Where to get a rice cooker?

[Aloha Boy]

Going out on a limb to see if anyone knows where to buy a rice cooker and not have to pay an arm for one in Chinatown? I thought a lot of people here eat rice, and that a rice cooker would be a common appliance.

 

[Aztangogirl]

Going out on a limb to see if anyone knows where to buy a rice cooker and not have to pay an arm for one in Chinatown? I thought a lot of people here eat rice, and that a rice cooker would be a common appliance.

All appliances here are very expensive. The same electric kettle I can get in the States for $20. is $70. here. That's just the way it is.

 

[Ries]

Anything imported is basically double the price, due to tariffs and the frictional costs of importing. And Argentines do not use rice cookers, historically, so they are not made here. Hence the high price. Get somebody to mule you one from the USA- surely you have a friend who is wanting to visit? That is the best way, and the way most argentines who can afford it get around these types of problems. I have brought down 2 sous vide units for Argentine friends who are chefs in the last year- they are even more unavailable and expensive here than rice cookers.

That said, this one on mercado libre doesnt seem too extortionate to me- https://articulo.mercadolibre.com.a...cking_id=4f267bc8-33d1-4fd8-93f1-e0b546d71354

there are others on mercado libre as cheap as 2000 pesos. Thats a whopping 33USD at todays exchange rate. In the USA, the good ones, the ones actually made by leading brands in Japan, are WAAAY more expensive. The higher end Zojirushi models are between $250 and $300 USD on Amazon.
In either the US or Argentina, you get what you pay for.

 

[steveinbsas]

...this one on mercado libre doesnt seem too extortionate to me- https://articulo.mercadolibre.com.a...cking_id=4f267bc8-33d1-4fd8-93f1-e0b546d71354

In either the US or Argentina, you get what you pay for.

And if you do some comparative shopping, you may pay a lot less for exactly the same item, even in Argentina.

The rice cooker in the above link is priced at $3.769 ARS

This one is $2.494 ARS

Arrocera Oster 6030 Sofrito 12 Tazas Arroz | MercadoLibre 📦

Envíos Gratis en el día ✓ Comprá Arrocera Oster 6030 Sofrito 12 Tazas Arroz en cuotas sin interés! Conocé nuestras increíbles ofertas y promociones en millones de productos.

articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar

PS: I copied and pasted the title of the publication in the ML search box ans then ordered the list by price (with envio gratis). It took less than a minute.

PS2:I do this for everything I purchase on Mercado Libre (including used books) and it often saves me a lot of dinero, but rarely is the price difference as great as it is for these rice cookers.

PS3: As a result of being at level 5 as a buyer on ML, I qualify for free shipping for new items priced over $2.00O ARS. As I live well over 650 kilometers from Capital Federal and more than 10 kilometers from the post office, free door to door delivery is greatly appreciated almost as much as not having to shop for items like this in person in a retail store..

 

[Aloha Boy]

Anything imported is basically double the price, due to tariffs and the frictional costs of importing. And Argentines do not use rice cookers, historically, so they are not made here. Hence the high price. Get somebody to mule you one from the USA- surely you have a friend who is wanting to visit? That is the best way, and the way most argentines who can afford it get around these types of problems. I have brought down 2 sous vide units for Argentine friends who are chefs in the last year- they are even more unavailable and expensive here than rice cookers.

That said, this one on mercado libre doesnt seem too extortionate to me- https://articulo.mercadolibre.com.a...cking_id=4f267bc8-33d1-4fd8-93f1-e0b546d71354

there are others on mercado libre as cheap as 2000 pesos. Thats a whopping 33USD at todays exchange rate. In the USA, the good ones, the ones actually made by leading brands in Japan, are WAAAY more expensive. The higher end Zojirushi models are between $250 and $300 USD on Amazon.
In either the US or Argentina, you get what you pay for.

I appreciate the detail in sight. We won't be making a trip back to the US until late January. I want to give that Mercado libre a try but I'm a little bit leery of losing things in the mail. How's your experience with it?

 

[Aloha Boy]

And if you do some comparative shopping, you may pay a lot less for exactly the same item, even in Argentina.

The rice cooker in the above link is priced at $3.769 ARS

This one is $2.494 ARS

Arrocera Oster 6030 Sofrito 12 Tazas Arroz | MercadoLibre 📦

Envíos Gratis en el día ✓ Comprá Arrocera Oster 6030 Sofrito 12 Tazas Arroz en cuotas sin interés! Conocé nuestras increíbles ofertas y promociones en millones de productos.

articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar

PS: I copied and pasted the title of the publication in the ML search box ans then ordered the list by price (with envio gratis). It took less than a minute.

PS2:I do this for everything I purchase on Mercado Libre (including used books) and it often saves me a lot of dinero, but rarely is the price difference as great as it is for these rice cookers.

PS3: As a result of being at level 5 as a buyer on ML, I qualify for free shipping for new items priced over $2.00O ARS. As I live well over 650 kilometers from Capital Federal and more than 10 kilometers from the post office, free door to door delivery is greatly appreciated almost as much as not having to shop for items like this in person in a retail store..

Thank you for your advice. So it works like eBay ? And you have no problem with losing items during delivery?

 

[mulderfox]

those rice cookers are rare here. usually people eat rice mixed with other things and not just plain white rice. other places in south america eat more rice and more beans. when you over expend here people say they will have to "comer arroz blanco" (eat plain white rice) for the rest of the month. people usually add at the very least cheese to the rice. most people here don't know how to cook rice properly, they end up with a smashed rice looking thing. they sell rice that won't go soggy, that's what most people buy if they want nice rice.
on the north of argentina they do know how to cook rice.

buy the oster one, it's a nice cooker.

 

[sts7049]

Thank you for your advice. So it works like eBay ? And you have no problem with losing items during delivery?

it's no Amazon in terms of speed and awesomeness, but it works fairly well in my experience. the only time i had a problem is when the shipment was sent via correo argentino and it got delayed because of some strike of theirs.

i've bought 4 or 5 other things on ML and received them all with no issues.

 

[Ries]

If you live in CABA, you can generally message the seller inside the mercado libre website, and arrange for either delivery, or to pick up in person. We bought a custom made side table for our kitchen last year, paid with a credit card, and they delivered it themselves to our house and carried it upstairs- no issue. On smaller items, I usually find a seller near enough I can jump on the subte or colectivo and get it myself- we only have an encargado in our building 5 mornings a week, so we try not to get stuff by mail. I have found the cheap sellers are almost always brick and mortar stores, and the mercado libre price is often cheaper than their walkin price, and they will give you their address in the private message function, or send you their email or whatsap for further correspondence.

 

[jblaze5779]

I want to try Mercado Libre but I also don't want some pain in the ass to deal with the post office... Is it straight forward or does it turn into an argentine quilumbo?