Hua Hin prices and rip offs

[lindosfan1]

I was up in Bangkok last week came across a new book I wanted. Brand new paperback, price 250 Baht. Just seen the same book in a bookstore in Hua Hin 650 baht. What a rip off.
Any other price fiddles like this.
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Woke up this morning breathing I thought this is a good start to the day.

[buksida]

You'll get that in a tourist destination, its not limited only to Hua Hin.
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Illegitimi non carborundum

[IHF]

anywhere from the town center outwards, further out you go cheaper the prices. from beer to clothes, food, etc

Especially the night market and fresh market.

All the seafood restaurants in Town, selling frozen seafood, I can go anywhere in the world and eat frozen fish.

Go to Cha Am or south past Pranburi, great FRESH seafood at a quarter of the price.

At least the Grand market has the right idea, most things have the price displayed on them.


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[lindosfan1]

Buksida
Funny I thought Bangkok was a tourist destination certainly the bookshop there was in a tourist area.
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Woke up this morning breathing I thought this is a good start to the day.

[Super Joe]

It's annoying and wrong Lindos but we Brits return the favour when Asians visit the UK.

SJ

[Cowtown Comedy]

I bought some nice patio umbrellas in BKK for 1600 ea. In HH the same ones were 2700 ea.
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[buksida]

Lindos, yes you are correct, most things in Hua Hin are more expensive than elsewhere. Phuket used to be the most expensive place in Thailand but I believe Hua Hin is rapidly catching up.

Computer hardware is at least 30-40% more expensive here than in Bangkok. Furniture and general household appliances are up to 50% more expensive here than their equivalents in Bangsaphan. And as for golf or property around HH forget it!

I even bought a motorbike many years ago in the Pranburi dealership because it was a few grand cheaper than the identical model in Hua Hin. Best way to approach it is to know the price of what you want before hand.
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Illegitimi non carborundum

[lindosfan1]

I think the priced is governed by the numbers of farangs. The more farangs the higher the price. I certainly do not buy much in Hua Hin. I wait until I am out of town unless it is urgent.
It is a stupid policy to price like that when I shopped in the Bangkok bookshop I bought more than I intended as the price was good reasing material for the next couple of weeks.
The new price in Bangkok was the equivalant of the price in some second hand book shops here.
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[spitfire]

Well, I think Buksi is about right here and most of this stuff comes from places like the Cambodian border(Sa-Kow) or the northern villages in Chang Mai/Chang Rai etc, then arrives in markets like Jat-Chu-Jak in Bangkok, sold on to other Thai cities(Korat/Khon Kaen/you name it) and tourist destinations. Not as expensive in the non-tourist cities as in the tourist ones but still an OK profit margin.

By the time it reaches places like the malls in HH/Phuket/Pattaya etc then it's 6-7 times the price.

Think it all boils down to the fact that the locals know they can 'take the p***', so they do. They charge the same to all(tourists/Thais/whoever) in these places.

Don't think it's any more complicated than that. Forgive me if you think that's cynical but I don't think so and many will pay the asking price.

My Mrs was shocked to see the prices of these sort of items in the popular tourist desinations when we have visited. If you want Thai traditional trinkets in HH, then it's 500 Baht for little flower vase from north Thailand with some traditional carving on it which probably cost about 50 baht when bought from the people who actually made it.

Asian business psycy, that's all.

[Vital Spark]

It didn't used to be like that. Not so long ago if I asked for a discount in my bad (but understandable) Thai, I'd get some baht knocked off. Now all I get is a sweet smile and (in English) 'Sorry, Madame. Special price - cannot discount'.

My take on it is that there are a lot more affluent retirees who possibly don't speak Thai, who are converting the prices to those 'back home' and think that whatever they're buying is a lot cheaper - which it is. The Thais ain't stupid, they'll just keep nudging the prices up - and while they have people willing to pay that price, they're not going to knock off a few baht for a cheapskate like me.

The prices at the local talat nats (markets) don't seem to have changed much, and we always get given freebies. Which is nice...

VS
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[lindosfan1]

Spitfire
We all know most of the time these trinkets and imports from Cambodia are over priced but that price is negotiable.
What I am referring to is the fixed priced items usually European or other western imports. Those prices are 99% of the time fixed. Try to get the price down on these to a level that is acceptable is different to the local produce. Books are a good example.
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[spitfire]

[pothai]

Cha Am market every Wednesday from 5.00pm.....cheaper than most other places in Thailand...fraction of the cost in Hua Hin...bus is only 20 Baht if you havnt a car or bike....turn right at the police box at the main crossroads and a few hundred yards up there by the train station....you can spend at least 2 hours walking around

[hhfarang]

Buksi is right. When I first visited Thailand, Phuket was the most expensive place in the country far higher than most of the rest of Thailand because it was the most popular resort destination.

Starting about five years ago Hua Hin was discovered more widely by tourists and prices started to rise. Then the tsunami down south brought more people to this area (as an alternate destination) and the building boom over the last four years did the rest.

Hua Hin is rapidly becoming the next "Phuket".

Even four and a half years ago when we built the house, we discovered right away that we could save 20% or more on building materials by going to Pranburi, Tayang, or Petchaburi. We bought very few of the materials in Hua Hin. Even our plants, trees, and grass came from Pranburi.

[norm]

The Cha Am market is much cheaper for fresh foods, fish, vegetables, meat and flowers. Very friendly also. There is a large assortment.

Example roses are 5 baht each. I go all out and buy my wife a dozen every once in a while, just a crazy spendthrift kind of guy.