Kalkan Turkey Forum - EnjoyKalkan.com
The Owners Lounge => General Discussion => Topic started by: susieb on January 07, 2008, 08:57:18 PM
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Hi
We are looking for a flat screen TFT or LCD television - does anybody know where the best deals are ? in Kalkan, Kas or Fethyie ?
Cheers
Susie
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The three best local makes are Arcelik, Beko and Vestel. All of these manufacturers have excellent reputations, three year guarantees and superb service. The first two export throughout Europe, including the UK. All three companies have shops in Kas and Vestel has a Kalkan shop, on the market road, almost opposite Kartin supermarket.
The best idea when you get here is to shop around, all three companies have regular promotions, so you can see what offers are available when you are ready to buy. If you are paying cash you should be able to negotiate a further small discount off the offer price.
We have had our flat screen tv for eighteen months now, superb picture and no problem from the day it was installed.
Lantana
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Have a look on the internet - as Lantana says, there are regular promotions from all the major companies.
We have a Telefunken TV, bought from the Bosch dealer in Kas, on the Kalkan/Kas road on left hand side at the corner immediately before the traffic lights (directly opposite Migros). We''ve had it nearly 2 years and (touch wood) no problems.
Most of the large appliances we have bought have come from them, and we have found, on the very few occasions that anything has needed repaired, that Bosch service is excellent.
On the other hand, I would say avoid any Vestel products as you would avoid bubonic plague - I have yet to hear anything good about them.
Our personal experience - we were foolish enough to buy 2 items from Vestel - a DVD player, which lasted 6 months then died. It was repaired under guarantee, but it took 6 weeks for them to do so - or the maximum 30 working days specified under the guarantee. It lasted a year after that, then packed up again.
The second item was a vacuum cleaner, the motor of which burned out after a few months. It was repaired under guarantee, then burned out a second time. Back it went to be repaired a second time under guarantee, again they took the maximum 6 weeks allowed under the guarantee conditions before it was returned. Then it burned out a third time! (and before anyone says so, no, we weren''t using it in any strange or unusual ways!!)
Each breakdown meant repeated visits to the shop, and endless telephone calls to the service centre, and at the end of the day we decided it wasn''t worth the bother, gave up and replaced both items with other manufacturers'' products.
Thankfully, both the items we bought were small appliances, not high priced things like a flatscreen TV.
Several friends have bought televisions (though not flat screen) and every single one has had trouble with them.
Two of them owned other brand decoders before they bought the Vestel TVs, but found they wouldn''t work with the Vestel TVs. The Service people said that was normal, and they''d have to buy Vestel decoders.
So now, I''m afraid, if I were offered anything from Vestel free of charge, I still wouldn''t take it!
Happy shopping!
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Hi Lantana and Vicksen
Thank you very much for the information, most helpful. We are going out shortly and probably will go to Kas and have a look on the internet before we go.
Many Thanks again.
Susie B
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I brought mine from england in my suitcase ,i made sure it was well wrapped ,doing this saved hundreds of pounds worth a try as flat screens are so cheap in england xx kev
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You can do this - but you''re breaking the law. :o
You are not allowed to bring anything electronic into Turkey without declaring it and having it written on your passport, which of course means you have to take it back out with you.
Now there is a saying that "it''s only illegal if you''re caught", and whilst you were lucky enough to get away with it, kevy, if they''d caught you, they could not only confiscate the item, you could be fined as well.
So you do it at your peril!
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We did the same thing with a cd player, we took it in our hand luggage. We did advise the check in staff at Gatwick but they didn''t write anything on our passport. I didn''t realise it was illegal. You learn something new everyday!
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Likewise - we did same thing with a dvd player in our suitcase - no idea it was illegal - seems strange to me that if it is for your own personal use - it is illegal..but as you say - you learn something new everyday....
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Hi Lorretta,
It''s not illegal to take electronic items out of the UK, and it''s not illegal to take them in the ''plane, so the people at Gatwick, or any other UK airport, wouldn''t care.
Where the illegal bit comes in is bringing into Turkey.
You aren''t allowed to bring in anything electronic which you intend to leave here, doesn''t matter if it''s for your own use or not. So you can bring, for instance, a CD player to use on holiday, but it should be declared at the airport, they write it in your passport, and you have to take it out again when you leave.
Same with laptops, computers etc.
Lots of people do bring stuff in with them, but as I said, it''s at your own risk - if you get caught, it''s smuggling, >:D, and you''re in trouble.
