Purchasing A Computer in Bali

[natalie]

Hello forum..im relocating to Bali in December and I would like to know whether it is worth buying a computer in Bali or to get a Laptop in Australia to use over there. any advice would be appreciated

Thanks in Advance
Natalie

 

[Sanurian]

Hi natalie

It depends. Are you coming here on a holiday? If so, if you buy a computer here, will you be taking it back to Australia? If so, that can be a bit of a bother. Unless you mean by "buying a computer", a laptop.

Both desktops and laptops are readily available here. Apples as well. I can't comment on the price differences between Bali and Australia, but one thing you should consider, if you buy here, is warranty.

I believe that there are some brands of laptops, for example, that offer a world-wide warranty irrespective of where you buy them (maybe Toshiba is one, but don't quote me on that). Desktops are another matter.

The other thing to watch out for is what exactly you're buying. There are many outlets that seem to offer incredibly cheap complete systems but if you look closely at the specs, you might find you're getting a pretty lame system with poor over-all performance (and perhaps limited ability in the future to up-grade). A reasonable working knowledge of computer components is necessary or you might wind up with a lemon.

Don't get me wrong. There are very good computers available here.

Like anywhere else, there are some outlets that do not rip people off and many more that do. If you need more precise information, please feel free to PM me.

 

[Sanurian]

Hi natalie again

I just re-read your post and somehow I missed the fact that you're re-locating to Bali. Sorry about that.

In that case, your best bet is to buy a computer here.

 

[manc in oz]

Hi Natalie, what about duty free?

 

[Sanurian]

Hey manc in oz

What about 'duty free'?

Australian 'duty free' used to be up to the first $200 and then you were supposed to pay for the extra, if you wanted to stay 'legal'. What's the point?

Most decent laptops cost in the range of $1500-2000.
'Duty free', in many countries, is some kind of very weird joke. Australia included.

:shock:

 

[natalie]

Thanks for your reply's something more for me to think about

Regards Natalie

 

[manc in oz]

Re: RE: Purchasing A Computer in Bali

Hey manc in oz

What about 'duty free'?

Australian 'duty free' used to be up to the first $200 and then you were supposed to pay for the extra, if you wanted to stay 'legal'. What's the point?

Most decent laptops cost in the range of $1500-2000.
'Duty free', in many countries, is some kind of very weird joke. Australia included.

:shock:

Hi Sanurian, I haven't checked ozzy duty free for laptops or cameras etc lately, but it used to be quiet good. It was certainly better than buying from a store. However, if the new duty free prices of alcohol are anything to go by, it may not be so good. You are right when you say duty free in some countries are a weird joke. An exception to that is Dubai. Was in Dubai a while back and their duty free prices on laptops are very good.

 

[Guest]

There is no duty on most electronic equipment including computers. Goods over $900 are still subject to 10% GST on entering Australia. You can get a GST refund on goods over $300 purchased in Australia and taken out of the country.

A lot of retailers in Australia still seem to be able to get away with charging a high premium on imported goods. Sanurian is right about purchasing your laptop in Indonesia. Australia is a long way to go for a warranty claim.

 

[manc in oz]

Unless it's a world wide warranty.

 

[SG]

Hello forum..im relocating to Bali in December and I would like to know whether it is worth buying a computer in Bali or to get a Laptop in Australia to use over there. any advice would be appreciated

Thanks in Advance
Natalie

Hi Natalie,
the prices in the Rimo Centre (or PC Mac in Iman Bonjol for a Mac) are fairly competitive, but to get a better price the ITC in Mangga Dua in Jakarta is cheaper than Singapore for much of what you want....five floors of technology.

 

[SG]

Re: RE: Purchasing A Computer in Bali

Unless it's a world wide warranty.

The HP Centre (off Jl Diponegro) is friendly but useless. I had a laptop with two days warranty to go and the DVD died. I went in and they said they were closing for two days because of a holiday, but the warranty would be honoured. Two days later they told me that Singapore had said the warranty had expired and there was nothing they could do.

Warranties are vague things in Bali.....

 

[Guest]

Yes I agree Jakarta is definitely the go and you can probably order off the net.

International warranties are also difficult to get because a lot of companies use licensed distributors and licensing agreements usually exclude responsibility for international warranty claims which is a backdoor way of supporting inflated local prices.

It's almost impossible to order electronic items in Australia through Amazon for the same reason.

 

[matsaleh]

I purchased a Toshiba 15" laptop in Australia before leaving. The total price was just over AU$1900, including extending the international warranty for 5 years and the latest version of Norton Anti-virus.

I've checked the same model here in Bali and the prices range between Rp13 and Rp13.5 million without the virus protection or the extended warranty. At the present exchange rates, that equates to between AU$1800 and AU1875 without any extras. My advice: shop around in Oz first.

 

[SG]

On the other hand, I bought an Olympus camera in Discovery, top of the range thingy, it was $200 less than the best price I could find it for in Oz or NZ

 

[Guest]

Mats, that's interesting that the price in Oz was cheaper. What model did you buy? I pretty sure the price would be cheaper in Jakarta though. Their overheads are a lot less.

Also I had a look at Toshiba's warranty fine print. The international warranty doesn't have the same conditions for claims made outside of the country of purchase. For one thing they allow the foreign service agent to add an unspecified fee.

You can bet it won't be cheap. Very few laptop faults can be repaired. Normally they wear out from overheating after three years or so which means a write off (although I have an IBM Thinkpad I more or less haven't turned off for four years).