Rs4500.
That is the price (shipping, tax and post office charges included) I paid for the above Seiko watch on eBay. Before going for this online purchase, I wandered a bit in some shops to have a look and also, to see if it was really worth to pay some extra bucks by grabbing it from Mauritius itself. Shocked is not the right word to describe the feeling when you hear the local prices.
In a particularly famous shop here, a Tissot watch starts as from Rs18,000 while a Seiko is sold as from Rs11,000. As for Casio, you can get a relatively above average watch for about Rs5,000.
Now, hold on tight to your chair.
Just to give you an idea, the same advertised Tissot watch is available for $250 on eBay (approx Rs8,500 – all charges incl.) and for a relatively similar Seiko model, the price tag as from $150 (approx Rs 5,000 – all charges incl.). I do not know how to call this over-priced practice (even after considering that they need to make profits) but truly, eBay offers you the same watch at nearly 1/2 the Mauritian price!
The choice is now yours. I made mine.
- FYI, there isn’t any duty on watches. You only need to pay 15% vat and the postal office charges.
More details on my eBay post. - Similar post, Price of cameras in Mauritius.
Yashvinblogs 
that’s why before buying smthg here, i check it on ebay or other websites. 🙂
LikeLike
Wai do!! 🙂 i like this way of proceeding!
LikeLike
Nicee 🙂 think i look one for myself also 🙂
LikeLike
Thank You now i should consult e-bay more 🙂
LikeLike
In fact, each time you think about buying something (except petty stuffs), you should check it on eBay 🙂
LikeLike
This is good to know. I thought that there would be a high tax to pay on imported luxury goods. So how come the local prices are so high?
LikeLike
A watch is not a luxury 🙂
Local prices. bah. Most probably because of their investment but if there selling price is high, they won’t be attracting many customers, at least, not those who are regularly on eBay.
LikeLike
A watch can be a luxury:
http://chronocentric.com/watches/brands.shtml
I hope you’ll get a Vacheron-Constantin or a Patek-Philippe some day. Not the cheap Rolex idolised by Navinchandra…
LikeLike
lol. yeah yeah 🙂
LikeLike
Just wondering. when they say “Luxery goods”, how do they define luxery? and about ebay i like it too and shop online on a monthly basis but there’s always a risk of a fake product (and some fakes are really good. look at the fake ICE watches currently being sold at rs300 here. you can hardly make a difference with a genuine.
btw just for info i just got a very nice edifice watch at 50% price in a famous store in ebene. paid rs5000
LikeLike
Do not forget something though, there are additional factors to take into consideration; when you add a price tag to an item if you are running a business/shop, the following are considered:
– the price of the item, the tax, the shipping, the profit margin
– the risk of not selling
– the renting of the building/location/shop
– the salary of employees
– the marketing of your business
– the expertise to repair/warranty (if any)
… now compared to ebay 🙂 … well…
LikeLike
Definitely true but how will you run the business if you double the price and attract a few customers only?
LikeLike
judging by the number of shops they have and their number of years of existence, do you think they are really at loss?
i don’t think that we will be able to do something against shops or services selling at twice the price for now. take Orange and internet in mu as example.. (ahem)… If we had to, then we would try to close all shops in Mu. Even ‘marchand la foire’ could be selling at 400-500% the price, who really complains?
LikeLike
If you don’t have any “real” competition (taking MT’s monopole into consideration), people are bound to accept. But when you have alternatives, like purchasing online, it is a different thing 🙂
LikeLike
yup, bizin profiter la, ziska zot met ene la loi pou ban achat online :p
LikeLike
haha, ou plitot ene restriction comme decreasing the Rs10,000 limit for Custom Clearance.
LikeLike
that would be a huge blow
LikeLike
Consumer protection act? I think it’s as dead as the dodo…everything in Mauritius is overpriced…u cannot imagine!!! There’s also DHGate.com, where u can buy in bulk…for example I got 1 dozen socks and leggings for my daughter there and it was almost same price i’d pay for only one over here!!! Thank God we have Ebay, amazon, Barnes&Noble and DHGate 🙂
LikeLike
Merci, merci boukou boukou!
LikeLike
It reminds me of that trademark named “Organic India”: here, one 25-unit teabag box costs around Rs250. But those whow have seen it abroad will tell you that it’s way cheaper over there.
Why?
It’s simply one of pricing strategies known as “price skimming“: when you can sell a product perceived as of sound quality, and in the absence of competitors and/or substitutes, your pricing strategy can earn you abnormal profits in the short term (normally chosen by start-ups in the ealry business life cycle, selling innovative/new products) until market conditions change and/or adapt.
Well, that shop you mention happens to have exclusivity on some brands, and will therefore make full use of the skimming strategy until other players enter the game and/or other factors influence the buyers’ purchasing power… Strangely enough, his business is mature already, and his strategy should have changed actually…
Welcome to free market capitalism!
LikeLike
Sounds like I just read my lecture notes for the Marketing Strategy module!
LikeLike
Ha-em ha! 🙂
LikeLike
Just bought a watch from Ebay. Guess watches are the more craze at the moment. LOL.
That’s why I make my shopping on Ebay. Prices in MRU is wayyy too hight.
LikeLike
Hight?
LikeLike
thank god, i dont wear watches or any jewelries!! some money saved!
LikeLike
I usually buy watches on the streets @ Rs 100 😛
LikeLike
Hello for watches you can check out
http://www.dutyfreeislandshop.com/ ships to mauritius and great prices though there may be other websites as well. Great Post
LikeLike
Great Post: the world of watches is more than you can see though An insider once explained to me that the watches brought here are mainly for other markets so thay do not depend on Mauritians to buy them. Also you can check out http://www.dutyfreeislandshop.com/ for watches. You can compare with Ebay.
LikeLike
That’s interesting to know! (if it is true of course).
LikeLike
well that’s the info I heard make sense if you consider how many watches can Mauritians buy and does that justify all those shops…Business is a crazy world
LikeLike
Can you also share the ebay seller for everyone as at least will know a good ebay seller
LikeLike
Voila! TimeParadise : http://myworld.ebay.com/timeparadise
LikeLike
hey great post, specially as someone who likes watches and thinking about buying another one.Finally i am not the only one who noticed that the prices of the watches are doubled here. The over pricing of the local shop here has striken me long ago, I must admit.
On ebay you should get better deals on the watches and its really shocking when you get the price of the watches here, i mean come on guys , how do you think people can afford them.
LikeLike
If enough people boycott these shops, they’ll be forced to rethink their strategy or face closing down. The high prices are only going to last until Mauritians get smarter. The real question is when is that going to happen?
LikeLike
As long as Mauritians think that buying in Mauritius is the only option they have.
LikeLike
What guarantee you have that the watch you bought on Ebay is not a copy made in China???
LikeLike
The genuine box, warranty card, manuals etc + thousands of positive feedback and ratings left on seller’s account by buyers.
LikeLike
+ from a top rated seller
LikeLike
😀
LikeLike
in vine fou pou pran ene montre. spent nearly 1 hour in the shop.and finally bought three of them. Si ti moris pou meme quantier prix ti pou gaigne ene seul
LikeLike