I've been in Singapore yesterday, and the cheapest price I found (didn't even search) for a Samsung front loader washing machine was RM 943... the same thing with a lot of searching costs RM 1619 in JB. What the...? Does anyone know how much import taxes etc. I'd have to pay to bring it from Singapore to Malaysia? Same with IKEA kitchen, unfortunately the only one is in KL IIRC, Singapore is just a few km away. They are very attractive, seem to be of decent quality and might even be cheaper than hiring a contractor here (waiting for quotation). But how to bring in? I can borrow a Rusa, but again tax? (they didn't bother about a small table, but that was S$69, not 2000...).

(Btw.: LG 42PJ350 plasma TV. Cheapest price I found in Malaysia 1699 RM, in S'pore at Courts it's a bit cheaper (like 1620 or so), but it's also better TV. Malaysian version is from Russia... no optical audio output (only analog and stereo), no DVB-T/C tuner, no HD video playback from USB, no expert settings when adjusting the picture quality, no calibration tool. What a bunch of ..., really wanted the Singaporean version, but too troublesome.)

Oh, and what is the cheapest front loader washing machine you can get? Even 5 kg is enough, don't need anything fancy. I saw a Electrolux for 1399 at Courts... still expensive.

This post has been edited by kadajawi: Jan 17 2011, 11:50 AM

If I ask a shipping company not much saving anymore... annoying, why cheaper in Singapore?

This post has been edited by kadajawi: Jan 17 2011, 01:34 PM

Mh... 10% sales tax against 7% in Singapore? That shouldn't make such a big difference. I have the feeling it's a lack of competition. Most electrical goods are cheaper in Germany, despite 19% sales tax + the goods are imported from SE Asia, ie Malaysia. This drop in prices only happened in the past couple of years with the rise of online shopping (go to something like Courts and they'll try to rip you off, but then you check online and find that things are much cheaper, even including shipping).

So if I import a new home appliance device e.g. I'd have to pay 10% sales tax? Or lets say furniture? That would be reasonable (possible to get back the 7% from S'pore?) No one tried before? Second hand is the same? (Can't find reasonably new second hand devices in Malaysia... all very old) (I've read that expats can bring in their old stuff, but sending the stuff from Germany to Malaysia doesn't make a lot of sense, except perhaps the car. Need to buy a new one then, lol, but left hand drive). I'm trying to understand http://tariff.customs.gov.my/ but it seems like that's more for commercial use... and there's the ASEAN Free Trade Area... but I guess that's only concerning goods manufactured in Singapore.

Mh... I can only imagine that Malaysian dealers make nice profits... cheapest machine was an Electrolux for 1399, a Samsung 8650 I found for 1619 (and I was in dozens of shops...). The same Samsung I've seen at the Expo yesterday for RM 940. That's nearly 700 difference, I find that to be quite significant. Last time I also checked the IKEA Malaysia and Singapore website... a kitchen that costed about 5000 on the Malaysian site costed about 4000 on the Singaporean site (after converting to RM). Of course not everything is cheaper, but some things... also the IKEA in Singapore is nearby...

This post has been edited by kadajawi: Jan 17 2011, 04:21 PM

What does the Free Trade Zone mean? From Europe I know that you don't have to pay anything when bringing something from one EU country to another, regardless of origin. I suppose that's not what is meant here?

Ok, what you describe with electrical items is pretty bad. Eventhough the same thing is sold in Malaysia too? Oh my. I'm only talking about bringing over from Singapore, not from Europe (what we bring from there should be tax free since my mother is a Malay who is coming home, so to say).

Furniture? As I said, when we bought a coffee table from Singapore we went to the red line, showed them the bill and they just couldn't be bothered. Any info on that? Not really to get the stuff cheaper, but driving from JB to KL for some furniture is a bit too much...

Haha, yeah. Are going to buy the front loader from courts I guess. Furniture any idea? A cheap coffee table was no problem, but bigger items may be.