Seiko Or Citizen Watches In Cebu?

[colorguy]

My gal Melanie and I will be traveling to the Philippines soon and want to buy a watch for my sister-in-law. How do the prices compare with the U.S. on quality Japanese watches like Seiko or Citizen? We live in Thailand and they are expensive here- often as much as double what I would expect to pay in America. Where would we shop in Cebu for such things? I am also on the lookout for a Leatherman tool or two- are there stores that carry these in Cebu? Are they much more expensive than in the U.S.?I guess while you are commenting I wouldn't mind hearing about consumer prices in general in the Philippines. Thailand is very much like Korea in that it is a protected market. There are big tariffs on a lot of imported goods like electronics or appliances. Overall I think it is pretty cheap to live here because rent is cheap and so is food, but when you buy those little "extras" and toys it adds up. How is the Philippines for items outside the basics like food and shelter?

Edited June 15, 2009 by colorguy

[tom_shor]

My gal Melanie and I will be traveling to the Philippines soon and want to buy a watch for my sister-in-law. How do the prices compare with the U.S. on quality Japanese watches like Seiko or Citizen? We live in Thailand and they are expensive here- often as much as double what I would expect to pay in America. Where would we shop in Cebu for such things? I am also on the lookout for a Leatherman tool or two- are there stores that carry these in Cebu? Are they much more expensive than in the U.S.?I guess while you are commenting I wouldn't mind hearing about consumer prices in general in the Philippines. Thailand is very much like Korea in that it is a protected market. There are big tariffs on a lot of imported goods like electronics or appliances. Overall I think it is pretty cheap to live here because rent is cheap and so is food, but when you buy those little "extras" and toys it adds up. How is the Philippines for items outside the basics like food and shelter?

It is imported so it will most likely be more expensive. (Maybe not more expensive than Thailand)You can find watches in the malls. I don't know if jewlery stores carry them. You can probably find knock offs in the market and from street vendors. For tools you can check the hardwatr stores. SM has an ACE hardware and Ayala has a Truevalue. The department stores have hardware departments and also local hardware stores in town. Anything imported will be more than in the US. Also watch for cheap imitations. Anything imported tends to be more expensive. If you can find it at all. Appliance stores in town tend to be cheaper than the malls for electronics. Food and shelter pretty reasonable.