beany0811 1 Report post Posted July 25, 2009 So, as I was telling myself on this blog, the time has come to get lights for my place. The usual stuff like PLC lights and T5 lights, cannot escape. Prices all about the same, but I found the cheapest at Lights Arcade over at Balestier Road. 5.5 inches 2x13W is going for SGD22. Other shops have different prices but I guess cannot really compare because of different designs or finishing or quality. However, will go over to Choo Chiang tomorrow to see how much they are selling those for. Might be cheaper there actually. Only lights I really need to look for are the lights in the WIW, one hanging light at the counter in the kitchen, one light in the common bedroom, and one light at the dining table. Found a really nice one over at Chan Huat. It is like 6 ice cubes hanging from the ceiling, costs SGD435 after bargaining a bit. Originally SGD480 before GST. Then, for WIW, planning to get three rounds attached together for SGD140 (I think). Common bedroom light gonna be a normal big square light. For the kitchen counter, gonna go for a nice simple red and white hanging light for SGD65 or so. And, I don't know if it's me, but, I think my ID is sulking a bit because I got my toilet stuff on my own, and I am getting my lights on my own. I read on the forum that if I were to go to the lights shops with an ID or contractor, I will get chopped big time. But my ID said on the contrary, if go with ID should be able to bargain more. So don't know which is true. Then again, I may just be over-sensitive. ... hi DKCH, luckily you did your research before confirming. i guess PLC and T5 lights are pretty good gauge for basic price comparison. we're once quoted $30+++ for a 2x13W PLC that didn't look too different from the ones sold at Lights Arcade & Chan Huat. we when we heard the price quoted. but of course, we didn't go into other unknown technical specifications to layman like us, such as the ballast etc. most of the shops we visited used Osram bulbs. Lights Arcade was one of those shops that we've visited. as a layman disregarding technical specifications, we found the price pretty reasonable and cheap. also, the gentleman who served us, in his 40s i think, was really helpful with the advices. a good place for getting basic lights like toilet, storeroom, PLC etc. unfortunately, we only bought a dining lamp from him as we found most of our other stuff from Chan Huat, where we demanded for more discount for the purchases we made we're at Choo Chiang @ AMK Ind Park 2 today to check out some hardware. i think you can consider getting your switches and 13A points from them too if you're not getting from your ID/contractor. they have legrand, clipsal and others. in the end, we bought a compact legrand corded doorbell there instead of getting it from our ID. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DKCH 0 Report post Posted July 26, 2009 Haha, I guess your ID maybe sulking slightly cos they sure earn a bit of comm from the sales of toiletries and lightings. For me, I went along with my ID so that he will liaise the delivery etc and any problem with the WC etc I will go after my ID too. But then again, I make sure prices are not too far off. Let them earn a bit of coffee money ba..... Hehe, don't know ler. Like I said, maybe I am a bit over-sensitive. But so far, she is still ok lah. Still need to maintain a good relationship. So far, she has been very accomodating to my requests and changes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DKCH 0 Report post Posted July 26, 2009 hi DKCH, luckily you did your research before confirming. i guess PLC and T5 lights are pretty good gauge for basic price comparison. we're once quoted $30+++ for a 2x13W PLC that didn't look too different from the ones sold at Lights Arcade & Chan Huat. we when we heard the price quoted. but of course, we didn't go into other unknown technical specifications to layman like us, such as the ballast etc. most of the shops we visited used Osram bulbs. Lights Arcade was one of those shops that we've visited. as a layman disregarding technical specifications, we found the price pretty reasonable and cheap. also, the gentleman who served us, in his 40s i think, was really helpful with the advices. a good place for getting basic lights like toilet, storeroom, PLC etc. unfortunately, we only bought a dining lamp from him as we found most of our other stuff from Chan Huat, where we demanded for more discount for the purchases we made we're at Choo Chiang @ AMK Ind Park 2 today to check out some hardware. i think you can consider getting your switches and 13A points from them too if you're not getting from your ID/contractor. they have legrand, clipsal and others. in the end, we bought a compact legrand corded doorbell there instead of getting it from our ID. Hey, actually for T5 and PLC lights, for end-users like us, as long as they don't fall from the ceiling and they don't short circuit, I think we can live with it. Don't need so super high end quality for those type of lights. I actually went to Choo Chiang @ AMK today (Sunday) morning before they closed at 12PM. They also sell downlights! But their brand is AKIRA (never knew they did these things). Just the balast alone is SGD17, excluding transformer and lights. So, I think I'll just go ahead with Lights Arcade, selling theirs for SGD22. Oh, and Choo Chiang sells GE Energy Saving bulbs 13W for SGD2.20 only! Shops at Balestier sell for around SGD6 per piece! So, I grabbed 5 from Choo Chiang and they gave one free. Think I will get the T5 lights from them too. Oh, and I bought my LeGrand switches from them too. My ID was going to supply MK switches and when I asked for a change to LeGrand, she said that the electrician quoted a price which wasn't reasonable. So decided to get my own switches. Choo Chiang is my discovery of the year! Apart from Everjoint... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beany0811 1 Report post Posted July 26, 2009 ha yeah, we kinda regretted not visiting CC earlier as it's pretty near to our new place. anyway the cheaper legrand Mallia series which we're supposedly given by our electrician (hope i got the spelling correct) isn't expensive. getting it from such suppliers probably saved you quite a bit. the downlights we bought at Chan Huat wasn't really much more expensive than Lights Arcade, so we decided to get ours there. I think we got a bit of discount for the near 30 pieces of downlights we bought. also, the balast given was supposedly some european (i think finland) brand which has low replacement cost. so we're crossing our fingers as for commission, it's kind of unspoken. so during negotiations, we tell our ID that 'alamak, u sure got earn from this one. earning lesser via lower quotes is better than not earning anyting mah. win-win situation lor' and all the best for your reno Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DKCH 0 Report post Posted November 3, 2009 Alright, renovation done, wedding done, shifting done. All done... Pictures and updates coming soon! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
