I was looking around the prices on Lazada and DirectD and was wondering what is the preference of folks these days when it comes to buying new phones. Do you guys usually buy online or visit a physical shop such as DirectD or any phone shop located at ground floor shophouses? Which option is supposed to offer a lower price for the phone, buying online or driving to the shop to purchase?

I was looking at the prices for Xiaomi Max 2 for the past few weeks and the price seems to be fluctuating on Lazada. About 2 weeks ago the price was below RM1000, about RM900+ which is the lowest I have seen up to date. Lately the price was hovering around RM1064 to RM1069 at their lowest, on Lazada. On the other hand, DirectD's price is RM1099 when I checked today. As the prices on Lazada are fluctuating and doesn't seem to be fixed, the lowest price cannot be determined as it changes throughout the weeks.

Back to the question of buying pattern of smartphones these days, is online purchase or driving to a physical shop the preference these days? Which option is supposed to give a lower price?

Thanks for the responses guys. Similarly I am a physical shop guy and rarely do online purchasing. I am aware about this warranty stuff though it's confusing as those who bought from Lazada mentioned the items are still covered under warranty and stuff and all the talk about AP and original set.

Brycen Man - your point is well noted. I don't even have an account with Lazada but was curious about all those who bought from the website claiming the lower price when compared to buying from shops and stuff. Think I'll just drop the idea as I am, after all, a physical shop guy.

Slick69 - I may have couple of hundred ringgit to spare for peace of mind with legitimate warranty though I wouldn't want to buy something that's overpriced if everything remains similar. For example Shop A and Shop B (or perhaps Shop C) are offering the same item with the same warranty cover but Shop A is selling at RM1000, Shop B RM950 and Shop C RM900. Although the difference may be RM50, it is still a quite a bit of money there. Worth slightly more than a full tank of petrol when people are speculating about the prices of petrol going up or down throughout the weeks to maximise the gains!

In summary, I am looking at a physical shop now but one which sells at the lowest price. Is Direct D the one?

I meant to say *half tank of petrol.

Ultimately it's up to you.

About your question about which usually offer lower price, buying online usually gives you lower price than going to physical store.

Plus Lazada you can use vouchers to get more discounts.

The downside is you cannot try out the phone before buying.

You can drop by to any phone store 1st and try to feel it in the hand.
You can access the price from online site anytime anywhere.
If the price at online store is significantly cheaper, than just buy it online.
I never had issue with online purchase so far.
Buying online or thru physical store isn't matter anymore since the warranty usually covered nationwide.

Similarly I don't buy online mainly because I am not good at. My daughter has bought few things from Lazada and did not have issues with all the purchases. My smartphone is also bought by her although I am not sure where she bought it.

4 time so far buy phone frm directD via postage
Very good service

This post has been edited by PGV3910: Sep 3 2017, 12:30 AM

buy from DirectD, price almost similar and more reliable with physical shop~ you can also at least try on spot first

Personal experience, thus, anecdotal.
Had to cancel a lazada order of a significantly cheaper p10 (1800) and bought from dierectd instead (2500).
I was aware of the price being too good to be true.
As expected, they only ship the order with just the phone. Non of box sets (charger etc). I'm okay with that as i could still buy a third party charger (well, still huawei's, still having supercharge) and still being ahead in price.
The delivery was good too. Listed within 3 days.
More importantly, it was advertised with 1 year manufacturer warranty.
Problem started the next day when the tracker shows the expected delivery was changed till next week instead of within 3 days.
The deal breaker was when suddenly later on the day, the warranty changed to no warranty.
Thank God lazada being reasonable and actually sided with me and helped cancelled the purchase even without screenshots (the changes was unexpected and the item listing was deleted).

If you found a good deal there, go for it. But be wary, and adjust your expectation.
As a rule of thumb, it's better if you could cod.

lucky that you have checked everything and make the decision to change as soon as possible~

Most important is to identify whether the phone is AP or it is sold by authorized distributor.
Because when it comes to warranty claim, it will be a headache

yeah, its killing


but i got p10 for 16xx for my sis . hope will get it next week , its risky.

Actually the price difference between DirectD and online is not exactly the same. For the model of phone which I am interested in (LG V20), Direct D is selling at RM1,999 while online Lazada is selling for about RM1500+/-, a difference of RM500.

Good sharing. A price difference of RM700 is surely a lot. Though I have read about people receiving their phones when buying from Lazada though. For the LG V20, the price which was paid at RM1,4xx is about RM500+ cheaper than Direct D (RM1,999). I'm still thinking what exactly are the benefits of paying RM500 extra for a phone. It's quite a lot really. One can buy a low-range smartphone or tablet for RM500.

lazada is cheaper. i buy a few phone from directd but kinda regret it since it a bit expensive

I have bought the P9 Plus, the Google Pixel and the nexus 6P in lazada before... never face any issues and the price mostly rm300-rm400 cheaper than what a physical shop like DirectD sells. Never faced any issue. As long as you do your research and find trusted online sellers, you are fine.

How to know if it's a "trusted" seller? Also, say if the phone is faulty we have to ship the thing back to the seller right?

Say if in a really unlucky case when you transferred the funds to the seller and you don't get your phone, will Lazada compensate on behalf of the cheat?

Lastly, can anyone verify if this seller is "trusted" ? Price seems to be very good.

http://www.lazada.com.my/lg-v10-64gb-4gb-r...0.0.dQvEvb&ff=1

Only RM1,180 for the LG V2 when the average price is hovering around RM1,500.

http://www.lazada.com.my/lg-v10-64gb-4gb-r...0.0.dQvEvb&ff=1

With this listing, the price difference is RM800.

Direct D is selling the LG V20 for RM2,000. The price from this seller in Lazada is RM1,180.

the link you gave is the V10, not V20

Yes, I realised i messed up. As the price is too good to be true, the V10 has provided the explanation on the low price.

Anyway, the correct listing of the V20 :-

http://www.lazada.com.my/lg-v20-h990-64gb-...0.0.dQvEvb&ff=1

RM1,471. Any thoughts if this seller can be trusted? Not in a hurry to get a phone but will buy one before end of this year for tax relief. Not too sure if the price will drop further approaching year end.

This post has been edited by ryder_78: Sep 19 2017, 03:18 PM

Whenever you shop online, click on the seller's name and have a look at the product he/she sells as it will contain rating, comments and review made. if the rating is high and the number of positive reviews are also high, that means you have less of a chance to have a bad experience with the seller. Even if you do, you can contact the seller to clarify or even make a report to the online site you are buying from.

make sense right?

Okay thanks. Will see how it goes. The seller for the LG V2 in the link above is TechInSEA. There are only 2 reviews from customers. Not very convincing.

Yup, i rather filter by 4-5 Star rating and have at least 20 and above reviews or comment. But this is my risk appetite. Different people may have different risk tolerance.

this phone sure no ppl buy haha