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Searching for quality in Thailand


RLAretired

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Many things in Thailand are from China, mostly cheap electrical goods. And most of them are next to useless. Ever the diplomat, I recently asked a Chinese colleague in Dubai why China produced such rubbish, and he told me that in China everything worked and they just exported the cheap rubbish to countries that didn't want to pay for quality. Enter Thailand.

 

As for clothes, I actually prefer to buy low quality stuff that lasts and looks good for just a few weeks, and then buy fresh. T-shirts cost around 200 tops, with Tesco Lotus having new designs almost weekly (smart idea), and shorts cost about the same in my local market and last a long time. I've got some lightweight polyester ones I wear around the house that cost 35 baht, another pair were 50.

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4 hours ago, RLAretired said:

 

Thanks for mentioning those kiosks with imported vitamins.  Seem to be more and more like that appearing in the bigger malls.  Likely a good source for quality, imported products (as long as one checks expiration dates).

The lady at Central Lad Prao always shows me the expiration date on the bottles and if it has reached or near reaching that date she gives me a discount. A little secrete, the supplimates are basically guaranteed to be fully potent till that date. After that say 6 months it may have loss 5--10% of potency, really no big deal.

Edited by Tony125
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2 hours ago, kensisaket said:

Just curious if you ever look at the "Made In" label on any of those high quality products.

 

@kensisaket -- Interesting question.  I used to look at "Made In" labels, but I hardly ever do so now.  Why not?  I look at the seller instead.  I depend on the sellers to "curate" high quality products for me.

 

 

For example:  Let's say I wanted a ham & cheese sandwich for lunch.  One option is to go to Big C or TOPS and look at "Made In" labels trying to find good quality.  Instead I'll go to, say, Bei Otto German Deli (Suk 20) and just buy some ham and some cheese without fussing with the "Made In" labels.  I am certain that any products sold at Bei Otto will be fine quality.   That approach can be applied to all kinds of products, not just food.

 

Edited by RLAretired
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I was looking for good barefoot shoes and I think I found a good site in Thailand. These shoes usually last me 3 years. 

 

https://www.trekkinn.com/outdoor-mountain/merrell-trail-glove-5/137119928/p?utm_source=google_products&utm_medium=merchant&id_producte=8429660&country=th&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=CjwKCAjw7uPqBRBlEiwAYDsr12E5L9tfLzKiZ9hCdyglP1J6WsCkGjZdJn67_xjtpimaRLc-YtJGJBoCS-kQAvD_BwE

 

The price is good for Thailand but I can't review the site yet. To order shoes online you need to know what you need or try them in a store but they never have my size here! I know exactly my size for this kind of Merrel shoes and ordered my previous pair online but not from Thailand. 

Edited by Tayaout
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On 8/17/2019 at 12:16 PM, RLAretired said:

Vitamins & Food Supplements: With the low quality of most local food ingredients, I've greatly increased my use of vitamins and food supplements since coming to Thailand.  Thai brands of such products are never worth buying.  Imported brands can be okay, such as Blackmore, but even there the quality is mediocre

Surprisingly, for an Aussie, Blackmores are almost a household name.. But their export products aren't the same as their domestic products.. Executive B formulation has only 50% of the active ingredients of the home version.. A bottle of Magnesium tabs, one a day in Oz, recommend up to 2 a day on their exports, and min age for domestic is 12yrs, but export from 9 yrs.. They want to sell more product but without the stringent regulations for being sold domestically.. 

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Two TOP brand products from Thailand that I consider to be worthy of recommendation are Findig footwear and shoes, they last for years and Hatari fans and air coolers.. They keep going year after year.. 

 

I've used both brands for years and found both to be good quality products.. 

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3 hours ago, kensisaket said:

Just curious if you ever look at the "Made In" label on any of those high quality products.

 

 

A friend of mine once visited companies in Bangkok to check if they were using pirated software, and in one factory he discovered Made In Germany labels.

