I bought my Canon G6 in SM’s Cyberzone in 2005. Since I was drooling over the EOS 350D at that time, I thought the G6 for P45,000 was already a money-smart compromise. It has video capability too, the rationalizing part of me said. When we took our new digital baby home, we took pictures of even the most ordinary things like doorknobs, light fixtures and fingernails ☺. My 10-year old kid, especially. It felt like a really good buy.
Boy, was I dead wrong. I learned last week that this camera shop called 24K on
Hidalgo sold the little rugrat for P17,000 that same year! Original. With warranties and all. I wanted to weep! Rod, the friendly attendant who was referred to me by Edwin Redrino, a really talented professional photographer, was actually concerned for me.
“
Don’t think about it anymore ma’am or you’ll really be depressed,” he said.
Depressed is not even the right word for it! The cut from P45,000 to P17,000 can be quite painful, you know. Money lessons can be like that sometimes.
Every professional photographer in Manila knows the nooks and crannies of this enclave in one of the busiest sections of the city. You can buy anything from extra battery packs, card readers, flash, tripods, those big light thingies (you can tell I’m not a pro can you? hehe) in Hidalgo for less than half of the price in malls. I wish I had listened to Red and
Michelle Morelos earlier.
A word of caution, though. Go with a friend or a group. Don’t wear jewelry and keep your bags small and inconspicuous. I have been in the area three times since I first discovered it a few weeks ago, and nothing has happened to me. Yet. (Knock on wood) But there have been
reports of mugging taking place in broad daylight.
Fire.in.the.gut and
Paetechie have some very good tips on shopping in Hidalgo, store names and numbers.
Philippine Photo Gallery has some nice pictures of shops in the area. Map below courtesy of
Mapygon. Hidalgo is the street with a simple reactangle drawn on it.
This week’s Frugality Week is all about shopping secrets. If you have tips to share, don’t hesitate to drop a line! Or blog about it and alert me via an email so I can link to your blog. Happy shopping!
I heard about the place too. It's a haven for digital photographers. Im planning to get a new cam in this place too.
Salve,
I bought my son a telescope as a 2007 Christmas present (for both of us ;-)) at Toy Kingdom, it was the biggest on the group of telescopes in the store and was on sale ( I bought it late October) and had a 10% discount...I was very satisfied and happy with my buy, till my office mate brought a telescope he bought December 07 at Hidalgo in Manila which is 1.5k cheaper and looked every inch a professional telescope , has a greater magnification power, complete with a carry on bag and nice looking tripod ...while the one I bought looked like a really huge plastic toy telescope , less power, bulky plastic container compared to the one from Hidalgo..I wanted to return my toy telescope and go to Hidalgo...but I can't...:-) now I am waiting for my kid to break it or loose one of the parts so I will have a good excuse to buy another one this Christmas!
shop online!
if you have a trusted relative or friend who is due to come home from the US, register at amazon or any trustworthy online retailer and shop to your heart's content (esp since the peso-dollar exchange rate is quite affordable).
Just to be sure to have a US address to use as your own when you register, and then the complete address to whom you will send your stuff. Most retailers also have free shipping for a minimum purchase so try to take advantage of that.
i get branded clothes, bags, books and even electronics online and i always get a good deal esp when i browse the sale section.
Yes it is the digital haven for proffessional and enthusiast photographers. You may also try the sulit.com.ph they sell also different kind of gadgets. Dont forget to ask for a discount and their last price. They will deliver it at your address at minimal cost or you could meet in a certain place you want to.
I bought my S3iS there last year for 16k complete with 1GB SD card. The following day, I saw the exact same model being sold in SM appliance store for 39,000.00!!! (Greenhills gadget store were seling it for 30k). You just have to know exactly which store to buy from and which stores to avoid (bad after sales service). I usually read up on the Dark Room forum section of www.bncxe.org for tips on camera. Very newbie friendly!
Salve: Frugality, Whoa! my kind of topic.
You can save money on just about anything you buy,. But my advice is shop only when you need something. But if you do go shopping don't bring your credit card, check book. Just bring enough money for lunch or coffee. You'll save money that way. They don't call me KURIPOT FOR NOTHING!
