Automatic 50% import duties added to the government's perceived value plus s/h.
Then the resale shop doubles and triples the total.
If I could bring down a 42ft. container full of obsolete but shiny Hi-Fi and avoid Customs Duties it's a real lucrative business but a limited amount of Audiophiles.
I have the Only Woo WA22 and Wadia DAC and HD800 S series in the country. Not even the official Sennheiser store has them . I can get $3,600.00 USD and the Cardas Clear XLRs are $3k USD.
Almost all of my equipment is from the 50s to the 80s, and I'm happier than a pig in ... a pigpen.
I dont relate to all of this newest/expensive going-around-in-circles stuff, especially in an audio market that has become absurdly distorted by what the 0.001% are willing to pay. As I am too fond of saying: David Hafler, where are you in this time of need?
I carefully shopped for what worked and searched for the best deal possible and then I stick with it until it breaks, then I have someone fix it. If there are appropriate upgrades to parts, I have that done at that time.
I love Argentina btw. I was there in 89. Came by bus from the Atacama desert in Chile (the trip started in Santiago) over the Andes into Salta, took the train down to Buenis Aires.
What's the point of bitching and moaning about your country? Don't get it.
I live in Argentina too. Sure, prices are high and there is basically no supply. But with a little creativity and patience you can bring stuff, use it, then resell for those ridiculous prices.
tejanolibre, it never ceases to amaze me how quickly some will launch into 'get rich quick' schemes without the slightest knowledge of what might befall one if caught doing something that skirts the rule and regulation of an entirely different country with all that consists of...
But I'm probably just a 'nattering nabob of negativity'...cultural/political pun intended....;)
If you live close enough to Brazil to drive, you may have some luck finding gear. No idea if you'll have problems at the border with the equipment, but it may be worth looking into.
You should have slipped into the country while Obama was president. He had the Krell in every listening room policy in effect. Only people who were here illegally qualified. You missed out.
I suspect that the pros have more reasonably priced gear? Think of importing a kit speaker and having it locally assembled using local labour and wood. Likewise, there must be vintage tube amps floating around.
Wow, that's terrible...but at least you must have reasonably priced fruit. I know you export a lot of it to the U.S. Are you saying that if you, let's say, took a trip to the U.S. and bought some used audio equipment that you wanted and had it sent back to Argentina, you would then have to pay a 50% tax to get it into the country? If so, it still might be worth it because you wouldn't have to pay the dealer mark-up. It is good to be an American, in many ways...
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