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18 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

in one factory he discovered Made In Germany labels.

 

Nah, I don't believe it for a moment.  Too far-fetched.  Anything is possible, but that sounds like one of those "legends" passed along from bar stool to bar stool.  

 

 

A gentle reminder that this topic is about searching for quality in Thailand, not endless winges and complaints.  (This forum already has a massive over-supply of that.)

 

@Bangkok Barry, you've been in Thailand many years.  I hope you will post about how you go about searching for quality here.

 

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4 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Many things in Thailand are from China, mostly cheap electrical goods. And most of them are next to useless. Ever the diplomat, I recently asked a Chinese colleague in Dubai why China produced such rubbish, and he told me that in China everything worked and they just exported the cheap rubbish to countries that didn't want to pay for quality. Enter Thailand.

I suspect that this happens not only in China.

 

I have had a theory for years that if a product's QC is not good enough to export to say the USA or a European country, they send it to Thailand as we have absolutely no consumer protection here.

 

I had a relative new Samsung TV, barely out of warranty, that I moved from my old house, literally two blocks, to my new house, and got the split screen problem where one-half of the screen quits working.  My two LG TVs have been working fine for seven years now even though they were driven over the same road as the Samsung.  So in-line with the thread, for me, Samsung quality bad, LG good.

 

I routinely plan on buying a new printer every year as something always seems to go wrong.  In the USA I used Epsons for years with good results but the first one I bought here had built-in obsolesce.  It quit working after so many pages and the error code says take it to the nearest service center and they will check this and that and reset the code.  I checked this and that but could not hack the code.  Built-in obsolesce is a deal breaker for me.  I am on my forth Canon but the last one lasted almost three years.  So, Epson bad, Canon so-so.

 

For tools, I have had very good luck with Makita and Bosch from Home Hub.

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1 minute ago, ellobo said:

For tools, I have had very good luck with Makita and Bosch from Home Hub.

 

Thank you, @ellobo for that observation. 

 

 

As for the rest of your post above, this topic is about finding quality in Thailand, not whinging and complaining.  Plenty of other threads on this forum for that.

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On 8/17/2019 at 1:32 AM, NCC1701A said:

t. :clap2:

 

Ironically, every trip to the USA I bring back USB cellphone chargers and cables, sunglasses, wallets, shoes, underwear.   

 

Exactly. Although the JKY underwear in Thailand is good. 

 

I cant buy Columbia clothing in BKK so I buy it in the USA.

 

Camera equip is same qaulity as USA, just more expensive

Edited by Nyezhov
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13 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

OK...so I should buy stuff that isnt even what I wear by mail order that may not fit for twice the price?

 

Like I said you cant buy Columbia in Thailand. ????

I do it all the time but if you insist on trying it maybe you can check this:

Columbia Sportswear

991 อาคาร สยามพารากอน Rama I Rd, Pathum Wan, Pathum Wan District, Bangkok 10330 https://www.google.co.th/search?output=search&q=Columbia+Sportswear&ludocid=17729421615875989508&ibp=gwp;0,7&lsig=AB86z5VJD6T3FMdPsR6E2r4_ikGE&kgs=68125a5a5b93d35c&shndl=-1&source=sh/x/kp/local&entrypoint=sh/x/kp/local

Edited by Tayaout
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3 minutes ago, Tayaout said:

I do it all the time. 

Cool. Can you get steer me to a Columbia Taimami II shirt, white, long sleeve size US large, for $35 equivalent (B1079)? The Columbia store in Siam Paragon cant get them because they cant get US sizes?

 

If not, Ill do what I always do. Point out that you cant buy certain things in Bangkok and just buy them at home. And argue with dudes who say I can. For what reason I dont know. But hey, prove me wrong.

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I think the quality to cost ratio is a good two or three to one on the clothes. You can't buy name brands though. Restaurants and service almost the same, getting two to one on the money here i would say. 

