Buying Electronics in the Caribbean + P&O's price match ???

We're shortly off to the Caribbean on the Azura. Our first stop is St Maarten which we have previously visited a couple of times, though not recently.

According the various websites St Maarten claims to be duty-free and tax-free and now boasts an Apple approved reseller.

I might just be in the mood to upgrade to an iPad Air, or alternatively some other AV products in the other stores in the main street.

My question is, has any other forum members recently bought any AV/technology products on the island ?? How do UK/online prices compare ??

Before any members mention about warranties, Apple's is generally bomb-proof. My iMac came from Hawaii (also a sales tax free haven) and has subsequently been looked after by Apple UK without problem.

A supplementary question. Has anyone had experience of P&O's onboard stores price-match ???

It appears to be saying that it will match like for like prices to those found in ports that it is visiting. Given the generally premium prices of technology sold on board, against the keen prices generally available in St Maarten, how does this claim up in real life situations ??

I used to find St Maarten great value in the old days, pre internet and pre price match etc, when you had to go into a bricks and mortar store to buy something.

I bought cameras there, Leica binoculars, sat nav and all had good savings. I think the main gadget shop was Boolchands (sp) from memory.

These days I often find items cheaper in the USA than St Maarten especially if you are savvy and use coupon codes etc. But yes if you get an iPad Air (new one announced this week, but it may not be in store in St Maarten if you are going shortly) you should get it for the USA RRP without any tax on top and this will be a good saving on the UK price.

Just one thing to be wary of there are a few sellers on the island who will put an amazing price in the window or face to face but then when you go to buy they say the battery and charger arent included, even though they are in the box, which is a shame.

You are right on the Apple warranty and that wont be a problem, the only small downside is a USA plug in the box though this isnt a dealbreaker.

On the second question, I think the camera prices are extortionate on P&O and quite often last seasons tech.

I would imagine P&O will state it has to be the exact same camera.

So, for example, if the UK version stocked on the ship is a Panasonic "DMC-TZ50 euh" the local version would be "DMC-ZS50.cek" and they might wriggle out of it that way, even though essentially it is the same camera.

On the second question, I think the camera prices are extortionate on P&O and quite often last seasons tech.

 

I would imagine P&O will state it has to be the exact same camera.

 

So, for example, if the UK version stocked on the ship is a Panasonic "DMC-TZ50 euh" the local version would be "DMC-ZS50.cek" and they might wriggle out of it that way, even though essentially it is the same camera.

Wow !! I just knew there had to be some sort of room to wriggle !!!

You could be spot on. As per your example, cameras are often "zoned" according to their video recording system, i.e. PAL or NTSC although in actual practice it doesn't matter a jot.

I will keep a sharp lookout !!!

Wow !! I just knew there had to be some sort of room to wriggle !!!

 

You could be spot on. As per your example, cameras are often "zoned" according to their video recording system, i.e. PAL or NTSC although in actual practice it doesn't matter a jot.

 

I will keep a sharp lookout !!!

Oh and the new iPad Air 2 looks fantastic, even thinner than the current one with a beefed up processor!

Hi Oldsilverfox

I looked a buying an iPad mini for my wife in Las Vegas and San Fransisco last year and it was just marginally cheaper than the UK.

I bought her one in Klass Electronics in St Martin in March this year and saved about £50 on the UK price.

The two ipad retailers in St Martin are Klass who have a branch on the jetty in the centre of town where the water taxi berths and also Bouchlands who have a couple of branches in town.I found Klass to be slightly cheaper and very nice to deal with.

Happy cruising and good shopping.

Hi Oldsilverfox

I looked a buying an iPad mini for my wife in Las Vegas and San Fransisco last year and it was just marginally cheaper than the UK.

Not sure where you was shopping, but if it was the Apple store in Vegas at Fashion or Caesars then the price last year was $399 plus tax so $430 or £270 whereas the UK price for the same 16gb model in the UK was £319.

