# Electronics help



## colin14 (Oct 10, 2010)

Hello,

Where is a good place to purchase laptops, mobile phones etc for reasonable prices?

Looking to purchase both soon, because I will be new over there I was wondering where to look and not get ripped off.

Thanks
Colin


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

colin14 said:


> Hello,
> 
> Where is a good place to purchase laptops, mobile phones etc for reasonable prices?
> 
> ...


Carrefour, Sharaf DG, Jumbo electronics - there are tonnes of shops in all the malls and the prices are more or less the same


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## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

Online would be cheaper. Just use Aramex's Ship and Shop service to deliver.


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## Jumeirah Jim (Jan 24, 2011)

Prices in Dubai aren't good despite no sales tax and lower staff costs. 

You would be better to buy in the UK just before you leave or on a trip home. Try one of the big chains somewhere like Oxford St which are set up for VAT refunds. You won't get the full 20% back but will get something like 15% if you take the item out of the EU within about 2-4 weeks. Some will give you the cash back straight away with a copy of your credit card to charge if you don't leave the refund claim form at the airport when you leave the UK. Probably can't name shops on here but I bought a laptop at one dept store on Oxford St with the initials JL recently and they refunded me very quickly.

Another benefit buying in the UK is that you will get a lot better after sales support if you have problems.


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## Lita_Rulez (Nov 4, 2010)

Jumeirah Jim said:


> Prices in Dubai aren't good despite no sales tax and lower staff costs.
> 
> [...]
> 
> Another benefit buying in the UK is that you will get a lot better after sales support if you have problems.


As long as you bring it back there and go pick it up.

I'm all for using the VAT refund when going back home, and god knows I use it extensively. But sometimes, it is just not worth the trouble.

For instance, 2 years ago, I needed an SSD drive. Prices in Dubai were ridiculous, and only 1 brand was available (stupid agent agreements in this country for everything makes it hard to get the "good" brands in for hardware when they are good and not 5 years later).

For the price of 1 SSD Drive here, I could get 2 from back home delivered at my door and of a better brand.

For CPU, Heatsink, motherboard, RAM, regular harddrive, etc. though everything is a little pricier here, it was not worth the hassle of getting everything from separate cheaper stores back home (the S&H was the killer) or the wait, and I could bring the stuff back if I had a problem with it (always a good idea when buying parts instead of a complete computer).

For a laptop, provided you are in the same price range, I'd personally buy it here from one of the bigger outlets (carrefour, sharaf, etc.) so that if anything goes wrong, you get a chance to go back there and get it exchanged, or negotiate something. Sending a laptop overseas is a pricey risk to take to save a few bucks, not to mention the wait...

One thing to keep in mind though : most computers here are sold with a windows license limited to the MENA region. It will make re-installing the system a harder and longer process when back home.


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## Moe78 (Oct 29, 2010)

AlAin Computer Plaza in Bur Dubai have loads of computer shops but in many cases their laptop prices don't differ much from Carrefour or Sharaf DG however you can negotiate. One thing to note is that in this region international warranties are common, whereas purchasing a laptop from the UK/US doesn't mean said warranty will be valid here but you should make sure of that first.


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## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

I have had both Lenovo and Dell laptops bought in the UK and was able to use the warranty on them in Dubai so don't let that put you off.


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## colin14 (Oct 10, 2010)

Thanks everyone for the reply's, will take all info on board,

Cheers

COLIN


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