Want to Buy TV from Dubai. Who to Use?

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AlphaOmega

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I wanted to buy a TV from Dubai, because the particular model I want isn’t available in India. I will be buying it from Jumbo Electronics Dubai, since Sony TVs bought from them have a valid international warranty (I communicated with them to confirm).

I want to know if there are services that would purchase it for me, and ship to my address in India, handling the customs etc. I know there are some, like iShopInternational.com, which do so for US shopping.

Does anyone here know the same for buying in Dubai and shipping to India? It would be even better if you or someone you know has used them before and they are trustworthy.
 
Soyab0007 said:
Pricewise.. is it cheap in Dubai?
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Much cheaper in Dubai itself, but after factoring in customs and shipping, it about the same as buying locally. I want to buy the 43X8000D 43" TV to use as a 4k monitor, but the X80D series wasn't launched in India. The X83D was, but it is an IPS panel, and I want VA (for the black and contrast levels). The X80D is also very well reviewed, having almost everything I want in a display (no PWM, 10bit, HDR, acceptable input lag, VA etc.), while the X83D has no in-depth reviews, and I don't want IPS anyway.

I can get the US version for 75-76k, from Overstock or iShopInternational, but that will have no warranty, and will not support PAL (which I might have use for in the future). That's why I want to buy from Dubai.

mutant said:
https://www.shopandship.com has Dubai Address and will ship things to you and do your customs.
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Thanks. I know about shopandship.com. They are the only ones I have seen so far that provide shopping in Dubai. How are they? Have you used them, or heard good things about them? Are there any others who also provide a similar service?
 
AlphaOmega said:
Much cheaper in Dubai itself, but after factoring in customs and shipping, it about the same as buying locally. I want to buy the 43X8000D 43" TV to use as a 4k monitor, but the X80D series wasn't launched in India. The X83D was, but it is an IPS panel, and I want VA (for the black and contrast levels). The X80D is also very well reviewed, having almost everything I want in a display (no PWM, 10bit, HDR, acceptable input lag, VA etc.), while the X83D has no in-depth reviews, and I don't want IPS anyway.

I can get the US version for 75-76k, from Overstock or iShopInternational, but that will have no warranty, and will not support PAL (which I might have use for in the future). That's why I want to buy from Dubai.



Thanks. I know about shopandship.com. They are the only ones I have seen so far that provide shopping in Dubai. How are they? Have you used them, or heard good things about them? Are there any others who also provide a similar service?
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They are pretty good, I have used them for US, UK etc, always good and on time. Also, you might want to calculate how much it would come out to be. I was also looking for a 4k monitor, Have you looked into the Philips 40 4k monitor?
 
mutant said:
They are pretty good, I have used them for US, UK etc, always good and on time. Also, you might want to calculate how much it would come out to be. I was also looking for a 4k monitor, Have you looked into the Philips 40 4k monitor?
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Thanks! Getting a testimonial from someone who has used them himself is a big plus. I will contact them on Monday for all the details, and find out about the total cost. As I mentioned, both Overstock and iShop were quoting 76k for getting the US model to me, customs and shipping included. It's a little more expensive in Dubai, but maybe the shipping will be cheaper, and at least I will have warranty in India, along with support for Indian broadcast formats.

I have looked into the larger Phillips 4k monitors, but rejected them. The older one (40" VA) was decent, but it is lacking a lot of features that will be important soon. It's also not being sold anymore. The new one, 43" IPS, is a bad proposition all around:

- It's very expensive, in the US (> USD 1000). Add to that customs and shipping for India.
- It doesn't have HDR, which is a big upcoming thing.
- It has support for 10bit, but it used dithering to make its 8bit panel 10bit.
- It doesn't have support for wide color gamuts, like the Rec.2020 standard.
- It's an IPS panel, which brings with it both pros and cons, but the cons outweigh the pros. It has better viewing angles than VA, but:
  • It has a poor contrast ratio (only ~750 vs. nearly 3900 for the Sony).
  • Poor black levels (~0.25 at 50% backlight vs. 0.02 for the Sony)
  • Low luminance (270 at max vs. 375 for the Sony).
  • IPS glow is going to be a big problem with a screen this size, which will make the sides of movies, shows and games washed out.
- WORST OF ALL, it has a lot of issues with image retention/burn-in. IPS itself seem to be more susceptible to it, but this monitor is filled with people complaining about this. The monitor itself warns of this when turning it on.
​
If you are in the market for a large 4k display, I would recommend the Sony. It's gotten good reviews, and is better at everything than the Philips, except viewing angles, but that's defeated by the IPS glow in dark-ish scenes. Good color accuracy, 10bit, WCG, HDR etc. http://ca.rtings.com/tv/reviews/sony/x800d.

