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!
April 21st, 2008 at 1:56 pm
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.
April 20th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
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.
April 18th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
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)
April 1st, 2008 at 4:22 pm
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
April 1st, 2008 at 4:15 pm
hi, kindly give me some advice , how to my savings to insular bank w/c is already closed… thanks