Turkey is no different to the UK - legally, you can take only 200 cigarettes, 1 litre of spirits etc etc, plus £145 worth of other goods.
Now in practice, the customs people very rarely strictly enforce the £145 rule; only if you very obviously have items well over that value. For instance, try to enter the UK with 2 carpets, a leather jacket and a gold necklace, and if you are caught, they will enforce the rules.
And "sorry guv, I didn''t know"... doesn''t help, ignorance is no defence I''m afraid, in Turkey or in Britain.
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As Vicksen has said, the fines for illegally importing electrical goods are very high. You can be fined up to twenty times the value of the item and it will be confiscated.
More to the point, imported items cannot be serviced here under guarantee if anything goes wrong and indeed it may be impossible to have them repaired at all if there is a problem.
With the major manufacturers here offering three year guarantees on electrical items as standard, and with local prices becoming ever more competitive, bringing in electrical items hardly seems worth the risk.
Three years ago in Migros in Fethiye, we bought an additional DVD player, made by Shov, just about the cheapest brand around. It cost then, twenty five pounds and it is still working perfectly.
We also recently bought an Arcelik version of a Dyson bagless vacuum cleaner, it is superb, has a standard three year guarantee and cost eighty pounds. The equivalent in the UK costs £175.
Lantana
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Hi Vicksen,
thanks for clarifying that.
I know all too well about ignorance being no defence, I have experienced it first hand at Gatwick when I brought back 600 ciggies, I got stopped and they confiscated the lot! I have never done it since and guess what I have never been stopped since. What is worrying is that I have heard several of the staff in Duty Free at Dalaman telling customers there is no limit on the amount of cigarettes they can bring into the UK. I know this is the case in EU countries, but as you rightly point out there is a limit of 200 cigarettes if you are coming from a non EU country.
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I think the limit only applies to duty free goods. So if you bought your cigarettes in Kalkan, and paid tax on them, it doesn''t matter how many you bring back to UK (up to £145 worth...obviously) I''m not a smoker, so I don''t know if Turkish cigarettes are nicer/cheaper than those you can buy in duty free at Dalaman. ;)
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Hi eva, no, ''fraid not!
if you want to enter the UK with goods purchased in a non-EU country (such as Turkey),
whether the goods have had taxes paid on them in that country or whether they were bought duty-free makes no difference.
The allowances without duty and/or taxes having to be paid are :
200 cigarettes or 250 grams of tobacco or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars
60 cc of perfume
250 cc of eau de toilette
2 litres of still table wine and 1 litre of spirits or strong liqueurs over 22% alcohol volume OR 2 litres of fortified wine (e.g. sherry or port), sparkling wine or other liqueurs
£145 worth of any other goods, including souvenirs and presents
Those are your limits.
Buy anything above that, no matter from where in a non-EU country, and you become liable for import duty and VAT.
The cigarettes etc are not included in the £145, they are on top of the £145.
BUT, if you bring in goods (including souvenirs and presents) which have a total value of over £145, you become liable for duty/tax on the whole cost of those goods, NOT just the part over the £145.
So, for example, buy a carpet for £200, a leather jacket for £70, a gold bangle for £200, and a couple of pottery plates for £45, and you become liable for duty/tax on £510.
All this info is available from any HM customs office, or at any of the airports or points of entry into the UK, or on line.
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Thanks for that Vicksen, very good information to know.
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Hi Vicksen
thanks for keeping me on the straight and narrow....wouldn''t want to have all my lovely Bombay Saphire confiscated... ;D
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wouldn''''t want to have all my lovely Bombay Saphire confiscated... ;D
Bombay sapphire??? ???
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You mustn''t be a gin drinker vicksen... ;)
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The ''Mercedes'' version of Gordon''s Vicksen!
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Mmmmmmm....Bombay Sapphire, ice, tonic and a splash of fresh orage juice, perfect Kalkan balcony drink, especially when its been made by Mr B! ;)
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ahhhh, you can see I have led a sheltered life! ;)
The general knowledge you pick up on this forum is astonishing!
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Oh Blow!!
We were hoping to bring out a mini hi-fi for our apartment next time across in April. We searched Kalkan & Kas when we were out recently - very little choice and when we found something it was about three times the price of something similar in the UK.
Anybody got any ideas?
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Take a chance - if its small enough it can go hand luggage, if you have room in the suit case all well and good - keep your fingers x''d, breathe in & have a slug of Bombay Saffhire :-X ;)
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Have been reading with interest this thread about electronic equipment not being allowed into Turkey from UK. Does anyone know why? and what constitutes electronic? and where are you supposed to declare it?
