ShopCrazy

In the midst of work stress, how does one say no to an invitation to join a shopping race during the Great Singapore Sale? Well, one simply doesn’t! So when Philippine Star’s Ana Kalaw invited me to be her partner as one half of the team to represent Philippines for the 4th annual Great Singapore Sale Shopping Challenge, I cleared my schedule pronto, work obligations notwithstanding.

The Great Singapore Sale Shopping Challenge aims to highlight the Great Singapore Sale as one of the best shopping festivals in the regions, and to showcase Singapore as a shopper’s paradise. There was a total of 21 teams from 13 countries participating. Each team was given S$1,000 shopping money in the form of a MasterCard prepaid card. The team that completes the Challenge and has the biggest dollar savings wins. If the sheer number of participants was not enough to put on the pressure, the long list of rules and regulations made it even more daunting! The challenge required us to purchase at least one item from the 5 participating malls (The Hereen Shops, Plaza Singapure, Millenia Walk, Vivo City, and Wisma Atria), and one item from 12 product categories ranging from Ladies’ Apparel and Jewelry, to Food, Electronics, and Toys, in three hours max, using the S$1,000 that were given to us in the form of a MasterCard prepaid card. Team members were not allowed to split up for the duration of the race, and we had to lug whatever we bought along with us. I was expecting that we would get to keep our purchases during the race but the grand prize of 1,000 Singapore dollars (S$1 = about P31) gave Ana and I even more motivation to win!

It was my first time ever to be in Singapore during their world-renowned sale and I wasn’t disappointed. As part of our “preparation” for the challenge, Ana and I spent our free time hopping from one participating mall to another, aided by our super-friendly and helpful guide, Winnie, and our driver Michael. Armed with calculators, notepads and pens, we scouted for the biggest discounts for the items we were required to purchase. We set a limit to look only for items that were discounted at 80% or even higher. It seemed like a lofty number but we found so many options that it just showed how big retailers slash their prices during the Great Sale. Our personal favorite was the Tang’s Department Store in the newly opened largest mall in Sinagpore, Vivo City. We discovered a treasure trove of designer labels, from Paul & Joe to Tibi, slashed up to 97% off! Talk about a huge discount!

So did we win the race? Well, that’s another story in itself. At one point in the race, we had to wait for 10 minutes for an answer to an issue that we wanted to clarify. The official was kind enough to give us an equivalent extra ten minutes on top of our time to compensate for the delay. So when we came in 6 minutes past the allotted three-hour limit, we thought we were home free. When the 3rd prize winner was awarded, with total savings of about S$2,000++, Ana and I knew that we had a big chance at the grand prize since our purchases in Tang’s alone equaled almost S$4,000. But to our great dismay, the China team was awarded the grand prize. Turns out that the judges were not properly informed about the extra time that was awarded to us, and had disqualified us thinking that we did not make it on time. We of course protested but it was too late. The results were final and we had to settle for being the “unofficial” champions of the Great Singapore Sale Shopping Challenge. Although we were still awarded the cash prize, Ana and I were very disappointed that we did not get the recognition that our hard work deserved. And we had to say bye-bye to our secret dream of posing with a big check on stage.

Still, it was a memorable experience and the event did leave the impression that it wanted to make: The Great Singapore Sale is a bargain hunter’s heaven! Take it from a certified cheapskate. Now check out the fab finds that I scored and see why you must go, go, go to Singapore before the Great Sale ends.

You can also visit these stores for super cheap finds:

Harvey Norman at Millenia walk for electronics and appliances. DVD players and home theater systems go as low as S$99!

Topshop in Vivo City for super slashed prices on old season stocks. We scored men’s polo shirts at S$16, originally priced at S$113 and high-waisted pants for S$16!

Life Baby in Vivo City for funky children’s clothes that go as low as S$5.

Four Skin at The Hereen Malls for men’s statement shirts at S$5, and charm necklaces for as low as S$12, perfect for pasalubong!

SK Jewelry at Wisma Atria for sleek silver jewelry at 50% off.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 31st, 2007 at 6:00 am and is filed under Fashion for Women. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.