Cheaper in HK?

[Sunmax]

Hi,

I am new to badminton. I have been playing for 6 months and I think it is time for me to get a racket. I like to smash a lot. I did some research and it seems the 62MF or Carbonex 8200 should fit my needs at this point. My budget is ~$50 Canadian.

Anyway, a friend told me it is a lot cheaper to get a racket in HK. Is it true? Curretly, I have a friend going back and I can ask him to get it for me. I am living in Vancouver, BC.

[taneepak]

Originally Posted by Sunmax

Hi,

I am new to badminton. I have been playing for 6 months and I think it is time for me to get a racket. I like to smash a lot. I did some research and it seems the 62MF or Carbonex 8200 should fit my needs at this point. My budget is ~$50 Canadian.

Anyway, a friend told me it is a lot cheaper to get a racket in HK. Is it true? Curretly, I have a friend going back and I can ask him to get it for me. I am living in Vancouver, BC.

Please refer to earlier thread "Badminton equipment supplier in Hong Kong" posted here a few days back.

[Sunmax]

Originally Posted by taneepak

Please refer to earlier thread "Badminton equipment supplier in Hong Kong" posted here a few days back.

Thanks! I searched and found the link. The only problem is there is only an email address. Do they have website I can browse around? I know some models are only available in North America and some only in HK (or Asia). What is the similar model in HK to Cab 8200 or ISO 62MF?

Last nigt when I did the research, I also found the MP22 is availble for HK$450. Is it a good racket and good price to get?

Thanks!

[LazyBuddy]

Here're several questions u might need to take into consideration about oversea purchase:

1. I believe in Canada, u have warranty when u purchase a racket. Not sure if that's true in Asia or not. Even yes, will u pay for the international shipping rate to ship the racket back and forth? Never have to metion the hassel of waiting and possible communicating.

2. I think u want ur friend to hand carry this racket back to u. With security concern, many airlines won't allow passenger to carry "potential weapon" on board. Somehow, all the rackets (tennis, squash, badminton, etc) are included in the list. If not allowed, the only options is to do the check in and suffer the possible damage in cargo. Of course, if ur friend can properly wrap the racket with tons of clothes (as I did before), it should survive, but is that worth all the effort?

3. For lower end model such as Cab8200 (used to be on sale for CD$50?) and MP22, I doubt u can save quite a lot if buy from Asian market. If for a high end model, the difference might be 50% of CD200+, but I don't think that applies to ur case.

[Sunmax]

Hey LazzyBuddy,

Good advices. Yeah, I have a friend visiting HK right now and I thought I may be able to get a better deal. You are right, the saving (if any) won't justify the trouble.

I live in Vancouver, anyone know where I can get a good deal besides SportChek or Spartmart?

[herovc]

Hi Sunmax,

If you've $50 budget, I suggest you to go with the Yonex 80 or 82 VF bcoz they're on sale (original CAD$100 ... now i think its CAD$49.99 or 59.99... forgot )at Sportchek and they're suppose to be higher end racquet than MF or 8200 you've mentioned. They are better buy and they should be within your price range.

Good Luck and enjoy the fun of the game.

vc

[Traum]

Actually, for the lower end racquets, Sports Chek tends to have some pretty good deals. I've seen teh Yonex Iso 62MF as cheap as $39.99 before, although I think they are going around around $49.99 a few weeks ago when I passed by.

When your skills have improved and you feel like you are ready for something a little more sophisticated, you might wanna check out Tad's Sporting Goods, or Abby's Sports. ClearOne also carries a bunch of Yonex racquets at reasonable prices.

-Rick

[TTT]

Did you consider used racquets? They are cheaper than new, and it won't break your heart and wallet if you get it all scratched up or accidentally broke it...

[bluejeff]

Originally Posted by LazyBuddy

Here're several questions u might need to take into consideration about oversea purchase:

...
2. I think u want ur friend to hand carry this racket back to u. With security concern, many airlines won't allow passenger to carry "potential weapon" on board. Somehow, all the rackets (tennis, squash, badminton, etc) are included in the list. If not allowed, the only options is to do the check in and suffer the possible damage in cargo. Of course, if ur friend can properly wrap the racket with tons of clothes (as I did before), it should survive, but is that worth all the effort?
...

Are you sure about that?? I just carried 28 badminton racquets with me as on plane carry-ons, flied from TW->US without any problem at all.

[nutty]

I think it really depends on where you get off and where you get on, some places may be more strict than others, as I was restricted from carrying my rackets on from the Philippines to the US luckily, my rackets were unhurt

[bluejeff]

I forgot to say, I think the racquets will look much more "innocent" when you put them into the large size Yonex bag

Customs will think "Oh, that's just badminton racquets, that's safe and not dangerous"

PS: especially, I look like a student....so custom never give me any hard time

[Qidong]

I think the airport securities in Taiwan airport didn't know you have badminton racquets in your bag because they don' open and check hand-carried bags. Last year, my brother-in-law in Taiwan gave my daughter a kid's tennis racket and my daughter was holding it in her hand, and the securities said they needed to keep it and returned it to me when we landed in San Francisco.

[taneepak]

Originally Posted by Sunmax

Thanks! I searched and found the link. The only problem is there is only an email address. Do they have website I can browse around? I know some models are only available in North America and some only in HK (or Asia). What is the similar model in HK to Cab 8200 or ISO 62MF?

Last nigt when I did the research, I also found the MP22 is availble for HK$450. Is it a good racket and good price to get?

Thanks!

For cheaper racquets it is just not worth buying anywhere except in your own home country, because of the warranty issue. However, for higher-end racquets, Hong Kong is a good place to shop around for low prices. But the cost savings of buying in Hong Kong must be weighed against the lack of warranty when you return home, unless you come to Hong Kong frequently. Another alternative is to buy used high-end racquets. You can try to email Tom Cheung, inskysport@yahoo.com.hk, and ask him about high quality used racquets. Tom still has the 2 MP100 I sold him for a song sometime back.I think I sold him my MP100s for less than HK$400 each.