If your buying electronics in Hong Kong don't get sucked in by the bright neon lights stores

If your buying Electronics in Hong Kong it can be easy to become overwhelmed by all of the options and let me preface this by saying I love Hong Kong.

General rule of thumb applies here - if it looks too good it probably is. I have been to HK many times and on my most recent trip I wanted a Video camera. I went to one shop who gave me a price on one of the Cameras in the window display of one of the bright neon lit stores you will see, generally in Kowloon around Nathan Road or the Golden Mile.

This is the usual sales routine as I tried it on a couple of them :

1: Get offered a price that seems brilliant

2: Get offered a seat in store. DON'T PAY CASH OR PART WITH MONEY. The saleperson will write a small note of paper and give it to someone else saying 'we need to get it from warehouse' or 'we have to get it from out the back'.

3: You wait a bit and they will start talking to you, asking you some relaxing questions and then asking why you want that model. They start recommending other models that are better, telling you your selection is rubbish.

4: If you give in you will end up buying something else and forget all about your first choice. BUT if you hold out eventually they will 'wink' at someone who will come out and say the one you wanted was out of stock or not available.

5: If you resist at this stage they will usually start being unfriendly and you know it is time to cut your loses and leave.

This happened to me in more than one place so I guess it is the normal Tourist Routine. Some things are not as cheap in Honk Kong as they used to be. If you shop at Fortress you will get proper prices which are not always that good.