand a few words

Note that you're going to China, not Venezuela. The English level of Venezuelan store clerks and taxi drivers is not really useful when you want to speak with Chinese people.

University still has computers for free (I guess).

Let's assume they do. First you need to find them, then figure out when and how you can use them. You might well need some kind of school pass or something, which you might not get immediately. So is this really easier than just bringing your own computer?

I migth be a bit wrong, but i sense a bit of paranoid in US people when visiting other countries?

I am neither from the US nor paranoid, I simply remember my own experience when I just arrived in China. The first time around, it was quite enough of an adventure to go and buy a bin and a desk lamp at the supermarket on the corner, and unlike you I already spoke some Chinese. Last time around things were a lot easier, but then, my Chinese was pretty fluent by then and I had developed a good sense of how things work in China.

You may not mean to, but you appear to doubt and second-guess every piece of advice that people who are actually in China try to give you. If you think everyone here is a paranoid American, and you know it better anyway, why do you bother to ask?

Keeping things simple, arriving self-sufficient and tackling the steps one by one over time is the easiest approach.

Good advice.