Someone I know is going to China soon, and I'm hoping they might be able to bring back a mp99 or mp88. Any idea how much it costs in China? Bbe sports lists the mp99 at 1200 RMB ($240 CDN), which seems high since I can buy it more cheaply here in Canda. Some people said that it was supposed to be around 50% cheaper?
According to what I heard, imported brands (Yonex, ProKennex, etc) are pretty expensive in china. Visited several websites there, seems Yonex are about in the same range. I don't think Yonex could be 50% cheaper over there.
Err, just because they're made there doesn't necessarily make them cheap though. However, I know Taiwan has good prices on MP99. Friend got his for 160 CAD.
Lemon, I bought my 3U MP99 CH for 1488 RMB in a major department store (had very little time). I saw a 3U MP99 SP selling in the store across the street for a significantly higher price. I got in Department Store #5 on Nanjing Road, for what its worth.
Thanks for the info. I've come to the conclusion that China is weird. I remember before they "opened up", people used to smuggle in goods made in China but destined for "outside" because it was higher quality stuff than they could buy from within China. Now it seems that people could smuggle in stuff made in China back into China because it's cheaper .
All of Yonex's higher end racquets are "supposed" to be made in Japan. There are other models destined for different market that are made in Taiwan or China.
i think it was Cheung who posted saying that rackets in China are higher priced than other SE Asian countries. doesn't make that much sense but that's the way it is..
Re: Re: Price of mp99 in China? I think custom tariff on general goods is usually very high in China. For example, the import tariff on cars used to be very high until recently in anticipation of WTO - I forgot the the exact number but it's now something like 20% or something and used to be above 50%. Also, certain foreign brands are priced higher than domestics, in order to differentiate them. For example, P & G's shampoo in Guangzhou is higher priced than P & G's in H.K. This marketing strategy has worked very well for the Mainland Domestic Market as perception of higher quality foreign goods is matched by the Mainlanders' desire to pay a higher premium them. Last but not the least, the cost of doing business in China, specifically hidden cost, is higher in China than say North America. There are certain costs that one will not find in North America, but I will not go into detail. For those who frequently travel and do business in China, you know what I mean.
I know we may be threatening to head offtopic, but as to hidden costs of doing business in China, during my visit to Shanghai, I was shocked to learn that the government requires that an employer pay an amount equivalent to 60% of the employee's wages as an involuntary contribution to what appears to be their version of social security..... this give southeast asian countries some chance to compete, thankfully.
