SINGAPORE: A woman took to an online forum to ask if her boyfriend got scammed, explaining that he paid $600 for a manicure and pedicure at a nail salon in Chinatown.
In a post on r/askSingapore, she wrote that she’s from Thailand and had spoken to her partner the night before about his trip to a nail salon. He is from Europe and does not live in Singapore; he is only in the city-state for a business trip.
Her boyfriend has never had his nails done and appeared to have just walked into the salon and was informed about the prices. It appears that he found them affordable if a bit on the costly side when compared to prices back home.
The post author wrote that she was curious about the prices of a luxury nail salon in Singapore because back home in Bangkok, a manicure and pedicure would only cost a maximum of $200.
The price her boyfriend paid, therefore, shocked her.
She added that when she checked online for prices but not for the shop her boyfriend had gone to, it seemed that he had overpaid. She herself had visited Chinatown last month, and from what she observed, prices appeared to be “average and affordable.”
A quick online search shows that Singapore manicures usually cost between $20 and $40. Pedicures, meanwhile, can be around $10 more expensive. However, some nail salons have different pricing for male clients, but the additional charge for men is not a lot more.
There are a number of additional services, such as French tips and nail extensions, but these are mostly for women. Even if, say, the post author’s boyfriend availed of a foot spa treatment, it’s hard to believe that he paid as much as $600 for the services he availed of, plus tips.
For example, in one high-end nail salon on Amoy St, a classic mani-pedi is only $148, while foot spas cost between $68 and $108. Even if he availed of the most expensive nail treatment ($168), a pedicure ($88), and the costliest foot spa ($108), the total would only be $364.
Commenters on her post expressed surprise that her boyfriend would suddenly decide to have a mani-pedi, especially since he’s never had one before.
Others suggested that he may have bought a package for $600 but only used up $200 worth of services. One noted, however that it “Definitely sounds like a scam; even with a full set of gel mani and pedi, it won’t be that much.”
Featured photo by Unsplash (for illustration purposes only) /TISG