Sorry if these questions seem dumb but we take all number or electrical bits and bobs with us to Kalkan, i.e hair straightners, hair dryer, speaker for iPod and so on. I''m now scared I''m breaking the law! Are these electronic or is it just computery stuff, TVs and DVDs?
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If it included computers, I would expect the queues to be about 10 deep at Dalaman - judging by friends the other people we let our villa to the average family now seems to travel with at least 1 laptop and a couple of games consules.
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Coming home from Kalkan last July my daughter was stopped after having her hand luggage x rayed on arrival at Dalaman. She had ipod speakers in her bag and when questioned about them explained that she had brought them into the country with her and was taking them home. The guard detailed the info on a form and asked her to sign this. I suppose legally we should have declared them on arrival into the country. I know now I shouldn''t have but I have carried several pieces of electrical goods into Turkey and fortunately for me I have never been stopped. Having said that I did believe if they were for my own use (even if this meant leaving them in our place there) that there wasn''t a problem. Would probably be more worried about it now that I know the rules!
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Jayne & Alan - you should declare electronic devices at customs at Dalaman, after you have collected your baggage from baggage reclaim, and before you leave the airport.
Electronic equipment is any electrical device which amplifies and processes electrical signals. Things such as amplifiers, radios, tape players, and digital circuitry are electronic devices. A computer is an electronic device.
These can only be legally brought into Turkey if they are declared at the port of entry, if they are for your own use, and if they are taken out of the country again on your departure. Otherwise, they are not permitted.
When you declare any electronic item, it may be entered into your passport, and when you leave with it, it will be crossed off your passport.
In practice, 9 times out of 10, they''ll probably just wave you through, but you can''t count on it - and if you''re stopped, you could be in trouble.
Electrical equipment is not thus controlled; electrical items are things like hair dryers, electric drills, speakers, shavers, electric saws etc etc.
These can be brought in, but only if they are either for your own use, or as gifts, and either way only up to a limit. The TOTAL value of gifts allowed to be brought in used to be 500 DM, I believe it''s something like 300 euros now.
Again, much of the time, they don''t check very thoroughly, but you are taking a chance, if caught you can have the items confiscated AND be fined into the bargain.
Turkey is no different to any other country in having customs controls and allowances - and Turkey''s are a lot more generous than those of the UK (see my previous post for details of UK allowances). The allowance for souvenirs and gifts into the UK, for instance, is a measly £145.
The reasons are quite simply that each country wishes to protect its own trade and industry, and maintain its own tax collection.
Customs officers in Turkey, the same as their counterparts in the UK, aren''t daft - a customs officer in Britain can guess that the two new carpets in your suitcase, the brand new leather jacket you''re wearing and the shiny new gold necklace round your wife''s neck have just been purchased in Turkey, and no, you didn''t take them with you on holiday, nor did you pay twenty quid each for them.
He knows you are telling him porkies, and attempting to smuggle in more than your due allowances, whilst trying to deprive HM Revenue & Customs of its rightful dues.
And in Turkey, he similarly knows that the brand new flatscreen TV and DVD player you have hidden under your smalls is not going to be used on holiday and taken home!
And I repeat, ignorance is NO defense - all this stuff is clearly written up in each country at the airports!
Ignore it at your peril! >:D
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So my hair straighteners are OK not to declare then.
I was starting to get worried that if I had forgotten to declare them I could have received 14 bad hair days as punishment. LOL. :laugh:
What about my mobile phone with built in camera, MP3 and radio? Would I declare that?
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Theoretically yes, clooneyrooney, you should.
But it''s as I said, customs officers aren''t stupid. They are most unlikely to cause you any difficulties if they don''t think you''re trying to circumvent the laws and evade the taxes and duties.
They''re not likely to target a bona fide holidaymaker bringing in his mobile phone with him, because the chances are it is his own, he''s not bringing it in to sell it, and that he''s going to be taking it with him when he leaves.
But they are going to be just a bit sceptical that the dvd player, the TV and the music set all stashed under your M&S scanties are just to use on the beach during your week''s holiday, to be then taken home!
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blimey!!..they aren''t very scantie if your stashing all that lot under them!! ;D ;D
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;D ho ho blue lizard!
(I was being kind; didn''t want to be suggesting EK readers have BIIIG knickers!)
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If they are like me their knickers are huuuggge after eating all the lovely Kalkan food!! ;D