Mayer's and Henry's are reputable shops in Hidalgo. You can get digital cameras from these stores on a very much cheaper price compared to the malls. if you are into gaming consoles (like PSP, DS etc), cellphone accesories,another good place for good deal is in Manlia City Plaza (bldg besides
Quiapo Church, adjacent to Plaza Miranda)
If you are US based or have relatives/friend in the US browse around fatwallet.com and slickdeals.net for online (and B&M) deals, coupons and rebates. I got my Dell laptop
using the deal information from this site. Paid $600 for it instead of the usual $999 tag price. I was also able to get a free Nokia 3220 phone after a $30 rebate from Cingular.
thanks for the link. you missed my post on other finds in quiapo . I know the stores on raon with the lowest price of electronics and the optometry shops on paterno :P
more power power to money smart you dont know how much help your extending to us ofw . pls give me some info how to get my savings to insular bank w/c is alrady close..procedure what move to make? thanks a lot...God bless you all.. ofw fr. israel
hi, kindly give me some advice , how to my savings to insular bank w/c is already closed... thanks
ernest, welcome to moneysmarts. are you talking about the Insular Rural Bank? Have you tried to claim through the PDIC? The web address http://www.pdic.gov.ph
Ma'am I'm a newbie photographer and was planning to buy a cannon 450D, I heard about this place but was very eager to buy a cam there since you just said that the price was totally low... kindly please email me the landmark or how to get to the shops (hidalgo). thank you very much here is my email -- email address taken out for your protection from spam)
hi, could somebody tell me more about hidalgo; where is it? you may e-mail me at (Editor's Note: email account edited out to protect you from spam. but i've taken note of it and will email you) thanks for the info in advance. God bless.
Landmark is the Quiapo Church. Look for the Greenwich fast food
near Plaza Miranda and take that street, there's a couple of stores there. Before you reach SM Carriedo notable stores like Mayer's and Henry are on your right. If youll be coming from Rizal Avenue, just look for SM Carriedo, exit at the Hidalgo side. If you will bringing your own car you can park at Isetann Recto and walk from there.
It sounds like you're creating problems yourself by trying to solve this issue instead of looking at why their is a problem in the first place.
Wow! Thank you! I always wanted to write in my site something like that. Can I take part of your post to my blog?
I cannot imagine the difference between P45,000 and P17,000 it's like the distance between heaven and earth after all it's hard earned money. Fortunately I have not encountered that kind of incident but there are times when I end up paying more. I have learned that it is better to inquire about the product and the price before going out shopping, it helps. Also when things are too cheap, smell something fishy, check and recheck the products. If we don't shop smartly people are out there trying to trap us.
the Ridges Las Vegas
nice tipping for saving time into exploring a new city! It happened to us once, we spent winter holidays in Leicester, in a very cozy rented apartment and wasted a few days in search of car parts because our car broke. We managed to find a store with Nissan Parts in town, but it would have been great for us to buy this tip from someone. Which is why i`m saying. Before you go some place new, act cautiously and find out as more things as you can about it.
nice tipping for saving time into exploring a new city! It happened to us once, we spent winter holidays in Leicester, in a very cozy rented apartment and wasted a few days in search of car parts because our car broke. We managed to find a store with Nissan Parts in town, but it would have been great for us to buy this tip from someone. Which is why i`m saying. Before you go some place new, act cautiously and find out as more things as you can about it.
Money lessons can be like that sometimes. Every professional photographer in Manila knows the nooks and crannies of this enclave in one of the busiest sections of the city.
Best regards, Katya, CEO of dvd data burner, lefthand iscsi san
Where to buy Cameras and Accessories in the Philippines?
The Answer is Hidalgo, Quiapo
Quiapo is a well known part of old Manila and a place which offers cheap prices on items ranging from Ginault Watches to magic amulets.
Hidalgo is the place where you find hidden photographic treasures, and other finds that may sometimes amaze you in terms of pricing. There are loads of accessories from lighting, lenses, batteries, CDs, DVDs anything photo and video related.They have assortment of products that range from cheap, unbranded to highend branded quality stuff. Caveat Emptor!
Not many people have heard about contracts for difference and how this can make them money. And why should they have heard ? they are too busy checking gossip news and playing video games but there are ways you could do more money than you dreamed of. The same way you can lose all your money if you're not financially literate too !
There are loads of accessories from lighting, lenses, batteries, CDs, DVDs anything photo and video related.They have assortment of products that range from cheap, unbranded to highend branded quality stuff. Caveat Emptor! performing arts school | political science school
Thanks for sharing this.
psychology school | social science school
I really appreciate this sharing.
social service school
I think that lots of people prefer buying cheap stuff because discounts are always attractive and because of the global crisis which has made people cut into their budgets for shopping.