Keep the Change

Shopping for Appliances at Harvey Norman Mid Valley Southkey: Tips and Trade-Offs

So, we recently took a trip to the Harvey Norman outlet at Mid Valley Southkey, Johor Bahru, to shop for some appliances.

Now, when the salesperson mentioned they could deliver the products to our place in Singapore for a S$350 delivery fee — and that we’d have to pay the 9% GST on top of the retail price — it sounded like a lot, right? I was skeptical too.

But here’s where it gets interesting. After sitting down and doing the math (see table below), we realized that even with those extra costs, it only costs us S$3,446 as compared to S$5,836 if were to buy the same items from Harvey Norman Singapore. That’s a massive 41% discount!

Appliance	Brand, Model	HN MY RM price	HN MY SGD equivalent (1 SGD = 3.4 RM) + 9% GST	HN SG price*	Savings (SGD)	Savings (%)
Dishwasher	BOSCH SMS4HCI60E	3,599	$1,153.80	$2,899	$1,745	60.20%
Washer	LG FV-1450S4W 10.5KG	2,376	$761.72	$1,547	$785	50.76%
Dryer	LG RH-10VHP2W 10KG	3,682	$1,180.41	$1,999	$819	40.95%
Fridge	Hitachi R-WX670KM (XW)	13,771	$4,414.82	$5,599	$1,184	21.15%
TV	LG OLED 55B4PSA (2024 WEBOS)	6,999	$2,243.80	$2,399	$155	6.47%

*Though the exact model might not be available in SG, we used a comparable model from the same brand for this comparison. For example, we couldn’t find a 10.5kg LG washer sold in SG so we used a 10kg LG washer for comparison instead

Price Comparisons: Don’t Just Stop at Harvey Norman SG

Tip: Before pulling the trigger on a purchase, make sure to compare prices between Harvey Norman’s SG and MY websites for the same appliance.

But don’t just stop there—also check out prices from other online retailers like Audio House and Mega Discount Store. These places often have lower prices because they operate with fewer overhead costs, like rent and staff salaries.

After doing our homework, we found it was definitely worth it to go ahead with buying the dishwasher, washer, and dryer. However, we decided to skip the fridge and TV, as the savings weren’t as compelling.

Appliance	Brand, Model	HN MY RM price	HN MY SGD equivalent (1 SGD = 3.4 RM) + 9% GST	Cheapest SG price	Savings (SGD)	Savings (%)
Dishwasher	BOSCH SMS4HCI60E	3,599	$1,153.80	2574	$1,420.20	55.17%
Washer	LG FV-1450S4W 10.5KG	2,376	$761.72	1439.04	$677.32	47.07%
Dryer	LG RH-10VHP2W 10KG	3,682	$1,180.41	1822.66	$642.25	35.24%
Fridge	Hitachi R-WX670KM (XW)	13,771	$4,414.82	4793.06	$378.24	7.89%
TV	LG OLED 55B4PSA (2024 WEBOS)	6,999	$2,243.80	2399	$155.20	6.47%

It’s crazy how much cheaper certain appliances can be in JB as compared to SG.

While the primary motivation was to take advantage of the price differences, we quickly realized that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, and there were some trade-offs we had to navigate — which we’ll break down for you below.

Understanding Warranty Trade-Offs

So, here’s something important to keep in mind when you’re shopping across borders—the appliance’s warranty. This is a key factor you really need to consider before making your final decision.

1. Manufacturer’s Warranty: Every appliance typically comes with a manufacturer’s warranty, usually lasting 1-2 years. Take LG, for example—they provide a 1-year warranty on their washers. But here’s the catch: that warranty is only honored locally. So, if you buy the washer in Malaysia and it breaks down within the first year, you won’t be able to get it repaired under warranty in Singapore.
2. Harvey Norman’s Extended Warranty: This is where Harvey Norman’s extended warranty comes into play. For example, we purchased the extended warranty to cover the washer for four years, beginning from year two to the end of year five. The important thing about this warranty is that it’s transferable internationally. So, even though we bought the washer in JB, the extended warranty will still be honored by Harvey Norman SG.
   • Note: As extended warranty is usually calculated based on % of the price, we figured we will need to fork out more for the same extended warranty if we were to purchase the appliances from Harvey Norman SG.

Appliance	Brand, Model	HN MY RM price	Warranty RM	Warranty/price
Dishwasher	BOSCH SMS4HCI60E	3599	643	18%
Washer	LG FV-1450S4W 10.5KG	2376	459	19%
Dryer	LG RH-10VHP2W 10KG	3682	735	20%

3. Balancing Risk and Reward: Essentially, by purchasing the appliance at a lower price in Malaysia, we’re making a bit of a bet. We’re betting that the appliance won’t fail within the first year. If it does, we’d have to deal with getting it repaired in Malaysia or cover the costs ourselves in Singapore. But if it holds up past the first year, we’re in the clear, thanks to the extended warranty—definitely a nice safety net.

Earning Miles from our Purchase

When it came time to make the downpayment of 20%, we used the Instarem Amaze card linked with the Citi Rewards Card to get 4 mpd within the $1k monthly spend limit to keep earning those miles even when overseas.

Now, for the remaining 80% that we’ll be paying on our next trip to JB, we’re planning to use the Instarem Amaze card again. But since this payment will go over the $1k limit of the Citi Rewards Card, we’re going to switch things up and pair it with the UOB Krisflyer Card, which gives us 3 mpd with no spending cap. This way, we can keep racking up those miles even on big purchases!

Update: We ended up decided to use UOB Signature Visa instead of UOB Krisflyer which also gives us 4 mpd! We earned >12k miles from this purchase!

Would you take the risk?

Shopping for appliances in Malaysia can definitely save you a good chunk of money, but it’s important to balance those savings with the potential risks, especially when it comes to warranties. In our case, we decided to take the risk and purchased three appliances with wide price disparities. Now the question is, would you?

Keep the Change

Tine & Hao