Beware of scams in Palika Bazar

In the early '90's, Palika Bazar was the place in Delhi to find original brand electronics like Sony, Panasonic, Nikon, etc. Import duties were too high for legitimate business to import electronics, so smuggled goods were the only way to obtain them. Cut to 2006. All major brands like Sony, Olympus, Philips, Canon, Panasonic have dedicated outlets in or authorized distributors Connaught Place itself. In fact, originals are now available at any reputable electronics shop like Dass Studios in F block, Mahatta Studio in A, Bercos in E, etc. And their prices turn out to be less than company-listed prices! On the other hand, prices in Palika Bazar have actually gone up compared to the authorized shops. Here's what I found on my latest visit to Delhi: Sony Handycam DCR-H21: Listed price: IN Rs.21,000 Sony World (Janpath): IN Rs.19,900 (official, with invoice) Shop no. 7 Palika Bazar: IN Rs.22,500 (smuggled, cash-only, no invoice) Shop no. 264 Palika Bazar: IN Rs.21,000 (official, with invoice) Memory Stick Pro 1GB: Listed price: IN Rs.2,800 Sony World: IN Rs.2,190 (official, invoice) Shop no. 7: IN Rs.3,250 (smuggled, cash-only, no invoice) Shop no. 264: IN Rs.2,500 (official, invoice) Canon Powershot SD450 (called Ixus 55 here): Listed price: IN 23,995 Dass Studios (F block): IN Rs. 22,000 (official, invoice) Shop no. 7: IN Rs.24,000 (smuggled, cash-only, no invoice) Shop no. 264: IN Rs.23,000 (official, invoice) The worst rip-off is Shop no. 7, Palika Bazar, but they merely represent the problems plaguing Palika Bazar: get-rich-quick outfits coming up overnight and mooching off the fast-fading reputation of Palika Bazar. Poor sods, apparently from villages around Delhi in Haryana or UP, still think it's the final destination for electronics. They're probably unfamiliar or intimidated by the official outlets that they don't even look outside Palika. If you ever need extra memory for your camera or a miniDV for your camcorder or anything electronic, don't go to Palika Bazar. There's only one reason to go to Palika and that's for the pirated DVDs. Don't pay more than 65 bucks for those either! For Sony products, see Sony World on Janpath. For digital memory, see Dass Studios in F block or Mahatta in A block. For cellphone chargers and batteries, see Nokia in K block or Beecham's Press in M block (for other phones).

By torontolocal on July 15, 2006