Arbitrage: Books

Despite the fact that I have an iPad and read e-books with the Kindle app or iBooks, I still like physical books. I like the construction and feel of a book as an object and enjoy the act of flipping through the pages. Therefore, I still buy many books every year, especially hardcover English-language books. However, I almost never buy them in Taiwan, neither online nor at Eslite bookstore. The reason is simple, the hardcover books are almost always cheaper at Amazon.com.

Recently I purchased the new cookbook by Daniel Patterson of Coi Restaurant in San Francisco. This book is available at Eslite for NT$1,521 at a special discount of 21% off the original price. At first glance the discount seems to suggest this might be a good deal, but it is actually not.

At Amazon.com, the same book is available for US$33.33 (33% off the list price). Since the book needs to be shipped to Taiwan, there are additional shipping charges of US$4.99 per shipment and US$4.99 per book. The total cost of the book purchased on Amazon.com is US$43.31 or around NT$1280.

Eslite would have to discount the book by around 33 percent from their list price to make the price to be about the same.

The cost difference between Eslite and Amazon is greater the more expensive the book because the shipping cost becomes a smaller percentage of the overall cost. Also, if one purchases multiple books in one shipment, the cost will go down as well since one of the shipping cost is per shipment. Furthermore, Amazon often offers greater discount for Best Sellers (around 45% off list) or for pre-ordering. Not only is pre-ordering cheaper but one also gets the book much sooner than the local stores. I pre-ordered Daniel Boulud's new book Daniel a few months ago, which Amazon was offering for 50% off list for US$30 or US$39.98 with shipping. I received the book a few weeks ago after it was published; as of today neither Eslite nor Books.com.tw have the book yet.

I am not sure why the local bookstore cannot be more competitive on price; then again, not too many companies anywhere can compete with Amazon. I just know I am not buying foreign books via a local seller.

Arbitrage: Jean Paul Hevin Macarons

Jean Paul Hevin recently opened a boutique in Taipei. I was quite excited about it until I read on the news that a single macaron is priced at NT$138. I don't know who came up with the pricing, but that is just ridiculous.

A macaron at the Jean Paul Hevin boutique in Hong Kong costs less than NT$75 (HK$20). Below is a box of six macarons I recently purchased at the IFC branch, and they were delicious.

There is no reason the price in Taipei needs to be almost double the price in Hong Kong. I am tired of shops coming to Taipei and treating the people here like suckers.

Arbitrage: Le Beurre Bordier

Ever since my lunch at Caprice in Hong Kong, where they use Bordier butter for the bread service, I have been wanting to buy some to use at home. The butter by Jean-Yves Bordier is often considered to be the best. The butter is made from organic cream of grass-fed cows, folded and tempered by handheld wooden paddles.

Just out of curiosity I did a google search and, to my surprise, it is actually available in Taiwan via 博客來. Unfortunately, the price is ridiculously high: NT$235 for 125g of butter.

In Hong Kong one can buy 250g of Bordier butter for HK$58, in other words, roughly NT$110 for 125g; less than half of what it costs in Taiwan. Of course it is still the cheapest to buy the butter in France, where the price for 125g is around 1.8 euro or NT$73.

I love Le beurre Bordier, but I cannot justify paying more than three times the price in Paris or double the price in Hong Kong. So, no gourmet butter for me anytime soon.

Arbitrage: Lawry's

Recently good friends of ours treated us to Lawry's Taipei. It was actually my first time in a Lawry's. I followed my friends' suggestion and ordered the 7.5 oz English Cut: three thin slices of roast beef served with a salad, mashed potato and Yorkshire pudding. I quite enjoyed the roast beef, which was prepared simply and served without much fanfare. According to my friend, the quality of the meat in Lawry's Taipei is not too far off from the branch in Los Angeles.

While I can't compare the restaurants in terms of taste, I can play a little game of arbitrage and compare the prices. In the U.S., the English Cut is US$34, and adding the sales tax and the service charge, the total cost is around US$43 or around NT$1270. In Taipei, the total cost of the same dish, including 10% service charge, is NT$1650; quite a premium. At least the cost is about the same as the branch in Hong Kong, where the English Cut is HK$451 (410 plus 10% service charge) or around NT$1680.

Arbitrage: Belgian Beer

I have written entries complaining about the prices of baby food, ice cream and steaks in Taipei being more expensive than in New York City. I have finally found something that's cheaper in Taipei - Belgian beer.

The City Super in Taipei sells 330ml bottle of Duvel at NT$120. The price in New York is around US$4.90 or NT$161; Chimay Blue is NT$130 in Taipei versus around US$5 or NT$164 in New York. Stella Artois is NT$53 in Taipei but around US$1.80 or NT$59 in New York.

While I am delighted Belgian beers are cheaper in Taipei than in New York, my happiness is dampened by the fact that Belgian beers are even cheaper in London - Duvel goes for around £1.69 (NT$91), Chimay costs around £1.80 (NT$97), and Stella Artois can be had for around £.90 (NT$48). I am still being jipped but at least not as much as I was in New York City.

Arbitrage: Jarred Food

The markets in Taipei only seem to have baby food from Hipp or Gerber. The organic Hipp brand costs NT$57 (around US$1.70) per 125g (4.4oz) jar. In comparison, a 4oz jar of Earth Best's in NYC costs only US$0.96.