What's your budget and buying timeframe?
 
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AlphaOmega said:
Thanks! Getting a testimonial from someone who has used them himself is a big plus. I will contact them on Monday for all the details, and find out about the total cost from them. As I mentioned, both Overstock and iShop were quoting 76k for getting the US model to me, customs and shipping included. It's a little more expensive in Dubai, but maybe the shipping will be cheaper, and at least I will have warranty in India, along with support for Indian broadcast formats.

I have looked into the larger Phillips 4k monitors, but rejected them. The older one (40" VA) was decent, but it is lacking a lot of features that will be important soon. It's also not being sold anymore. The new one, 43" IPS, is a bad proposition all around:

- It's very expensive, in the US (> USD 1000). Add to that customs and shipping for India.
- It doesn't have HDR, which is a big upcoming thing.
- It has support for 10bit, but it used dithering to make its 8bit panel 10bit.
- It doesn't have support for wide color gamuts, like the Rec.2020 standard.
- It's an IPS panel, which brings with both pros and cons, but the cons outweigh the pros. It has better viewing angles than a VA, but:
  • It has a poor contrast ratio (only ~750).
  • Poor black levels (~0.25 at 50% backlight)
  • Low luminance (270 at max).
  • IPS glow is going to be a big problem with a screen this size, which will make the sides of movies, shows and games washed out.
- WORST OF ALL, it has a lot of issues with image retention/burn-in. IPS themselves seem to be more susceptible to it, but this monitor is filled with people complaining about this. The monitor itself warns of this when turning it on.​
If you are in the market for a large 4k display, I would recommend the Sony. It's gotten good reviews, and is better at everything than the Philips, except viewing angles, but that's defeated by the IPS glow in dark-ish scenes. Good color accuracy, 10bit, WCG, HDR etc. http://ca.rtings.com/tv/reviews/sony/x800d.

What's your budget and buying timeframe?
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Thanks for the info, I will only be using it as a monitor with Macbook Pro, so I was looking for a Display Port input as well. I have a budget of around 60k or so, looking for something bigger than 40inch, 42 seems perfect. Already have a 28" Samsung 4k monitor, but it's too small for 4k resolution, and I am looking for an upgrade.
 
mutant said:
Thanks for the info, I will only be using it as a monitor with Macbook Pro, so I was looking for a Display Port input as well. I have a budget of around 60k or so, looking for something bigger than 40inch, 42 seems perfect. Already have a 28" Samsung 4k monitor, but it's too small for 4k resolution, and I am looking for an upgrade.
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Keep in mind that some monitors have a different pixel structure than RGB, which Macs don't handle. I think the Sony is fine in this regard, but not entirely sure. Also, you can use a DP-to-HDMI convertor, and that works very well. My cousin uses that.

For 60k, in India, you aren't going to get a good quality, future proof display. I have been searching and researching for ages. I wanted to move to 4k over 1 year ago, but nothing seemed to fit. The Sony is the first one I have seen that has almost everything I want. Price could have been lower, but that's mainly because of the absurd 36% import duty levied. The X80D is 45k in the US, and 50k in Dubai, direct conversion to INR.
 
Recently i bought videocon UHD 43" tv from dubai for 2000. The offer is you pay here in dubai and Videocon will deliver to your home address in india without any extra cost. It took 3 weeks to deliver. The advantage is i got indian invoice as well as 2 year indian waaranty.
 
manojkrishnaks said:
Recently i bought videocon UHD 43" tv from dubai for 2000. The offer is you pay here in dubai and Videocon will deliver to your home address in india without any extra cost. It took 3 weeks to deliver. The advantage is i got indian invoice as well as 2 year indian waaranty.
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What was the model of the Videocon TV? I will give it a look to see if it meets my criteria. I had heard of this offer, but it applies to Videocon only it seems, not to other brands, and so far only the Sony X80D meets the pretty strict set of features and quality that I want.
 
