Tips for surviving Great Singapore Sale 2009

Great Singapore Sale 2009 started on 29 May 2009 and will end on 26 July 2009.

It is unfortunate that Great Singapore Sale occurs at the same time that the H1N1 flu virus is affecting half the world.

The first tip to surviving Great Singapore Sale is to take care of your healthy, practice good hygiene and take precaution, such as having a mask in your bag and putting on a mask whenever you enter into crowded shopping complex.

Since the Great Singapore Sale coincidences with school holiday in Singapore and Malaysia, the locals and visitors from neighboring countries are able to plan a day shopping trip. The shopping malls are crowded, and some people next to you might be flu carrier.

The second tip to surviving the Great Singapore Sale is to collect all the flyers and pamphlets handed to you. Do take a walk pass the train station in the morning and noon. You can collect the free Today paper, and check out the advertisements of different items for Great Singapore Sale.

You can check out the late hours for shopping during Great Singapore Sale. If you are staying in town area, watch out for extended shopping hours of certain shopping complexes during Great Singapore Sale. You will enjoy shopping at 10 pm, and enjoy supper at 24 hours eatery after a tiring day.

You do not need to restrict shopping to Orchard Road area during Great Singapore Sale. You can visit the heartland shopping centers. Since it is Great Singapore Sale, the shops and shopping complexes in the heartland are participating in the Great Singapore Sale too.

The first thing you do, when you enter a shopping complex, is to collect as many flyers as you can. Check out all the buy-1-get-1 free promotions, and up to 70% discount promotions.

Go to the information counter at every shopping complex, and get the newsletter published by the management. You will gain valuable information on the Great Singapore Sale, as well as various lucky draws, and certain entertainment programs arranged by management.

You can incorporate day tour of various sightseeing trips with shopping trips. For example, after a day tour to the Jurong Bird Park, you can stop by Jurong Point, a shopping complex next to the Boon Lay MRT Station and bus interchange.

If you are keen to buy big-ticket items and high tech products, do stop the youngsters walking on the street, and ask them the market prices. Ask them where they got the latest gadgets from, and ask them to recommend the best place to shop for high tech products.

Great Singapore Sale is a time to buy high tech products, but you have to know the market price, and know how low the price can go down. Some sales-predators on commission basis, are happy to “slaughter” you, if they sense that you do not know anything about technology and pricing.

Another tip to surviving Great Singapore Sale is to ask the locals for recommendation for cheap and good food. Many tourists head to Newton Hawker Centre to sample the cooked food there, but locals do not flock there to eat.

If you want to find good food during Great Singapore Sale, do ask the locals, especially those who live and work in the area.

Always have a pen with you when you are out shopping during Great Singapore Sale. You will be surprised at all the lucky draw forms you have to fill up. If you are thinking of coming back in the near future, do ask about applying for VIP card.

Many retail chains roll out loyalty card or VIP card. Some cards have a validity of one to three years. It is worth to apply for those cards if you are likely to visit the shops in the near future.

If you are holding Worldcard, which is a loyalty program to earn rewards points, from Malaysia or Hong Kong, do call the local Worldcard office to activate your card, so that you can save money, and earn points during the Great Singapore Sale.

Check out the www.worldcard.com.sg for any offers and discounts or print out any coupons that you can use during the Great Singapore Sale.

Do keep your eyes open, and watch the plastic bags that satisfied customers are carrying. If you notice that many shoppers are carrying plastic bags from a particular shop, this is a sign that the shop is having ultra cheap offer during the Great Singapore Sale, do stop the shoppers, and ask them for tips on what to buy.

Some shops have ultra cheap product for just a day, not for the duration of the Great Singapore Sale. They will rotate the ultra cheap product promotion for different products, to keep the customers coming during the Great Singapore Sale.

Always, always ask for receipt when you shop at any outlet. Even those pop and mom shop, do ask for receipt. Make it a habit to collect and keep all the receipts during Great Singapore Sale.

If the lucky draw requires you to use original receipt with the entry form, do go back to the shop, and ask for a duplicate receipt. You need the receipt for refund of GST (if you are foreigner) or refund the product or exchange the product.

Do check out the website of Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) before you come to Singapore. You can send email or call CASE to check the reputation of certain shops. You can also lodge a complaint with CASE if you think you are being scammed during the Great Singapore Sale.