Hi Richleeds

It is a 32 gb and it was cheaper in St Martin than it was in the US, hence the reason I bought it.

Hi Richleeds

It is a 32 gb and it was cheaper in St Martin than it was in the US, hence the reason I bought it.

Getting it tax free is quite a good saving, you get the USA price which is cheaper than the UK and without the tax.

Though sometimes in the States you can get good deals at Target and such like which may give you a $50 giftcard with purchase of an iPad.

One site I recommend is called slickdeals if you are a frequent USA visitor and want to be a savvy shopper.

http://www.boolchand.com/products/

Boolchands website, bought a camera there in March. I twas to replace on left in a hotel in the US so I had not done any research. It was 7% cheaper than in the UK. I have bought stuff before you have to be prepared to haggle and walk away. The shop in town seems more responsive to bargaining. perhaps because it has been established a long time and is not paying the level of rent demanded at the port facility.

Cb

Hi Richleeds

Going to the states again in 2016 will make a note of that site,thanks for the info.

Happy cruising to you.

Hi Richleeds

It is a 32 gb and it was cheaper in St Martin than it was in the US, hence the reason I bought it.

Hi,

Please could you kindly confirm whether you got any sort of Apple warranty with your iPad purchase from Klass ??

Are they the store which has branched into being an Apple approved reseller on the Island ?

As I mentioned above, for me, the key thing is to have some sort of Apple-backed guaranty, just in case something goes down. If it does and Apple walk away, you are left with a rather an expensive paperweight for the money that you have saved !!!!!

Thanks for your valuable input.

Oldsilverfox

As far as I know they are an Apple approved shop,I asked about at guarantee and was assured that it was covered by Apple's International guarantee.The device came in a sealed box exactly the same as I had seen in UK shops.

The proof of the pudding re the guarantee will be if I have a problem and have to take it to the Apple Store.

Klass and Bouchlands were the only shops we saw Apple Products for sale while in St Martin, and they were both doing good trade particularly with crew members from the ship.

I have checked the Apple site and this dealer is one of their approved resellers, so you should be ok, I should add that when dealing with them there was no haggling as such, they gave me the minimum price they were allowed to sell the product at. We overheard another person trying to get them to go lower and when they said no the potential buyer left the shop with no attempt by the sales staff to get them back by agreeing to knock off a few extra dollars.

Sanjam

There is a quick and easy way to check your warranty status on any Apple product - just google (not sure Im allowed to link on here) "Apple check my warranty" and it will bring up an Apple page where you input your device serial number (easy to find), input that and you will get the result instantly.

I've just had a look at the Klass website which includes one of those 360 panorama views of the store. I notice it says "Apple approved reseller" on the facade, so it should be ok, not like those totally spoof stores in China !!!!!!

I've emailed them asking for prices but I'm not holding my breath for a reply.

I've just had a look at the Klass website which includes one of those 360 panorama views of the store. I notice it says "Apple approved reseller" on the facade, so it should be ok, not like those totally spoof stores in China !!!!!!

I've emailed them asking for prices but I'm not holding my breath for a reply.

Let us know the price if they reply. Are you looking at the current Air or the one announced this week?

You might get a reply, here is my email from way back in 2006 that got a reply, also you can use the boolchand email address below if its still valid to get a price.

Jaideep Nandwani <jaideep@boolchand.com>

28/11/2006

Dear Rich,

The availability of our products varies amongst our branches, as does the pricing. For this information in Aruba please e-mail electronics.aw@boolchand.com; for Curacao, please e-mail electronics.cur@boolchand.com; for St. Maarten, please e-mail electronics.sxm@boolchand.com; for St. Thomas, please e-mail boolchands@vitelcom.net.

Thanks and regards,

Jai

----- Original Message -----

To: Jaideep@boolchand.com

Sent: Monday, November 27, 2006 1:28 PM

Subject: bose

Hi

Do you have stock of the Bose quietcomfort 3 headsets?