 

Most electronics you get bent over. Hard. Furniture too, but IKea is not so bad. I find Ikea to be expensive though for the crap that it is. 

 

One of my biggest complaints here is the lack of sales. In the states if you want a phone or a laptop, you wait a few months or until black friday and there will come a time you can get it 30-40% off or more. A little patience goes a long way. Not here, and I hate that. 

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15 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:



Overall, I can't think of anything that is both good quality and cheaper than back home.

I buy wads of Tshirts (cheaper than home) wear them and toss them away.

 

JKY or Jockey undies are cheaper in BKK. Stingray leather goods are cheaper. Well made leather goods in general are cheaper. Certain chinese made appliances are decent and cheaper. Bath towels are cheaper and just as good as in the west. Diamonds, coloured stones and gold jewelery are cheaper than in the west.

 

Thats it though. Perfect examples of stuff that is higher priced than in the west are high grade cameras, decent furniture, computers, USA compatible cell phones, cars, TVs, shoes like Keens and Merrills etc, indeed, anything that is made for Western (read USA) consumption by a company outside Thailand. In March I was cruising through I cant remember where and saw an Arcteryx Goretex jacket for the equivalent of $450 US. Same jacket in the USA is $250

 

I dont go to Thailand to shop for anything I can buy in the USA cheaper, which is virtually everything, although I do get a good price here and there on camera stuff by simply knowing all the prices and watching for sales.

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4 minutes ago, Ron jeremy said:

I have brought up this subject in forums, I get lambasted by the retirees telling me of the wonderful healthy nutritious foods they get for 40 baht a dish.

my answer: good food is not cheap, and cheap food is not good.

really? I know places that make fabulous, healthy Thai food "on the street" for 30B. Must suck to have nothing to respond to an actual statement of fact other than a trite cliche.

 

 

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35 minutes ago, Ron jeremy said:

I have brought up this subject in forums, I get lambasted by the retirees telling me of the wonderful healthy nutritious foods they get for 40 baht a dish.

my answer: good food is not cheap, and cheap food is not good.

nonsense.

get yourself to a market and buy some tasty cheap food.

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15 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

Looking for quality and come up with IKEA :cheesy:

Well that's how sad it is in Thailand....but it's true! 

 

IKEA is the ONLY decent shop in whole Thailand......better pay double in IKEA and stay happy than getting chased by loads of idiotic salespeople in Homepro.

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15 hours ago, RLAretired said:

 

Thanks for mentioning those kiosks with imported vitamins.  Seem to be more and more like that appearing in the bigger malls.  Likely a good source for quality, imported products (as long as one checks expiration dates).

There are a few kiosks even in MBK that will have vitamins.  When flying into the country, ever see people with a bunch of enormous bags?  I figure that's how these things got to be here.  I believe Kirkland brand, known to be from Costco in the US, is a common brand name in any store in Canada.  Not a quality brand, but probably better than local.  For vitamins I luckily found a place in Penang that has Solaray, though not the entire product line.  Would bring back a year's supply.  A high quality B-Complex tablet (like this ) I have not seen sold in this part of the world.

 

 

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On 8/17/2019 at 1:08 PM, Dexlowe said:

splash out a little and started buying Camel Active shirts - casual and smart, I still have them after 15 years and they still look great, though I've had the collars reversed. Hush Puppy shoes have been another great buy, 13 years

Your clothes are older than me!

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21 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

" Do the same with really good tequila, watches, phones, goat cheese, clothing, shoes, and all of my supplements."

 

Are phones a lot more expensive than in the US?

Have an older US phone, thought I'd eventually get a new dual SIM phone in Thailand.

It depends. Some are the same. But, I am able to shop on ebay in the US, and craigslist too. And sometimes my provider back there has deals on phones. So, it pays to shop around. I noticed True is offering a pretty good deal on a one year contract here, for the Samsung S10+, which I want to replace my old iPhone with sometime soon. 

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