Ries
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- Mar 18, 2008
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I think one of the issues here is that, in the USA, because we have no tariffs on chinese imports to speak of, and that both the USA and the Chinese government subsidize shipping to the USA, we can buy mass market chinese products incredibly cheaply.
But- and its a big but- those are the lowest common denominator, mass produced, low quality goods.
I, personally, will try to pay more to avoid slave labor, cheap design, materials, and construction, and so I buy very little of those dirt cheap Chinese, Bangladeshi, and Vietnamese made products.
This is true whether its in Argentina, or in the USA- but, in the USA, you can get that stuff very cheap.
I have been swayed, and bought a pair of jeans for 12 dollars from H&M, for example- and yes, they are ok- but they are from bangladesh, made in those factories that you see collapsing on tv. they are made from really cheap denim, poorly sewn, and tend to disintegrate after a year or so.
but they are cheap.
I also buy Patagonia brand, made in Argentina work clothes- they cost more than chinese made or bangladeshi made H&M jeans- but not by much.
They cost 1/4 as much as Carharrts or similar US work clothes, most of which are sewn in Mexico or Guatemala these days.
I buy made in Argentina mens undewear and undershirts, in bulk, in Once- they are competitive in price with made in china hanes, but I like the quality and design better.
They are, again, 1/4 the price of better mens undewear in the USA- my wife occasionally will buy me a "luxury" pair of shorts, and good brands in the USA are ten to fifteen bucks a pair, and no better than my Kopler or Lody shorts I get for 40 pesos or so a pair in Once.
I would not buy a James Smart suit- but my Hermanos Estebecorena leather vest is now 6 years old or so, still looks like new, and it cost about half to 1/3 what a similar leather vest would cost in Bellevue Mall in the USA.
As for food- I generally buy higher quality food, often organic. I dont eat wonder bread, or factory eggs that have those off white yolks. At my local grocery stores, there are mass market eggs for $2.50, or free range eggs with bright yellow yolks for $4.00. My local organic chicken and egg vendor, in the mercado on Salguero, has the same quality free range eggs, which taste noticeably better, for much less. I havent been there since februrary, so I cant tell you the current price in pesos, but its much cheaper than the equivalent eggs are here in the US.
Yes, if you buy the cheapest crap available (and most of it does, indeed, taste like crap, with lots of sugar and chemicals) you can find cheaper food in the USA.
If you buy equivalent, quality, tasty food, the USA, at least the west coast where I live, is usually about double the cost of buenos aires.
When I live in argentina, I eat the same food- fresh vegetables, quality cheeses, organic food when I can get it- I avoid sugary mass produced chemical stuff.
The same as when I live in the USA.
Although, for example, I dont buy fresh pasta much in the USA- the good stuff is seven to ten bucks a package. I buy it all the time in Buenos Aires, for, again, much much less. and its really fresh- made that day, usually mere hours earlier. Here, "fresh" pasta is packed in plastic and two days old.
and, apples for apples, argentina is cheaper for most things except imports- which, as I have said again and again, are more expensive due to artificial political and legal reasons.
But- and its a big but- those are the lowest common denominator, mass produced, low quality goods.
I, personally, will try to pay more to avoid slave labor, cheap design, materials, and construction, and so I buy very little of those dirt cheap Chinese, Bangladeshi, and Vietnamese made products.
This is true whether its in Argentina, or in the USA- but, in the USA, you can get that stuff very cheap.
I have been swayed, and bought a pair of jeans for 12 dollars from H&M, for example- and yes, they are ok- but they are from bangladesh, made in those factories that you see collapsing on tv. they are made from really cheap denim, poorly sewn, and tend to disintegrate after a year or so.
but they are cheap.
I also buy Patagonia brand, made in Argentina work clothes- they cost more than chinese made or bangladeshi made H&M jeans- but not by much.
They cost 1/4 as much as Carharrts or similar US work clothes, most of which are sewn in Mexico or Guatemala these days.
I buy made in Argentina mens undewear and undershirts, in bulk, in Once- they are competitive in price with made in china hanes, but I like the quality and design better.
They are, again, 1/4 the price of better mens undewear in the USA- my wife occasionally will buy me a "luxury" pair of shorts, and good brands in the USA are ten to fifteen bucks a pair, and no better than my Kopler or Lody shorts I get for 40 pesos or so a pair in Once.
I would not buy a James Smart suit- but my Hermanos Estebecorena leather vest is now 6 years old or so, still looks like new, and it cost about half to 1/3 what a similar leather vest would cost in Bellevue Mall in the USA.
As for food- I generally buy higher quality food, often organic. I dont eat wonder bread, or factory eggs that have those off white yolks. At my local grocery stores, there are mass market eggs for $2.50, or free range eggs with bright yellow yolks for $4.00. My local organic chicken and egg vendor, in the mercado on Salguero, has the same quality free range eggs, which taste noticeably better, for much less. I havent been there since februrary, so I cant tell you the current price in pesos, but its much cheaper than the equivalent eggs are here in the US.
Yes, if you buy the cheapest crap available (and most of it does, indeed, taste like crap, with lots of sugar and chemicals) you can find cheaper food in the USA.
If you buy equivalent, quality, tasty food, the USA, at least the west coast where I live, is usually about double the cost of buenos aires.
When I live in argentina, I eat the same food- fresh vegetables, quality cheeses, organic food when I can get it- I avoid sugary mass produced chemical stuff.
The same as when I live in the USA.
Although, for example, I dont buy fresh pasta much in the USA- the good stuff is seven to ten bucks a package. I buy it all the time in Buenos Aires, for, again, much much less. and its really fresh- made that day, usually mere hours earlier. Here, "fresh" pasta is packed in plastic and two days old.
and, apples for apples, argentina is cheaper for most things except imports- which, as I have said again and again, are more expensive due to artificial political and legal reasons.
