Why are things so expensive here?

Discussion Open Forum
1

Original Title: why oh why???

:astonished: how comes that many things cost an arm and a leg in a country which cannot pretend to be on the same level as japan/UK…

cars/bikes/scooters…geeez,i got a sweet ride in UK for 300 quids,yeah,300…off e-bay,lasted me 18 months without any major fixing to be done,and i only gave it up because i was coming here…
on this very website,peoples advertise stuff at ridiculous prices
http://forumosafieds.com/detail.php?siteid=551
look at that,no pics,but you know it’s gotta be the last thing you wanna be seen in…price? 30,000NT…you gotta be kidding

haircut…,so i understand that once i will speak mandarin,i might find it easier to go to the local barbershop,but after having had my 3 hairs messed with in the past 2 visits,because of a lack of understanding (and professionalism!)i resolved to go to a more…conventional… place,nothing fancy,just clean,modern place where you feel confident,and where the staff,almost speak english…
well,400 to 500 NT for a really simple cut is common price,that’s nearly 9 pounds if i’m not mistaken,even london has cheaper and more professional peoples cutting hairs for a living…
and the list goes on… :noway:

2

I get my hair cut for NT$150.

3

Me too. And sometimes I spend the extra hundred to get it washed even though there is little left. But the neck and shoulder massage that comes with it makes it well worth it.

30 000 for that car sounds about right. When I lived in Canada I sold a 1978 Rabbit for the same price. That was ten years ago though.

I actually see the opposite of what you do frog. I see things to be pretty cheap here. Granted, I don’t live in Taipei, but the services here are almost free compared to what you pay in Canada

4

A mechanic who I’d never met just spent 2 hours working on my car and charged me NT$1,300 including materials. What British mechanic would get out of bed for 20 quid? I also pay a combined NT$46,000/year for tax and insurance (3.2L, I’m 23) which would have cost the worth of a small country back in England. Oh, and it was also damn cheap to buy but admittedly I did put in a lot of leg work and bargaining at the dealers.

Unless you were driving illegally, it must have cost you well over a grand for tax and insurance on that 300 quid put-putter - you can find similar cars for NT$15,000 out here but that’s because the taxes cost more than the car. I don’t really see the point in shelling out that kind of money on tax + insurance unless you at least have a grand or so to put into a half-decent vehicle.

tealit/forumosafieds are all expat ads and are often a bit unrealistic.

[quote=“dablindfrog”]:eek: how comes that many things cost an arm and a leg in a country which cannot pretend to be on the same level as Japan/UK…

cars/bikes/scooters…geeez,I got a sweet ride in UK for 300 quids,yeah,300…off e-bay,lasted me 18 months without any major fixing to be done,and I only gave it up because I was coming here…
on this very website,peoples advertise stuff at ridiculous prices
http://forumosafieds.com/detail.php?siteid=551
look at that,no pics,but you know it’s gotta be the last thing you wanna be seen in…price? 30,000NT…you gotta be kidding

haircut…,so I understand that once I will speak Mandarin,I might find it easier to go to the local barbershop,but after having had my 3 hairs messed with in the past 2 visits,because of a lack of understanding (and professionalism!)i resolved to go to a more…conventional… place,nothing fancy,just clean,modern place where you feel confident,and where the staff,almost speak English…
well,400 to 500 NT for a really simple cut is common price,that’s nearly 9 pounds if I’m not mistaken,even london has cheaper and more professional peoples cutting hairs for a living…
and the list goes on… :noway:[/quote]

5

[quote=“dablindfrog”]:eek: how comes that many things cost an arm and a leg in a country which cannot pretend to be on the same level as Japan/UK…[/quote]Because you’re looking in the wrong places.

6

Off topic here but I’m just curious…can you pluralize “hair” in the above statement?

7

Why do “they” charge so much for things here in Taiwan?

