Bali Expat Forum - Bali Travel Forum

I would like some advice. My wife and I will be in Bali in the near future to start furnishing our new home. Does anyone have some suggestions on where to buy household appliances(stove,refrigerator,T.V.,etc)??Also looking to buy a decent mattress!! We are looking for quality and good price(what a surprise!). Thanks , Doug and Nengah

Dug,

There are many appliance stores in Denpasar. Also, you may want to check out the Bali Advertiser for a good deal on a used appliance...expat moving or upgrading.

As with all expensive items, cars, housing, etc. bargains can be had so long as you are willing to do some good "bird dogging."

We bought our appliaces at a local store in Singaraja, Very good service.It is easier to buy local, if something might go wrong, they fix it other wise we have to travel 2 1/2 hours to Denpasar.
I just have a balinese bed made with the Tukan Kaju in the Banjar, It is beautiful and cost 1.2 juta.My klamboo also made locally in singaraja for the bed 1 juta very beautiful with lace on the top.

Hi
I want to by my parents in law a new refrigerator with a small frezer on the top next time I go to Bali, is there anyone who know the price on a good one?

Thanks Roy, I'll sniff it out!! Jogry, we have our bed already made by the Tukang Kayu, but I need to find a comfortable mattress for a good nights sleep!!!!

Doug and Nengah:

If you're after more-or-less "local" stuff, a visit to MAKRO is a good place to start. (It's on the main By-Pass Road between Kuta and Sanur.) They have TV's, DVD players, stoves, furniture, but not good mattresses. Check it out because for sure, you'll find something.

ACE Hardware (in Kuta Galleria Mall) has a lot of higher-quality imported stuff, but you have to pay more (of course). It's a more interesting place to go and drool about western products.

And for Ilu

...I want to by my parents in law a new refrigerator with a small frezer on the top next time I go to Bali, is there anyone who know the price on a good one?...

You don't say how big you want it to be so I'm only guessing. Somewhere between one and two million Rupiah should cover it.

And if people have the time, inclination, patience and taste, there are many warehouses full of "antique" furniture where bargains abound. Some of it is for real. All depends on what kind of style you want for your furnishings. I can direct you to some, if you want (send me a PM).

Happy shopping (and seeking).

Sorry - double posted.

Golly Phil, we just about 100% agree! As an aside, learn to use that “edit” button and you won’t have to apologize anymore.

When I just say...”just about” I stop very well short of your Makro suggestion for appliances or expensive electric equipment. Frankly, I hate that place, although Eri shops there for 1,000 toilet paper rolls at a time, 500 rolls of paper towels, and when the boys were in diapers, tons of them too! In mass quantities, it’s great.

For what you suggest, I have to wonder just how they “back up” the warranties? Makro has ZERO service and that spells to me....ZERO satisfaction if your purchase of such goods goes haywire. This is all of course not mentioning that it is Dutch owned, so there I go again with my anti-colonial attitude.

Not long ago we bought my mother in law a fridge with top freezer for her warung. Fact is, generosity had nothing to do with it...I simply grew very tired of warm Bintangs. As a plus, I can count on my Stoli being literally ice cold! My mother in law has never frozen a thing in her life, so that part is wide open for me!

We bought this in Tabanan...a somewhat unexpected place to find reliable appliance dealers, but low and behold, they are there and they are great to deal with. You were right on with your estimate, as this one was 1.2 million delivered...sans Bintang and Stoli! Oh, and by the way, Tabanan is not in South Bali. It’s in West Bali...just so you don’t get lost if you want to shop there!

I do use the edit option, Roy...just couldn't delete the double entry. Maybe tomorrow.

I also hate MAKRO, but it's worth a look, right? As far as Indonesian "warranties' go, they're sort of in the lap of the gods territory (or worse). You can "win" sometimes or have to deal with the "have to send Jakarta" crap.

Thanks for the geography lesson:

...Oh, and by the way, Tabanan is not in South Bali. It’s in West Bali...

Look at your maps again - Tabanan (or Tabanana, as I like to jokingly call it occasionally), is south of the mid-line of Bali. For sure it's westerly - maybe we should call it south-west, more or less.

I got an A in high-school geography. Did a couple of years of university geography as well. How about you?

And just an aside here: this kind of one-up-manship bullshit is getting a bit tiresome. Don't you agree? Can't we knock it off, if that's what it is? I bet there are lots of posters/readers who would agree. Enough is enough.

Have a rest sometime - might do you the world of good.

Sanurian - do you think Marko would sell plasma TV's

IF so how would I get it to Gili Meno?

Also is the Marko store located near the turn off to Serangin near the stinky tip?

Dasha

Thanks Sanurian, I have been to Makro and agree it kind of sucks for furniture. I have seen on the By-pass( close to the area that splits to go to Denpasar and the new By-pass to Klungkung) many furniture places. As far as appliances, there seems to be alot of places in Denpasar pusat that sell appliances. I thought maybe someone had a good dealer they had dealt with. Quality is muy importante(buy bananas you get monkeys!). Roy,speaking of Stoli,since the new TERROR ALERT has screwed up my usual Stoli in the water bottle trick, I was wondering where is the place to purchase fine spirits for a good price? I have read that there is a place near the Makro? Is this also near Pak Oles Massage??

Dasha

I was at Makro yesterday and they do have some plasma TVs but they are brands I've never heard of. I would be inclined to buy a known brand. As for getting one to Gili Meno, that's not easy. I guess you could catch the government ferry from Padangbai to Lombok, then a bemo or taxi up to Senggigi. Are there "water taxis" from there to Meno? (I'm not sure. I know there are from Gili Trawangan to Meno.)

