High Quality Argentina Products

[Sequoia1321]

dollars

Wow. How expensive. How much would it cost if I were to order the $240 vacuum directly from US?

 

[jblaze5779]

1400 dollars because that is what someone on Mercado Libre is doing and then selling it to you. They don't even have it, the listing says you pay for it then you wait for it to be imported.

 

[Sequoia1321]

1400 dollars because that is what someone on Mercado Libre is doing and then selling it to you. They don't even have it, the listing says you pay for it then you wait for it to be imported.

So a $240 vacuum will ultimately cost about $1400 if I order it directly from the US, pay the fees, etc.? That's 6 times more expensive.

 

[jblaze5779]

So a $240 vacuum will ultimately cost about $1400 if I order it directly from the US, pay the fees, etc.? That's 6 times more expensive.

Don't know, maybe? I did a quick search because I was curious.

Your chances of actually getting it are slim. It will get held for ransom in BA if it gets that far.

Good rule of thumb is to triple the US price if you bought it retail in the store. Since this item isn't sold in the store you're going to need to have someone bring it here or go yourself to Europe/States/Chile to get it. It is probably going to cost you more in this case.

 

[Ries]

This is why you dont buy imported electrical or electronic goods, or fancy name brands, in Argentina.
Generally speaking it will cost at least double what it costs in the US.
Sometimes, its taxes- you cant carry a Porsche on the plane with you, so the Cayenne's you see are double due to taxes and tariffs and customs and import fees. That $130,000 USD Turbo Cayenne cost a quarter million dollars in Argentina. Sometimes I have seen two in one day in Retiro.

But for other things, its simple supply and demand.

Buy Industria Argentina.
I have a perfectly good argentine made Meile copy vacuum, which I bought ten years ago, it still works fine, bags are available locally cheaply. It cost maybe $100 US, and you can still buy similar ones on mercado libre for about $100USD at the blue rate. The cheapest real Miele in the US is around $300 USD, and they have models that go up to $1000USD. IF you could find a real Miele in Argentina, it would cost about as much as five locally made ones, maybe 8.

I am always finding interesting quality Industria Argentina products.

For instance, all of the walls I have run across are solid concrete/plaster mix- and you cannot just pound a nail in when you want to hang a picture. So, I found an architect (in Argentina, pretty much every designer of anything has a degree from FADU, and a lot of them in architecture) who designed and manufactures a really cool system of alumninum track that you can hang a wide variety of hangers from, to hang paintings, photos, tapestries and pretty much anything, without drilling holes all over your walls with the rotary hammer drill that you have to own here to install anything in your apartment.
Its a brilliant system, well made, and very reasonably priced. IF anything like this existed in the USA, it would be triple the price, easily. I have it in my studio in BA. (I have been hanging artwork in houses and galleries for 40 years- I know this stuff)

Rieles

Práctico, Estético, Decorativo Fácil, Rápido, Seguro, Simple Sistema de rieles, varillas y ganchos diseñado especialmente para colgar cuadros fácilmente. Podrá colgar sus cuadros y/u objetos decorativos, de forma fácil y rápida, sin romper sus paredes, brindándole la posibilidad de, agregar...

colgandocuadros.com.ar

In pretty much every category, I find similar stuff- because, Argentina has a very large educated class, due to the free tuition at UBA and similar state schools. And contrary to some of the grumblers here, there is actually a large base of small innovative companies, making cool stuff at reasonable prices.
You just have to look for it.
And, usually, avoid the big chain stores.

I have over the years bought nice modern stainless and wood chairs, door and drawer hardware, scissors and sewing notions, lighting, blankets, tableware, eyeglasses frames, and on and on and on- all made here, all cheaper than lower quality chinese stuff is in the USA.

And just try and find a cheaper bidet on Amazon than you can get here- I dare ya.

 

[jblaze5779]

Good points. Do those strap on bidets count?

 

[Sequoia1321]

This is why you dont buy imported electrical or electronic goods, or fancy name brands, in Argentina.
Generally speaking it will cost at least double what it costs in the US.
Sometimes, its taxes- you cant carry a Porsche on the plane with you, so the Cayenne's you see are double due to taxes and tariffs and customs and import fees. That $130,000 USD Turbo Cayenne cost a quarter million dollars in Argentina. Sometimes I have seen two in one day in Retiro.

But for other things, its simple supply and demand.