If so what is your best tax free price?

thanks

rich

No response from Klass, not that I was really expecting one, so here is my cunning plan.

I have taken the prices from the Apple US website and will use these as a price guide when shopping.

However these prices are not region specific as you well know because you have to add sales tax when in the USA e.g. +7% in Florida. However if St Maarten really is a tax free island, these US-base prices should be fairly close.

FWIW a 16gb iPad Air is $399 (£240)and the latest iPad Air2 is $499 (£300)

BOTH PRICES ARE APPROX GUIDES ACCORDING TO EXCHANGE RATES, so please don't flame me if you disagree.

Yes you are about right, the dollar is hovering about 1.6 to the pound today so about £248 should snag you a tax free ipad, plus of course any card or transaction fees dependant on your payment method.

If there is a Dixons in your UK departure airport might be worth checking the price there. especially on the older model.

For £30 odd more you could buy one here in the UK brand new so you can watch movies on the journey over - and you get the added benefit of a 2 year warranty - just an idea....

Thank you very much for your helpful thought but we're on the Azura next Friday, sail out and fly back !!

I already have an iPad 3 but I'm looking to upgrade in my ceaseless drive to reduce the weight of my (electronics) baggage. The older iPads are quite lumpy.

I already have an iPad 3 but I'm looking to upgrade in my ceaseless drive to reduce the weight of my (electronics) baggage. The older iPads are quite lumpy.

In that case you must get the new iPad Air, its just started arriving in the USA apple stores so fingers crossed it will be in St Maarten for your arrival.

Hi Oldsilverfox

I paid $569.00 for 32GB iPad mini in March if that is any use as a guide for you.

Hi,

Please could you kindly confirm whether you got any sort of Apple warranty with your iPad purchase from Klass ??

Are they the store which has branched into being an Apple approved reseller on the Island ?

 

As I mentioned above, for me, the key thing is to have some sort of Apple-backed guaranty, just in case something goes down. If it does and Apple walk away, you are left with a rather an expensive paperweight for the money that you have saved !!!!!

Thanks for your valuable input.

Hi Sanjam and oldsilverfox,

we baught our IPad in KLASS also last Nov 2013 in St Maarten and yes we got an Apple warranty with it. We have had no bother with it and it's still going strong.

Oldsilverfox, we are also on the same cruise as yourself on 31st October

Sot-Barbados and staying on for a B2B. Have you had a look at our Roll Call you are very welcome to join us at our meet and greet on Saturday 1st Nov in the Karmala Room. At 11am.

Hope you are well Sanjam please give our regards to your wife.

Are you going on Britannia 6th/7th Nov 2015, Glasgow flight, if so we will see you on there.

Pat

Hi Pat

Hope you and Scott are both well, not long now to your Azura TA hope you enjoy, we have nothing booked for Nov 2015 because we are on Ventura Feb/March 2015 and then 6 weeks later we are going to Aruba for a fortnight for my Pals 60th, May 2016 six of us are doing a three centre USA for three weeks including a week in Hawaii. So the Boss tells me I have no money left for a Cruise in Nov 2015 but we will wait and see. I keep track of your cruises via the roll calls, have a great time and I look forward to any comments or reviews you make.

Hi Sanjam and oldsilverfox,

 

we baught our IPad in KLASS also last Nov 2013 in St Maarten and yes we got an Apple warranty with it. We have had no bother with it and it's still going strong.

 

Oldsilverfox, we are also on the same cruise as yourself on 31st October

Sot-Barbados and staying on for a B2B. Have you had a look at our Roll Call you are very welcome to join us at our meet and greet on Saturday 1st Nov in the Karmala Room. At 11am.

Thank you for the info about Klass. May I enquire what sort of deal you received ?

Many thanks for your kind offer re; the meet and greet. I had been following the amazing response on your Rollcall forum, all down to your stirling efforts and enthusiastic organisation.

Saturday, we will be halfway across the Bay of Biscay, so our presence could well be dependent on the vagaries of the weather, but we will try !!!