AlphaOmega said:
I wanted to buy a TV from Dubai, because the particular model I want isn’t available in India. I will be buying it from Jumbo Electronics Dubai, since Sony TVs bought from them have a valid international warranty (I communicated with them to confirm).
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Who confirmed this? Sony or Jumbo electronics? It would be prudent to confirm this with sony service center before going ahead
 
mutant said:
There seems to be other good LG and Sony monitors above X80D in this list.

http://ca.rtings.com/tv/reviews/by-usage/pc-monitor/best
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I have seen it, but take their rankings with a grain of salt, since their way of giving scores is by giving weightage to features won't mean that it will fit with a person's requirements. For one, there are few TVs in the 40" range, that are of decent quality. Their two mentions don't have wide gamut and HDR (they just support the signal). Anything bigger than 43" is too big. Additionally, I am not sure why they put the LG B6 in their recommendation for monitors. It is OLED, which means image retention, even burn-in. This is especially bad for a PC, where there is a lot static content displayed for long periods (taskbar, icons, scrollbars etc.)

adventureguy said:
Who confirmed this? Sony or Jumbo electronics? It would be prudent to confirm this with sony service center before going ahead
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So far it has been Jumbo Electronics, via mail. Their site mentions this too, http://www.jumbo.ae/customer-service/service-and-warranty. I have used the contact form in the Sony UAE site too, hopefully I will get a reply in the next couple of days. I have also been in contact with the Sony rep. in my city, but haven't had the opportunity to ask him about this particular thing yet. Will go and talk to him soon.

I found an article talking about the Sony Bridge Warranty, but it's pretty ancient (2007). http://www.itp.net/496049-windows-investigates-after-sales-support-?tab=article&page=7
 
AlphaOmega said:
I have seen it, but take their rankings with a grain of salt, since their way of giving scores is by giving weightage to features won't mean that it will fit with a person's requirements. For one, there are few TVs in the 40" range, that are of decent quality. Their two mentions don't have wide gamut and HDR (they just support the signal). Anything bigger than 43" is too big. Additionally, I am not sure why they put the LG B6 in their recommendation for monitors. It is OLED, which means image retention, even burn-in. This is especially bad for a PC, where there is a lot static content displayed for long periods (taskbar, icons, scrollbars etc.)



So far it has been Jumbo Electronics, via mail. Their site mentions this too, http://www.jumbo.ae/customer-service/service-and-warranty. I have used the contact form in the Sony UAE site too, hopefully I will get a reply in the next couple of days. I have also been in contact with the Sony rep. in my city, but haven't had the opportunity to ask him about this particular thing yet. Will go and talk to him soon.

I found an article talking about the Sony Bridge Warranty, but it's pretty ancient (2007). http://www.itp.net/496049-windows-investigates-after-sales-support-?tab=article&page=7
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Thanks for the detailed info. Please let me know the final landing price quote you get for the TV, and I will also think about taking it.

Also, did you try asking Sony India if they would be launching this model soon? An email to sony India customer support or anything?
 
AlphaOmega said:
So far it has been Jumbo Electronics, via mail. Their site mentions this too, http://www.jumbo.ae/customer-service/service-and-warranty. I have used the contact form in the Sony UAE site too, hopefully I will get a reply in the next couple of days. I have also been in contact with the Sony rep. in my city, but haven't had the opportunity to ask him about this particular thing yet. Will go and talk to him soon.

I found an article talking about the Sony Bridge Warranty, but it's pretty ancient (2007). http://www.itp.net/496049-windows-investigates-after-sales-support-?tab=article&page=7
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These products also include a ‘bridge' warranty; aimed at expats from the wider region, this covers India, Pakistan, Philippines, Egypt, Iran and Malaysia. If a user has a problem with their CAV product in any other country, in Europe say, they can still get it serviced at a Sony centre, but they'll need to pay.
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I would wait until sony clarifies the matter if you need warranty. A friend of mine has his Xperia Z3 ,bought from Dubai go kaput and sony refused to honor the warranty saying his phone imei is registered in India.
 
manojkrishnaks said:
Its Videocon VNB43Q519SA model. See the website http://www.mybhst.com/uae/product/videocon-vnb43q519sa-a1-43-inch-ultra-high-definition-led-tv
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You got a good deal on that TV. Unfortunately it doesn't suit my needs.

mutant said:
Thanks for the detailed info. Please let me know the final landing price quote you get for the TV, and I will also think about taking it.

