Asia Shop-o-rama

Both Singapore and Japan have these huge electronic shopping complexes. Often consisting of eight or more levels of electronic goodness. Televisions, AV Gear, computers, camera, parts large and small. (Gwen's Note: You name it, they have it. Even if you can't name it or had never thought of it, they probably have that too.) What should seem very similar couldn't be more different.

Japan
The big players in Japan are companies like Bic Camera and Yodobashi Camera. The entire store is one company, kind of like a multi-story Best Buy or Circuit City, but with a much bigger selection, and a lot more employees. (Gwen's Note of amusement: Yodobashi's theme song, played on endless repeat in super upbeat tempo, is set to the tune of Glory, Glory Hallelujah) The stores are a bit like visiting Vegas. (Gwen: Um, it's COMPLETELY casino mania in those stores. Like 8 giant floors of brightly lit slot machines all going off at once.) Lights and sounds all over the place, people at every corner of the store politely calling out to you to try thier wares. Employees of different departments each wear a different uniform. Interactive demos. Everything is priced and merchandised like a US store. But the signal to noise ratio in the store is a bit overwhelming at first.

Just like at a big box store in the US, you can't really talk them down on price. Although you could expect more leeway at small stores.

Unlike the US they totally reject the concept of Monster Cables or it's ilk. The Japanese consumer appears way too smart to fall for gold plated optical cable gimmicks.

Singapore
It's a bit of a free for all. There aren't as many mega sized stores in Singapore. What you usually end up with is a series of booths, and crowded hallways. Floor after floor. Just as much stuff, but with a lot more specialty stores. Rarely are things in small stores priced at all. Bartering is expected. Merchants are very aggressive about getting customers in the store. Any pause or sign of interest will result in the merchant trying to close a sale with you.

On the whole Singapore is a bit of a game. The merchant vs the customer. Unlike Japan they do have all the gold plated cables and are more than willing to hawk them to customers as the next thing since sliced bread.

Trivia

• The brand Buffalo is considered a reputable brand in Asia. It's everywhere.
• One of more popular brands of CDR/DVDR is Imation.
  
• Seagate and Western Digital are very rare to find.
  

Overall
The Japanese shopping experience is a bit more polite. The prices aren't as good as rushing head first in Singapore, but you don't find your self questioning if you're getting ripped off nearly as much either.