Got scammed by a kiosk, what are my options?

Not really, as prices are generally set by what the market will bear, not what the costs are. You are bound to constantly be disappointed if you tie your satisfaction of purchase price to actual costs.

You can officially sue them and see what happens. Generally when the other party is guilty they’d rather just settle it.

I’ve seen the same thing in some US malls done by Israeli citizens who are there illegally.

Other than formally try them in court I don’t see an option. Naivety is not a protection offered to consumers.

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The question I have is why are you spending a ton of money on cosmetics in the first place?

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Because I want good skin so I can look younger

https://twitter.com/ICRTNews/status/1362993994934808577

That’s not the same thing. You cant compare the price with the price in the US!

I thought there is only 5% VAT on computers and no import duties in Taiwan?

Have a read

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After a good night’s sleep I think it’s my own fault I got scammed, they may have won this round but I’m going to up my negotiation skills for every merchant I meet from now on.

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Why would that be? It’s probably closer to 10% and 5% VAT.

I had a cute personable Israeli girl sweet talk me in the mall getting off an elevator while she rubbed my hand and forearm with lotion.

Yes, my arm was smoother after, but not a few thousand NT$ worth which is what she wanted. But I was thinking about it :joy:

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You can…and they are about the same.

It’s pointless to complain about that to a sales person though

Oh, of course.

Specifically for Apple, you’re going to get a better deal if you buy in Hong Kong but vendors in Taiwan (outside of the official Apple store) will load you up with free software to more than make up for the difference.

Don’t blame yourself, these people can be very skillful and manipulative.

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Was it in Breeze Xinyi? I remember being accosted by some cosmetics sellers there that were so aggressive I almost needed to beat them back with a stick!

Guy

Seriously I think this is most likely the situation. But dealers will use the 30% VAT as an excuse to charge a 100% markup for items. They do this for guitars and other musical products too. They claim that “Oh there’s a 30% VAT” so this is why Taiwan price is double American price. I call BS on this because first, they are NOT buying it at MSRP in America then paying shipping + VAT to get it on the shelves in Taiwan. They buy from distributors who buy at wholesale price and the VAT is likely charged on wholesale price (which is definitely significantly lower than MSRP). I can accept a 10% markup or whatever to account for smaller market and all that… but 100% markup is basically highway robbery.

Next time you hear some dealers talk about 30% VAT they are BSing you because you only ever hear dealers say this. Plus Taiwanese are so good at tax evasion. If they are importing at quantity they have agents who helps them import things under different HS codes that incurs vastly different VAT. There can be VAT for guitars, or VAT for parts. Unless customs is holding the shipment for inspection for contraband, they won’t see the actual shipment. If I buy a container full of Martin D28 then I’m going to be hiring customs broker to help me save on VAT. There are all kinds of overlapping HS codes that results in vastly different tax requirements and even documentary requirements.

Edit: I had a shipment of guitar woods that got applied with the wrong HS code which required me to submit paperwork (that costs over 3000nt not including VAT). I called the customs broker back and said these are guitar woods. And so she applied a different HS code for guitar woods and have none of the documentary requirements, and a vastly lower VAT to boot.

They have guys doing this for a living, and entire company whose job is to save on tariff/hassle.

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This was in breeze attached to the Ikea next to Taipei arena

It was a foreigner that scammed me and pulled me in with speaking English so I let down my guard. Also just had a big lunch at ikea so was quite tired and sleepy.

If I got scammed by skin care products I’m sure they’d target the elderly who are more vulnerable. There’s stories of this company scamming elderly for thousands of dollars in the US. They basically apply some makeup with gluey substances and claim it cured your wrinkles.

A foreigner (not sure if it was the same guy) was part of the team that aggressively accosted me in Xinyi. Very unpleasant people! :face_with_symbols_over_mouth:

Guy

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Ugh. Taiwan is blessedly mostly free of this kind of hard sell nonsense. I hope it isn’t going to become more common.

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