It’s completely understandable that when you are so pressed for time and every little detail seems to be building up on your to-do list during renovations, you’ll always seek solutions that are quick. And quick in this case means buying appliances as much as possible online.
That’s what we did, buy as many appliances as possible through online websites. We did that for our gas water heater because there was a model on sale and 1/3 the price compared to any models that were available from Town gas. So we went for it! That led to delays in delivery because of public holidays and a not-so-friendly customer service rep who could not tell us the measurements of the tap connections that need to be connected to the wall. Usually there would only be one pipe from the gas heater, but this model had three, so equals to three times the fun (headache). Luckily we had a really patient and nice contractor. Seriously nice, especially for HK standards.
Okay the trick is, there are some great comparison websites that list retailers and distributors you can buy appliances from directly. The problem is, these websites are all in Chinese and unless you can guess from the website layout and get over initial data you need to input into the system, well, what’s left is just the model number and prices from different merchants.
BREAKDOWN:
The PRO of online purchases: quick, easy, no running down to the store where they will always try to make you spend more.
The CON: well, if anything goes wrong, or you’ve changed your mind, the size doesn’t fit etc. it will be hard to get a refund since you’ve already paid in full. If you exchange for another model, most probably you’ll have to choose one that is more expensive.
HOW TO MAKE YOUR WATER HEATER LAST:
If you, like us, have no choice but to have your gas water heater quite close to the shower and it gets wet every time, a trick to remember and make sure you do this in a safe manner, is to paint the base of the water heater. This will help to keep corrosion out for much longer. When your water heater needs to be replaced, most of the time it’s because the base is corroded by rust. A small but very effective tip.
WHERE TO GET THE BEST DEALS ON APPLIANCES
In Hong Kong, the best deals we have found have still been at Fortress Hong Kong. They also offer interest-free instalment via credit cards, so you can pay over 12 months to 24 months instalments. Fortress also offers very handy removal services so this is super convenient if you’re buying big items like a new fridge, cooker hood, gas stove, or changing your air-conditioning units. Depending on the items you’re buying, most of the removal and installation is free with your purchase or it’ll be a very small minimal amount like $40 to dispose the cooker hood unit.
Another great service we like from Fortress is that if they are having a promotion e.g. summer promotion on air-conditioning units but you’re not sure on the purchase yet, you can secure the deal on the promotion by making a small deposit of HK$100 and head home to measure and decide. Remember to ask the salesman to write down the details of the promotion on the deposit slip and the brand/model number of the unit you’re considering.