  1. Hoegaarden - NT$200
  2. Budfu**ingweiser - NT$150
  3. A dump in Taipei - NT$ 10 million
  4. Cat in the petshop - NT$50,000
  5. Some exotic looking dog thing - NT$65,000

Why? Why? Why?

Because people are WILLING to pay it!

That’s why!

IMVHO. :stuck_out_tongue:

8

Go to live in Taichung. Things are much much ( I can’t stress this enough) much cheaper than Taipei.

9

Tile a public restroom in Ying Ge that has not ever worked?

4.8 million NT$

Mayor in jail…priceless.

Said mayor re-elected…jawdropping

10

I got my hair braided in London. It cost me 75 GPB. And my extensions started falling out that night. When I called the girl back to tell her that it was not staying (the way she did it was her suggestion and said it would work best for my hair), she told me she’d redo it. For another 75 pounds.

Cheap my ass.

11

I got my hair braided in London. It cost me 75 GPB. And my extensions started falling out that night. When I called the girl back to tell her that it was not staying (the way she did it was her suggestion and said it would work best for my hair), she told me she’d redo it. For another 75 pounds.

Cheaper and more professional my ass.

12

I got my hair braided in London. It cost me 75 GPB. And my extensions started falling out that night. When I called the girl back to tell her that it was not staying (the way she did it was her suggestion and said it would work best for my hair), she told me she’d redo it. For another 75 pounds.

Cheaper and more professional my ass.[/quote]

you can get ripped off anywhere,to pay 75GBP to begin with is a sign that you were not too bothered about finding cheaper,there are some “ethnic” areas where you could have got the proper job done for a 1/4 of that price

13

that’s where i live,i guess it’ll take time for me to find the right spots

14

That’s going to be difficult, seeing as you are a blind frog.

15

that’s where I live,I guess it’ll take time for me to find the right spots[/quote]

Sorry, but if you think 9 quid is expensive for a salon cut then you ain’t gonna find no right spots. Barber shops will cut your hair for anything from NT$50 to NT$150 but you get what you pay for. I know of one shop off wen-xin rd. that gives semi decent haircuts for NT$250. If I’m in Taipei I will happily pay NT$1,500 and up for salon service because I enjoy the experience. I think that’s fair for one or two hours of attention, shampoo, neck and back massage - oh, and the haircut etc. too.

If you came to Taiwan expecting a third world country with third world prices then perhaps you should cut your losses and head deeper into southeast Asia. I live a very comfortable life in Taichung on bugger all per month so you’ll have to excuse my incredulity that someone could complain about it being ‘expensive’.

16

i am very familiar with the Philippines,and appart from the horrible prices that i mentioned,i don’t see much difference in quality of life…
what i mean is that,if things are expensive in london,NY,tokyo,well,you’d know that’s because you’re in a coutry with great many POSITIVE that makes the cost of life there easier to understand

but having had your head trimmed and being a few hundreds NT lighter,you come out in what look,smell,feel like a 3rd world country still…

i’m in phils this week actually,paid 50 pesos (30nt) for a very very good job,all that done with great smiles and a long chat about the local gossips

i didn’t come to taiwan “hoping” that it would get me everything at 3rd world prices,but i just can’t stand paying high prices in a coutry that really can’t pretend to be up there with the best

17

井底之蛙

18

Yesterday’s lunch
Tomato Soup
Japanese egg custard with chicken and prawns
Tonkatsu, rice and stir-fried vegies
Iced Tea

NT$120
= US$ 3.73
GBP 1.98
AUD 4.97

I’m happy!

19

:laughing: good one.

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[quote=“dablindfrog”]I didn’t come to Taiwan “hoping” that it would get me everything at 3rd world prices,but I just can’t stand paying high prices in a coutry that really can’t pretend to be up there with the best[/quote]Don’t blame Taiwan for you being too cabbage to live here cheaply. It’s not hard to live well and reasonably cheaply, even in Taipei, especially if you actually make an effort.

Additionally, if you think so little of Taiwan - which your posts in this thread imply you do - why do you live here?