I'm also not sure these days if The Bounty still sails directly to the west coast of Meno. That would probably be the most direct way (and much faster). Also more expensive.

And yes, Makro is near the Serangan Island turn-off.

Dug

There are many appliance and white goods shops in Denpasar. One that I have used is called PT Sakura. It's located in a little side "street" off Jalan Diponegoro...opposite from an Indovision shop. The "street" is across from the Ramayana Mall - there's a police box on the "corner".

You can buy imported wines and spirits at PT Surya - they are a major supplier and their prices are about as cheap as you can get (legally). My last bottle of John Jameson Irish Whiskey cost Rp142,000, for example. It's a little bit tricky to find as they don't have a sign out the front. It's about 100-150 metres past the entrance to Makro and on the same side, heading towards the airport/Kuta on the By-Pass Road. A two storey building with three or four non-descript "shops" at street level that don't appear to sell anything! You go into the one on the far right and then upstairs where you choose what you want and pay. You then have to go down again and out the back where the actual warehouse is and collect your purchases. If you find the place and think you get get cheaper prices elsewhere, I'd love to know.

Gee Phil, I think you guys in “The South” are overpaying for your labeled brands of spirits, and this is not to comment too much on all the crazy “cloak and dagger” means you describe to achieve a successful outcome.

Hell, all I do is pick up the phone, dial six numbers, and...presto...it is in my house within ten minutes....AND at a great price. The last bottle of Jameson’s I ordered and had delivered (at my house) was 135k Rp. That was last month.

Gee Phil, maybe I missed a great “Bali experience” by not driving myself all the way down to Sanur, only to pay more, but somehow, I am very happy I didn’t have to!

Why complicate that which can be so simple?

Thank you for the tips Sanurian - I guess we will probably have the TV freighted to Lombok then onto Gili Meno with all the other gear my dear wife will have purchased.

We are just a little unsure on how pricing for whitegoods / electricals and other western appliances will compare to the depatment stores in Mataram.

Do you think I will have much issue bringing my bass guitars and amps over from Australia?

The instruments and my computers are pretty much all I am bringing to Indo - we intend to fit the new vila out with items purchased in Bali Lombok

Cheers

Hi Dasha

We are just a little unsure on how pricing for whitegoods / electricals and other western appliances will compare to the depatment stores in Mataram.

Maybe you should check out the stores in Mataram, pick a few models of whatever you want and telephone some places in Denpasar and compare prices. Yeah, I know..can be a right pain. And don't forget that people giving price quotes by phone can tell you anything silly just to get you into their shops.

As for:

...Do you think I will have much issue bringing my bass guitars and amps over from Australia?...

There's a very big chance that you'll have an unpleasant day dealing with Indonesian customs. I wouldn't bother about importing heavy guitar amplifiers unless yours are particularly special and unavailable here. The guitars should be OK (you'll still have to grease some palms but it shouldn't cost too much).

A similar deal with computers. If it were me, I'd rip the hard-drives out and send them separately. Any fancy sound/video cards as well. Then build a new computer when you're here.

I imported computers, guitars, synthesisers, two cross bikes and all kinds of other stuff years ago to Denpasar. Guess what customs jumped on? Some VHS tapes (remember those) of childrens' programmes for my young son. There were maybe 20/30 of them and customs said they had to be viewed by government censorship officials. I'd already stood around for hours watching customs go through every box that was there and quite frankly, told them to just F-off. There was no way I was going to sit and watch countless episodes of Sesame Street/Play School, and all the rest. I told them I didn't want them anymore and they could have them. Even my Balinese father-in-law was getting pissed-off. In the end, they "passed" everything. That took the best part of a day! So, good luck. (Maybe things are better these days...I'm not sure.)

Look upon it as an unsolicited "adventure", keep smiling, have lots of cigarettes to hand out to everybody and try not to freak out (get angry). (Unless it's gets way too much for you and you feel you can't cope with it any more...it's a game, after all...they'll probably try to wear you down...the "secret" is when to say the game is over, that you really have had enough...timing can be everything.) And you'll be OK, at the end.

I look forward to hearing how you go and which scenario you eventually choose.

Roy writes:

...Gee Phil, I think you guys in “The South” are overpaying for your labeled brands of spirits, and this is not to comment too much on all the crazy “cloak and dagger” means you describe to achieve a successful outcome...

There's no "cloak and dagger" stuff at all. PT Surya is a legal wine and spirit supplier (it makes a show of paying government taxes). It's also an Indonesian one and supplies many bars and restaurants in "The South". They probably make enough money without having to advertise. I am stuffed if I know which architect designed the building. The company probably just moved in and had to deal with the physical layout. (It does do deliveries but I'm not sure of the minimum order.)

...Hell, all I do is pick up the phone, dial six numbers, and...presto...it is in my house within ten minutes....AND at a great price. The last bottle of Jameson’s I ordered and had delivered (at my house) was 135k Rp. That was last month...

I can and do that, too, sometimes. I call those guys "Booze Jockeys", maybe "Booze Cowboys" is better. For sure, they're not "legal", but when you want something quick, you turn a blind eye to the so-called laws of the country. My cheapest JJ, in the last month, was Rp120,000 (illegal, but still tasted good). It's all got to do with local corruption, right?

Should any of us worry about what's "legal" or not in this country? Some, definitely, for sure. Not everybody wants to take advantage of the loopholes and hope to get away with it forever.