Why Does An Electric Kettle Cost 2 1/2 Times More Here?

[Ries]

I think the import taxes, and, now, almost complete bureaucratic blockage of all imports is the main reasons kettles are so expensive.
If the import barriers didnt exist, then there would be a range of cheaper chinese product available.
But the market isnt that big, and the demand per capita for hot water is different, and, probably, smaller, than in the UK.
Many people drink mate- but a normal tea kettle is too hot for that.
The quantity of tea kettles sold in, say, Manchester, is probably similar to all of BsAs, annually.

I disagree that all Industria Argentina products are crap- I have found some great ones. But when you want a product very cheap, there is no substitute to a gigantic automated factory that has government subsidized materials and utilities, and cheap labor- ie, China.
When a chinese factory makes a million or two tea kettles a year, it stands to reason their prices will be lower than an Argentine factory that makes 50,000, and that pays triple the salary.

Argentina is a screwy place, there is no doubt- but thats part of the reason I like it.

I am in the USA right now, and I can tell you that Mate costs about 4 times what it does in Barrio Norte, the selection is crap, and the stuff is stale.
And I cant buy a 40 peso bombilla up here to save my life.

 

[scotttswan]

Our Philips kettle has lasted around 2 years. It leaks, the ping noise has long gone and the button no longer switches off manually and you need to wait for it to decide that the water has boiled.

I hope to keep it going for another year before finally giving up. :lol:

The lid fell off today after one of the wee plastic tabs broke.... fucker still boils water though.

 

[TWB103]

Ries, you make sense.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

Ever driven from BA to Rosario at night? It's a horror show, two lane highway with the slow lane (in ribbons due to all the heavy transit and poor surface) completely blocked by trucks and the fast lane plagued by truck drivers who have lost their patience pulling out dangerously and performing the 15 minute overtake maneuvre...111kph overtaking 109 kph. I got the impression that a lot of freight transport runs up that highway at night. It's a nightmare.

Driving almost anywhere in Argentina is usually a nightmare.

 

[glasgowjohn]

We just picked up a bordeaux colored electric kettle in Coto today - Reduced to 300 pesos.

1.7l with automatic cut out.

So far it is working......

 

[johnw100]

The reason they can charge more for kettles is because the shops know that Argentines will pay over the odds for a kettle,
No kettle = No Mate
No Mate = Social Meltdown of biblical proportions.

We`re on our 3rd Kettle in 3 years. The first two , one just wouldnt boil, the second would boil and just keep boiling until all the water evaporated and then it tried to boil itself.
3rd kettle is working, but had it almost a year so i`m sure it`ll give up soon.

 

[cbonanni]

I use a tea kettle . On the stove. Works fine and has lasted for years.

 

[Hybrid Ambassador]

I use Japanese old traditional "Tetsubin" tea kettle, they are made from a sand molded iron and comes in different sizes and colours and very affordable too.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Japanese+modern+Tetsubin+designs&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=m64AVNWZGM2QgwTFyYIg&ved=0CB0QsAQ&biw=985&bih=527

 

[Ries]

The japanese kettles are very nice- but tiny.
The average argentine drinks mate- which means they use about ten of those tiny kettles worth of water a day.
In Argentina, the kids carry thermos bottles of hot water, to constantly refill their mate.
And mate is best when the water is not boiled, but poured at a lower temperature- 158 degrees Farenheit, or 70 degrees Celsius, is considered perfect.
This is not to say you can buy a cheap chinese kettle that turns off at exactly 70 degrees…
I drink a lot of mate, and I just fake it, learning my kettle, and pouring before it boils.

 

[Mininana]

get one before prices increase! they always do