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Appliances at Tio Sam


tomgates

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Bought a couple items today, Microwave and Toaster Convection Oven and with the exchange rate at 20.38, the Microwave was $121US vs $259+tax on Amazon and the Toaster was $196 vs $221 on Amazon. Great time!

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It is amazing how strong the US dollar is. Yet the official Mexican exchange rate is, I BELIEVE, less than 4%.  Which does not make sense to me. All I know is that if one is living off of a US pension, things are getting better and better.

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1 hour ago, tycobb1020 said:

I agree that US expats are doing well. Let's not lose sight of the negative impact this same situation has on our Mexican hosts who earn pesos for a living. We are richer . . . they are poorer.

I'm no economist so correct me if I'm wrong but if merchants keep their prices the same it definitely aids us but in fact has no effect on the buying power of Mexicans. I would hope that we would be thankful for our situation and pass on our good fortune. How many of us that have people working for us, gardeners, maids, etc., have given them a raise? Or are they still working for the same wages that they were several years ago?

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Us too in business with Tio Sams.....why oh why does there always have to be negativity on this board...about everything!!!!!

 

This topic was about the good exchange rate for foreigners...not the prices of Tio Sams...and who wants to go to PV for a 'bargain'...things are all more pricey there...!!!!! 

Including the remarks just made about the death of a person...Ann Heath....        I get so tired of reading this.......

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10 hours ago, dcstroker said:

I'm no economist so correct me if I'm wrong but if merchants keep their prices the same it definitely aids us but in fact has no effect on the buying power of Mexicans. I would hope that we would be thankful for our situation and pass on our good fortune. How many of us that have people working for us, gardeners, maids, etc., have given them a raise? Or are they still working for the same wages that they were several years ago?

I think you are correct . . . as long as local retail prices do not increase. 

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Interesting that you posted this. We have many friends who say the same but everytime we have gone to Tio Sam the prices are quite a bit higher than what we can find in other stores. We bought a new fridge at El Bodegon in Jocotepec (a block south of the square) last year. El Bodegon was more than two thousand pesos cheaper for the same model than at Tio Sam. This week we began looking at replacing our gas stove and oven. Tio Sam has prices 2,000 pesos more for the same model than El Bodegon. Both have free delivery and I am comparing identical model numbers. Each have slightly different stock but overlap in some cases. So we are trying to decide what model we want and if it available at El Bodegon, it will be cheaper there.

I will grant you that Tio Sam is convenient if you live in Ajijic or Chapala. Since we live in San Juan Cosala, we go to either with ease.

We've also looked at Soriano's in Chapala but have found the quality of the products there to be below what we would want. The prices are lower but the quality is much lower.

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I bought a GE Profile refrigerator at Tio Sam's that was much cheaper than elsewhere.  The stove I bought recently was cheaper at Electro Domestico (or was it Electroventa?) than at Tio Sam.  It always pays to shop  around but Tio Sam is definitely NOT always more expensive and they do give good service.

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5 hours ago, poptarte_22@yahoo.com said:

Us too in business with Tio Sams.....why oh why does there always have to be negativity on this board...about everything!!!!!

 

This topic was about the good exchange rate for foreigners...not the prices of Tio Sams...and who wants to go to PV for a 'bargain'...things are all more pricey there...!!!!! 

Including the remarks just made about the death of a person...Ann Heath....        I get so tired of reading this.......

Why do you have to consider it negative? Some people might not realize that there might be less expensive alternatives to where the majority of gringos go to buy things and think, oh, maybe I should shop around next time. And I certainly wasn't suggesting that anyone from Lakeside drive to PV to buy a fridge, that's absurd- just saying that smaller mom and pop businesses often have better prices in Mexico, which isn't necessarily the case up north. Here, with a small family business, they often own the building their store is in and live upstairs or in the back, all employees are part of the family, so their overhead is low. And personally I prefer to support a small business when possible.

Is that positive enough?

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Price isn't the only consideration. I bought a top of the line GE Profile fridge from Electroventa. I've had many problems with it that the technicians sent by Electroventa could not solve. After several years and much expense on my part Tio Sam sent repairmen who knew exactly how to fix it. They literally had it fixed in 5 minutes. I went back to Electroventa and told them that the problem was fixed by Gualberto sent by Tio Sam to which Electroventa replied that he is much more knowledgeable that we are. Now it turns out now that there was a design flaw in the water delivery system. Tio Sam (even though they didn't sell me the fridge) is trying to be compensation from GE for this.

So many things that you buy here have a very short warranty period.

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16 years buying from Tio Sam and am a happy customer. 

 

I know the dollar going up shouldn't affect local prices, but, it is! merchants are raising prices simple BECAUSE the dollar is up.

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24 minutes ago, HarryB said:

16 years buying from Tio Sam and am a happy customer. 

 

I know the dollar going up shouldn't affect local prices, but, it is! merchants are raising prices simple BECAUSE the dollar is up.

 

Yup, the ones who mostly sell to expats are doing just this, but if you stick with the guys who aren't the price increases are much less.  Of course the imported from U.S. stuff is going up quickly.

They like to raise prices on January 1, it will be interesting to see how bad it will be this year.

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I agree with that tomgates...........we have experienced the discounts....    But as anywhere...shop and compare....its worth the effort.....and yes, small family run businesses are good and we too like to support them as much as we can.....

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14 hours ago, cedros said:

Price isn't the only consideration. I bought a top of the line GE Profile fridge from Electroventa. I've had many problems with it that the technicians sent by Electroventa could not solve. After several years and much expense on my part Tio Sam sent repairmen who knew exactly how to fix it. They literally had it fixed in 5 minutes. I went back to Electroventa and told them that the problem was fixed by Gualberto sent by Tio Sam to which Electroventa replied that he is much more knowledgeable that we are. Now it turns out now that there was a design flaw in the water delivery system. Tio Sam (even though they didn't sell me the fridge) is trying to be compensation from GE for this.

So many things that you buy here have a very short warranty period.

In my experience, the more bells and whistles something has, the more likely it is that something will go wrong with it and the more repairs it will need. I'm a pretty basic kind of person, I live alone, and when I bought my first (and only) fridge and stove in Mexico, I opted for a basic Mabe fridge, no double doors with half of it a freezer, no water or ice dispensers, and a simple small four burner stove with oven. 9 years later both still going strong with never a problem or repair needed. Same for my DVD player- cheapo 300 peso BluSens from Mega- plays all regions, burnt DVDs, everything. Still works just fine 7 years down the line. Maybe I'm just lucky.

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