Also, did you try asking Sony India if they would be launching this model soon? An email to sony India customer support or anything?
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Yes, I talked to Sony India, even mailed the CEO of their Indian operations. That's how the local rep from Sony got in touch with me. He confirmed that the model isn't coming to India, and I think I know why. India has become an IPS country, mostly because of LG propaganda (their "knock the panel" ads). All other countries have gotten the X80D, Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka, even Pakistan, but not India. Almost all models by all the major brands are IPS. The only non-IPS models are those that don't have an IPS counterpart, like Sony's 5 lakh Z94 series. Samsung's SUHD 43" isn't being launched in India either.

adventureguy said:
I would wait until sony clarifies the matter if you need warranty. A friend of mine has his Xperia Z3 ,bought from Dubai go kaput and sony refused to honor the warranty saying his phone imei is registered in India.
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I have contacted Sony as well recently, hope to hear from them soon. One thing though, what does "his phone imei is registered in India" mean exactly? Registered with whom? Sony India? If so why did it being registered in the country he was seeking warranty be a bad thing? Would they have given warranty if it was registered with Sony UAE?
 
mutant said:
Thanks for the detailed info. Please let me know the final landing price quote you get for the TV, and I will also think about taking it.

Also, did you try asking Sony India if they would be launching this model soon? An email to sony India customer support or anything?
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This is the price from Overstock. Their "Duty and Tax" is accurate, 36.06%. Shipping is reasonable too.

I will find out what ShopandShip quotes, but if their duty charge is also accurate, it will be (Dubai price for the TV) 50k + 18k tax = 68k. According to their site, shipping 34.7lbs (package weight) from Dubai to India is $193.5 (Rs. 13,106.53 as per their exchange rate). So total amount is possibly going to be between 81-82k. The only difference is warranty, if Sony confirms.
 
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Makes sense to confirm from sony India about the warranty then.

Also, since these are meant to be used as TV's, won't it hurt eyes if we view it very close as we normally do with a monitor, for an extended period of time.
 
mutant said:
Makes sense to confirm from sony India about the warranty then.

Also, since these are meant to be used as TV's, won't it hurt eyes if we view it very close as we normally do with a monitor, for an extended period of time.
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I have dropped a mail to Sony India, and also used the contact form at the Sony UAE site (I didn't see a direct mail option). I will post an update as soon as I hear anything from them. Either they are going to confirm what Jumbo said, or I will ask them why they are letting the biggest Sony retailer in Asia spread misinformation.

Being a TV will make no difference. Technologically, there is really no difference in what we see in either, both are LCD panels (whatever kind) with backlight, TVs just have a ton of stuff that monitors don't need, like speaker, tuners and now smart TV stuff. Earlier, TVs weren't always a good idea for use as a monitor, if they couldn't support full resolution, 60FPS with full chroma support (4:4:4). Most TVs did subsampling compression, which messed up text from a computer mainly. Nowadays that's not an issue with newer TVs. Good ones, like the X80D, can do full 4K+60FPS+HDR+444 over HDMI 2.0.

I am actually going to put the TV a bit further back on the desk than I do with my current monitor. I sit between 2'-3.5' from my current 27" 2560x1440 monitor. With the TV, I expect it to be 3'-4.5'. The PPI of the TV is a little bit less than the monitor 103.x vs. 108.x, so even the text etc. won't be too small and we won't need to use resolution scaling, thereby getting the full benefit of 4K desktop real estate and a larger screen for media.

One thing mutant, you said that you had used Shopandship before. That means you have an account with them, right? I was looking for a way to send a mail to them, to ask them what the final cost would be, but I can't find a mail address anywhere. The only way to contact them seems to be if you have an account with them (or call local office). I went to make an account, but not only does it require payment (which I don't want to do unless I know I am going to use them), but a PayPal account, which I don't have. Can you drop them a mail or create a support ticket asking them about the price? I am putting the details of the package below:

Item: Sony Bravia TV - KDL43X8000D 43"
Cost: AED 2749
Package dimensions: 6.22 x 41.44 x 27.81 in
Package weight: 34.7 lbs
Ship to: India from Dubai
 
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