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Sim Lim Square shop sold $600 lens for $1,200
Female customer was offered different lens when she wanted to buy a DSLR camera.
A Sim Lim Square store was alleged to have sold a $600 camera lens at double its market price to an unsuspecting female customer. Writing to the citizen journalism website STOMP, a reader, Adam (not his real name), said that his wife had wanted to buy a DSLR camera for him as a gift.
According to Adam, his wife had planned to purchase a Nikon D90 camera with a basic kit lens. She only knew the model number she was looking for and the price when she visited the Sim Lim Square shop on 5 August. A salesman at the store quoted her $1,380 before GST for the camera and kit lens, a price which the Adam's wife had agreed to.
According to the Nikon Singapore website, the Nikon D90 with an AF-S 18-105mm kit lens goes for $1,988. However, before closing the deal, the salesperson then asked if she wanted to "get this lens instead of others".The salesperson then proceeded to show her a Tamron brand lens, saying that the Japan-made lens was much better than one from Nikon. Adam then alleged that the salesman said, "Why not get the best for your hubby since it's a gift?"
Quoted $600 less by a second salesman
The price of the Tamron lens was quoted to be $1,200. However, Adam said that the market price for the lens was worth only about $600, or half the price. Adam's wife eventually purchased the Nikon D90 body and Tamron 18 - 50mm lens package that the Sim Lim Square store offered. The package, which also included an SD card and tripod, cost $2,400 in all.
Suspecting that his wife was overcharged, Adam went down to the same shop on a later date. He posed as a customer looking to purchase the same DSLR camera body and lens kit that his wife had purchased earlier. To his surprise and anger, Adam was quoted only $1,800 before GST for the entire set by a different salesman. That amounts to some $600 less than what his wife had paid for the same package earlier.