Buy Industria Argentina.
I have a perfectly good argentine made Meile copy vacuum, which I bought ten years ago, it still works fine, bags are available locally cheaply. It cost maybe $100 US, and you can still buy similar ones on mercado libre for about $100USD at the blue rate. The cheapest real Miele in the US is around $300 USD, and they have models that go up to $1000USD. IF you could find a real Miele in Argentina, it would cost about as much as five locally made ones, maybe 8.

I am always finding interesting quality Industria Argentina products.

For instance, all of the walls I have run across are solid concrete/plaster mix- and you cannot just pound a nail in when you want to hang a picture. So, I found an architect (in Argentina, pretty much every designer of anything has a degree from FADU, and a lot of them in architecture) who designed and manufactures a really cool system of alumninum track that you can hang a wide variety of hangers from, to hang paintings, photos, tapestries and pretty much anything, without drilling holes all over your walls with the rotary hammer drill that you have to own here to install anything in your apartment.
Its a brilliant system, well made, and very reasonably priced. IF anything like this existed in the USA, it would be triple the price, easily. I have it in my studio in BA. (I have been hanging artwork in houses and galleries for 40 years- I know this stuff)

Rieles

Práctico, Estético, Decorativo Fácil, Rápido, Seguro, Simple Sistema de rieles, varillas y ganchos diseñado especialmente para colgar cuadros fácilmente. Podrá colgar sus cuadros y/u objetos decorativos, de forma fácil y rápida, sin romper sus paredes, brindándole la posibilidad de, agregar...

colgandocuadros.com.ar

In pretty much every category, I find similar stuff- because, Argentina has a very large educated class, due to the free tuition at UBA and similar state schools. And contrary to some of the grumblers here, there is actually a large base of small innovative companies, making cool stuff at reasonable prices.
You just have to look for it.
And, usually, avoid the big chain stores.

I have over the years bought nice modern stainless and wood chairs, door and drawer hardware, scissors and sewing notions, lighting, blankets, tableware, eyeglasses frames, and on and on and on- all made here, all cheaper than lower quality chinese stuff is in the USA.

And just try and find a cheaper bidet on Amazon than you can get here- I dare ya.

Interesting. Thanks for sharing. Do you have any suggestions for decent Argentinian electronics, like flat screen TVs, computers, laptops, tablets, robot vacuum, etc.?

 

[Dougie]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing. Do you have any suggestions for decent Argentinian electronics, like flat screen TVs, computers, laptops, tablets, robot vacuum, etc.?

In my experience, Argentina doesn't do decent electronics at a decent price when it comes to those type of things you listed above. Most Argentines bring back those type of goods from Chile or Paraguay where taxes for imported goods are lower.

 

[Ries]

I would agree. Live a simpler life. Bring a phone and a laptop with you, and skip robot vacuums entirely.

Many of the consumer goods you take for granted in the USA are made in only one or two factories globally.
There are no Argentine Robot Vaccums. You can get adequate, cheapish, flat screens, but they will generally be a generation or two behind the ones offered in the USA.
I bought a perfectly good 20" monitor for my computer at FraVega, $150. But in the USA, I could get a much bigger, more modern one for the same price.

The point is- Eat Local.
When you are in the USA, for example, good quality aged spanish ham is illegal.
So you find a local organic substitute.

Same thing in Argentina- you sacrifice some of your Amazon lifestyle, and, instead, you get more personal relationships with your vegetable vendor, shoe repair man, and neighbors. You walk more, slow your life down, and, once in a while, have to pay more than you would like for a less modern phone than a teenager has in Texas.

 

[FrankPintor]

Cookware- there are several brands of quite good, reasonably priced chef's knives. I think Arbolito is the best- a 100% Argentine made subsidiary of an excellent German knife company- and, compared to USA "gourmet" store prices, a bargain. A 5" (12.5cm) Arbolito is 1200 pesos retail- at Blue, thats ten bucks more or less- an equivalent Wustoff, discounted on Amazon, in the USA, is over fifty dollars.
Darto steel pans are great, look good, and indestructible.

Thanks for the Arbolito recommendation, we bought a set last week. Their webpage said they were ramping up production and would be delivering from August 20, but we got them on Saturday already.

Even if I am in my expat bubble and insulated from a lot of what affects Argentinians, I see nothing wrong with supporting high quality local producers. And that bubble can be imaginary, as the member who tried to troll me for buying Kobe beef might want to take note... last time I had Kobe delivered, a neighbour letting herself into the building said to the delivery man, "oh, I didn't know you deliver to more people here".