Key to be a wise shopper and save 75% off – Philippines

Price differences can be found everywhere, be a wise shopper, and save 75% off!

Research, Patience, and Calmness These are the keys to your success buying in the Philippines. Why? as the standard pricing seems not to practice here. This is my observation in just a few months of staying here after working abroad for many years.

I don’t want to compare but sometimes comparison is unavoidable because of the many scenarios I experienced. The rate difference is in all places, shops, and even in repairing services. Prices are up and down, it seems there are no rules, and always depend on the staff’s mood.

A few of the simple price differences I experienced are;

1×1 ID Picture

Sounds funny but this is real, it is when hubby had to take his photo for  BPI bank opening account.

The shop nearby has a big sign that they have photo services, we asked for the price. The salesman shows us their offer and different promotions. Wow, six pieces of 1×1 photo are only Php 55.00, we found it cheap so we proceed with their service.

Just ten steps away, one photoshop has a better rate, and it is their regular price. Do you know how much it is?  With the same quality, quantity, and dimensions it is only Php 25.00

Hubby and I are laughing hard on why we didn’t see it. Ohh our Php 30.00 are gone.

Car parts prices

The second-hand car we bought has a few parts that we need to change. Finding a reasonable parts price was a struggle, each shop has a different price even of the same brand.

We even sent an inquiry directly to the car dealership but their price is also higher than the market cost. It was a challenge, we end up dealing with a Facebook group, glad we found a good supplier.

Car maintenance

Before we feel satisfied with the condition of our second-hand car, we brought it to different car maintenance services. Having the same story, different prices applied with the same services. Thankfully my father always assists us. He has the patience to keep on checking each shop until we get a reasonable price.

House maintenance

One of our room windows needs to be cut to fit the aircon. We look around from different glass cutters and the highest price we got was Php1500.00, just to cut it. As expected my father will not agree to it, after a few shops we check with, finally, we got the best offer. You will not believe the difference;  it is 75 percent lower. We got it for only Php 350.00.

Petrol

In every 300 meters, there is a different gas station, each of them has their own prices. I am not sure if it’s normal, but now I am already familiar with which station I need to avoid as they have a higher rate.

And as usual food prices from the wet market always vary.

I am not exaggerating things,  I know this practice already exist many years back. I just need to let myself to be familiar with this system again, and at the same time practice being patient in hopping each store to get the best price.

That was actually my shopping attitude before I went abroad. But due to I am not in the country for more than a decade, and the place I worked in for several years respects the standard pricing, I just thought that our country’s business market-style is the same as them.

My tip for everyone, especially for my co- OFW who just got home and adjusting their life again, don’t buy quickly from the first store you approach from. If you have time to check prices in different stores safely, do it and you probably save a good amount. In this challenging situation, we need to be a wise shopper!

Online shopping through Lazada or Shoppee is ideal as well for shopping. Aside from the convenience shopping while at home,  you can also see the actual price on-site and can do the comparison. With this, you can definitely save cash.

Thanks for dropping by.

Be a wise shopper and Happy wise shopping everyone!

 

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