Computers, TV's, cameras and similar items can be good value in Thailand,
but you'll be hard pushed to find one with high quality components selling
for significantly less than in the US / Europe. Overall, you're probably better
off buying at home than in Thailand, as although you may spend slightly more,
you are much more likely to get decent after sales or a refund in case of
problems in Europe/US than in Thailand. On the other hand, if you're looking
to buy computer peripherals then you can get some good deals in Bangkok, and
repairs can be done similarly cheaply.
The
best place to go for any type of computer shopping is the multistory Panthip
Plaza on Phetburi / Petchburi Rd in Pratunam district (not far from the
Amari Watergate hotel). Prices are very cheap and the range extensive, but
not all the vendors speak a lot of English.
Though there are a wide range of computer related products on sale, Panthip
is most (in)famous for the huge amount of pirated software available. There
are literally dozens of different vendors selling hacked versions of software
programs, and even the most up-to-date software is available amazingly quickly.
Microsoft
Windows XP, for instance, had been available in Panthip some weeks prior even
to it's official launch in the USA, let alone in Thailand.
As well as software, pirated versions of all of the top Hollywood movies
are also available on DVD or VCD, as are compilation MP3 CD's with around
12 albums on each (right). Each CD/VCD/CDROM costs only around 100-150B, as
the intense competition helps to keep the prices low. The DVDs cost around
300B or so, and may or may not have had the regional coding removed.
The Thai government, under pressure from the USA, has periodic crackdowns
on Panthip Plaza, but they never seem to last very long. The only lasting
effect of the crackdowns seems to be that all the pirated material is no longer
kept with the vendor, but is instead in a building down the street and is
retrieved when someone makes a purchase.
With a bit of searching, it is possible to also find software originals on
sale but prices are no bargain compared to the USA/Europe.
Panthip Plaza is very popular and, particularly on weekends, it can get very
crowded. There are few other
malls throughout Bangkok with a similar, but smaller, range of products on
sale:
Hollywood IT, which is located only 100m or so away from Panthip and is
very close to the Ratchathewi
skytrain station.
Seri Center, near Seacon Square.
IT Mall, in the Fortune Tower on the intersection of Ratchadapiskek road
and Asok-Din Daeng road, is another option.
Ordinary buses 2 and 11 and air-con buses 5, 11 and 12 all pass outside of
Panthip Plaza, or any taxi driver will know it (it's pronounced as pan-tip).
You may also find Panthip written in English as 'Pantip' (including on the
building itself), but 'Panthip' is the more common elsewhere and, according
to the official way of romanising Thai, the correct spelling.
The
best place to go for any type of computer shopping is the multistory Panthip
Plaza on Phetburi / Petchburi Rd in Pratunam district (not far from the
Amari Watergate hotel). Prices are very cheap and the range extensive, but
not all the vendors speak a lot of English. 
Microsoft
Windows XP, for instance, had been available in Panthip some weeks prior even
to it's official launch in the USA, let alone in Thailand. 
other
malls throughout Bangkok with a similar, but smaller, range of products on
sale:
