If you read the reporting these past two days on Sim Lim Square, it is as if it has gone to the dogs. That was how the Mothership blog called it, anyway.
The Rochor Canal mall’s bad reputation, say the slightly calmer Straits Times, goes beyond Singapore thanks to the various dubious sales tactics of some shops there.
Yet, this week’s outcry against the trading practices of a couple of shops in the IT shopping mall is not new. Reports of not one, but three, foreigners being bullied or over-charged are not surfacing for the first time either.
Nor indeed are accusations that Sim Lim Square is a haven for illegal activities.
If you went there in the 1990s, you’ll recall shops selling illegal movie or game DVDs were every where. The entire complex was filled with smoke because everyone could light up like a pub then.
Like now, many people had questioned why the police hadn’t done anything to stop these errant shop owners.
Regulars to the mall will tell you that the pirate shops quickly drew the shutters when a raiding party, usually led by the likes of Microsoft or some Hollywood movie consortium, turned up. They’d wait it out and open for business again afterwards.
After Singapore signed a landmark Free Trade Agreement with the United States in 2003, which included a stricter copyright regime in Singapore, these shops were quickly closed, along with others around the island. So, yes, it’s true, Sim Lim has always had a dodgy reputation.
But since the notorious 1990s, things have not been the same. The air is cleaner now, since the no-smoking campaign kicked into action several years ago. The selling of pirated copies of Microsoft software still hits the headlines occasionally, but that’s rare compared to before.
For many shoppers, the place has changed for the better in the past few years. Ask someone who goes there regularly and he will tell you there are bargains to be had and a wider selection.
It helps too that grey imports are less common today. Singapore’s PC components today, from motherboards to memory modules, are brought in by a few distributors, such as Ban Leong Technologies and Convergent Systems, which provide local warranty.
Gone are the days you’d find a dodgy-looking modem or graphics card wrapped in an anti-static bag and sold for a good deal below the recommended retail price. Chances of you finding such grey imports are rare now.
Most of the stores, at least on the upper floors – fourth and above – that sell PC components have become long-term retailers that offer good service to consumers and are trusted in the industry.
Indeed, stories of shop owners taking hundreds of thousands of dollars of goods on credit, then declaring bankrupt and opening a store in the same mall with their relatives’ names were rife maybe a decade ago, but not now.
That’s the Sim Lim today for many PC lovers who continue to go to the mall regularly to forage for the cheapest deals.
Walk into one of a few large PC retailers – Cybermind and Fuwell are two – and you might even get some useful advice selecting a Wi-Fi router or PC keyboard that you won’t get from an electronics chain store in another mall.
At the same time, a number of the stores on the first floor of the mall are opened by retailers in conjunction with brands such as Asus and Samsung, and these guys are as “legit” in selling original items as you go because they represent the brands.
So, not every store in Sim Lim is as horrible as some reports seem to make them appear. What I would caution, as others who frequent the place will tell you, is to avoid the few black sheep that continually give the mall a bad name.
These obviously include Mobile Air, which was involved in the recent incidents that enraged consumers. It is on a blacklist by the Consumer Association of Singapore (Case) that is shown prominently in the mall itself. Avoid these shops.
Why can’t they just be erased from the tenant list? Can’t the building management do something?
Here’s where Sim Lim is a little unusual. Unlike big malls where, say, CapitaLand owns the entire building, there isn’t a single owner of the Sim Lim Square complex.
Various owners control parts of the six storeys there, much like how people own units in a condominium, yet share common spaces. So, you can’t tell a central authority to evict a tenant, just like that, because the place is owned by various parties.
That doesn’t mean nothing can be done to these errant retailers. The High Court this week issued an injunction against a separate Sim Lim shop – Cyber Maestro – to stop it from unfair trading practices.
The Singapore Tourism Board had acted against it after hearing complaints of overcharging and pressuring of consumers. That’s a step in the right direction.
Now, Mobile Air is also being investigated by Case for possible violations of the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act, according to reports.
For consumers, the best thing to do is boycott these errant stores. Tell friends to avoid them, especially foreigners who seem to be the main target of these shops.
At the same time, don’t tar the entire complex with the same brush. Many store owners make an honest living selling electronics and computer games, some having been there for years. They are a source of good deals and technical advice to shoppers who have come to trust their service.
