Replacement cost of stuff in Taiwan vs. U.S

Maybe this isn’t the best area to post this but did anyone do some replacement cost analysis for shipping purposes? I have to determine an itemized list of stuff that is shipping from my home in the US and what I consider the local Taiwan replacement cost to be.

Mostly concerned with furniture (pottery barn / crate & barrel type stuff). Did anyone come up with a simple estimate like Taiwan is +10% more expensive? I’d rather not make a science project out of this but if I don’t, I know my container will fall off a boat to the bottom of the sea.

For furniture wouldn’t the replacement cost just be converting the IKEA prices at home into Taiwan dollars? isn’t that where everyone gets their furniture?

Erm isn’t it he US cost of replacement plus shipping? Don’t assume you can buy everything in Taiwan.

Generally Electricals are cheaper, furniture can be very cheap but not necessarily what you would choose at home, western style furniture can be expensive. Jewellery etc should be similar.

  1. Pack the container with Western style ovens

  2. Sell such ovens to desperate Westeners

  3. Make a profit here and not worry about what furniture to buy. With the earnings, you can have jade incrusted, Qing dynasty copies made to your specifications by Sanyi artisans.

Anyways, IKEA’s website for comparison: ikea.com.tw/chi/main.html

Yep, why don’t you make a sample list of what you want to ship here, and then we can tell you if it’s worth shipping or better buy here? Edgar gave a good example.

I get it shipped for free so it’s not like I would sell and then re-buy stuff here but I get your point. We did identify a lot of stuff that is not worth shipping and we will just re-buy here as needed. And I thought about getting rid of everything and filling the container with iPhones and laptops or something like that. Ikea is priced near dead on, it’s joined furniture that is tough to get a grasp of.

I have a friend who years ago went on an ex-pat mission to France and the policy was they would ship all his stuff to France, record the weight, and when he came home, they would ship the same weight back. He filled the unneeded space with junky appliances and before coming home, filled the equivalent weight from Parisian furniture markets.

[quote=“Icon”]1. Pack the container with Western style ovens

  1. Sell such ovens to desperate Westeners

  2. Make a profit here and not worry about what furniture to buy. With the earnings, you can have jade incrusted, Qing dynasty copies made to your specifications by Sanyi artisans.

Anyways, IKEA’s website for comparison: ikea.com.tw/chi/main.html

Yep, why don’t you make a sample list of what you want to ship here, and then we can tell you if it’s worth shipping or better buy here? Edgar gave a good example.[/quote]

That’s pretty harsh! I love how employers expect people to live overseas for a few years and not acquire any new posessions during that time!

I would suggest using US replacement cost + shipping as mentioned earlier. For a lot of household goods, you may be able to replace locally at a Costco or somewhere, but if you really have a catastrophic loss, you’ll likely not want to replace everything here. Some stuff, sure, but there will always be items that you want from your home still.

I used as close to actual for the larger, harder to replace items. For more mundane stuff, very rough estimates only. I have yet to have any damage from any of my expat moves…professional relocation companies do a darn good job of packing up your stuff…

[quote=“Edgar Allen”]Erm isn’t it he US cost of replacement plus shipping? Don’t assume you can buy everything in Taiwan.

Generally Electricals are cheaper, furniture can be very cheap but not necessarily what you would choose at home, western style furniture can be expensive. Jewellery etc should be similar.[/quote]
Actually I found electronics in Taiwan to be on average 10 - 30% more expensive than in the US, even at discount markets, depending on the complexity of the device. People underestimate how cheaply electronics can be had in the States.

This made it on my list for why I will never live in Taiwan again. IKEA SUCKS, OVER Priced garbage.

[quote=“naijeru”][quote=“Edgar Allen”]Erm isn’t it he US cost of replacement plus shipping? Don’t assume you can buy everything in Taiwan.

Generally Electricals are cheaper, furniture can be very cheap but not necessarily what you would choose at home, western style furniture can be expensive. Jewellery etc should be similar.[/quote]
Actually I found electronics in Taiwan to be on average 10 - 30% more expensive than in the US, even at discount markets, depending on the complexity of the device. People underestimate how cheaply electronics can be had in the States.[/quote]

It is due to the fact that US companies buy bulk so there are massive discounts. Your local taiwanese store will only order 1 or 2 parts at a time. I was however able to compile a computer system and build it myself for a much cheaper price than anything in America even www.newegg.com

We bought a lot of parts from a friend and my wife is a hard negotiator too.

Speaking of IKEA, do they sell food here?

Yes they do. The swedish meat balls are too salty and a bit more chewy than I like it to be, kind of stale chewy and the sauce is, runny (even by other IKEA standards). There is a lot of other stuff and also a packaged goods section at the exit with biscuits and frozen food. Yeah they at the exit they do sell some hot dogs and ice-crea but I haven’t had them.

This made it on my list for why I will never live in Taiwan again. IKEA SUCKS, OVER Priced garbage.[/quote]

Which is why I recommend your friendly neighborhood store, the furniture streets in Kuting, Xindian, or even Wugu. Lots of choices, entertaining, quite a cultural experience. :smiley: