I’ll be talking about online gadget retailers but this piece will just focus on iPods and Macbooks even though they do sell other items as well. By the way, this is in no way a paid endorsement of any of the online retailers.
When I decided to purchase the 2G iPod touch last year, I had two options: get it locally or get it from a source in Hong Kong. My choice had always been the latter because the iPods I bought from my Hong Kong source was cheaper even with the shipping and handling fee included.
However, right before I was about to place my order, my brother told me about an online retail store for cellphones and iPods. He said their prices were very reasonable and I should check it out, and I did. He was right the iPods sold on Ebuystore.com.ph were considerably cheaper and to top it off, they offered free shipping anywhere within the Philippines. I forgot about my Hong Kong source and got the iPod touch from Ebuystore.com.ph.
A few months after purchasing my iPod touch, they started selling Macs. Nice happenstance since I’ve already began thinking about getting a MacBook at around the same time. Ebuystore.com.ph’s prices were cheaper when compared to the online Apple Store in the Philippines. I was eyeing the 13-inch MacBook. Then it occurred to me that there must be other online gadget retailers and perhaps they could offer a better deal. So, I asked my friends about it and they suggested Kimstore and Gadget Grocery.
A very brief background: Kimstore has been selling gadgets online since 2006, Gadget Grocery, since 2001. That’s it. Moving on.
Back when I was still shopping around for the 13-inch unibody MacBook 2.0 GHz, 160 GB, Kimstore came out as being ₱2,000 cheaper as compared to Ebuystore.com.ph which was selling the MacBook for ₱64,000. Unfortunately, Gadget Grocery no longer lists the low end 13-inch unibody MacBook. What I’m going to do next is to compare the online retailers’ current prices for the current MacBook, the base 13-inch MacBook Pro, the 8GB 4G iPod nano and the 16GB 2G iPod touch, and see who can offer the best deal for us here.
For the 13-inch MacBook 2.13 GHz, 160 GB, all three are selling it for ₱54,000. In the Apple Store, the white MacBook sells for ₱55,990. When it comes to the 13-inch MacBook Pro 2.26 GHz, 160 GB, Apple sells it for ₱68,990. Kimstore and Gadget Grocery are selling it for ₱64,000. Ebuystore.com.ph is cheaper at ₱63,200.
When it comes to iPods, Kimstore provides the best value. It sells the 16GB 2G iPod touch for ₱13,900 and the 8GB 4G iPod nano at ₱6,900. Ebuystore sells the iPod touch at ₱14,300 and Gadget Grocery at ₱14,500. Both sell the 8GB 4G iPod nano at ₱7,500. The Apple Store, by the way, sells the 16GB iPod touch at ₱16,990 and the 8GB iPod nano at ₱8,490.
As I’ve already mentioned, one advantage Ebuystore.com.ph is free shipping anywhere in the Philippines. Gadget Grocery and Kimstore, in the meantime, only offers free delivery within the Metro Manila area. Being a Davao City resident, the free shipping does it for me.
I’m waiting for Apple’s rumored September 9 event for the new iPod touch. I hope Ebuystore.com.ph will have it on stock before week of the 19th.
Next post will be about how I ended up getting a MacBook Pro in Hong Kong and the things I had to go through.
Related posts:
- Apple Store Philippines update: new iMacs ready to ship
- How-to, Macs and iPods, the competition and the critics, and going a day without Mac
- Anti-virus a must for Windows, not for Macs; online music download levelling off?; 37 million shipped… or is it?
- Duke uses iPods in the classrooms; Australian school bans iPods in the classroom
- iPods are a mistake
