Crazy prices of lavandería! Is it just me?

[Problema]

I went to the laundromat on friday to get some clothes washed. We have machines in our building that we need to buy tokens for but we can't find them anywhere lately. The price for those keeps going up too to do loads of laundry. How much is everyone paying? I went to one place in Palermo and they wanted a fortune to clean our clothes. We had a few pair of blue jeans, shirts and trousers. The woman tried to charge us 4,000 pesos per item. I thought I didn't hear her right. But we had about 6 items and she said 24,000 pesos!

The prices of everything is sickening. Inflation is supposed to be going down but prices keep going up. 4k pesos per article of closing is just obscene. Are you all finding prices continuing to go up?

How aren't more people complaining about the ridiculous prices on everything?

 

[Larry]

Prices are very dear here on many items and services. I have been posting since Milei started that everyone is suffering. Some thing not going up as much at the supermarket but other things go up every month. I don't know if it is the stores just marketing it up, the supplier or who is the one to blame.

Milei keep saying inflation is going down and prices are not expensive in dollars. 🤡🤡🤡

Prices still keep going up. Look at beef. I almost have to stop drinking coffee in cafes. I only make at home now. A shame to cut back on meeting friends for a coffee.

 

[Finance Prof]

Prices are very dear here on many items and services. I have been posting since Milei started that everyone is suffering. Some thing not going up as much at the supermarket but other things go up every month. I don't know if it is the stores just marketing it up, the supplier or who is the one to blame.

Milei keep saying inflation is going down and prices are not expensive in dollars. 🤡🤡🤡

Prices still keep going up. Look at beef. I almost have to stop drinking coffee in cafes. I only make at home now. A shame to cut back on meeting friends for a coffee.

For being a wise economist Milei doesn't understand how Argentina works. There is a monopoly in many industries. Look at the prepaga healthcare market where all the prices collude to collectively mark up the prices at the same % each month. The government said they would stop raising but they still are going up. My OSDE keeps going up each month. Albeit at a slower rate from before but still going up.

Supply and demand market principles do not work in Argentina. That is what Milei doesn't get. Even opening up imports has not reduced prices much. Larry I disagreed with you at first but I still see prices going up across many things. You might have called it right from long ago. What we need to see is price deflation and prices go down.

 

[Vero]

I went to the laundromat on friday to get some clothes washed. We have machines in our building that we need to buy tokens for but we can't find them anywhere lately. The price for those keeps going up too to do loads of laundry. How much is everyone paying? I went to one place in Palermo and they wanted a fortune to clean our clothes. We had a few pair of blue jeans, shirts and trousers. The woman tried to charge us 4,000 pesos per item. I thought I didn't hear her right. But we had about 6 items and she said 24,000 pesos!

The prices of everything is sickening. Inflation is supposed to be going down but prices keep going up. 4k pesos per article of closing is just obscene. Are you all finding prices continuing to go up?

How aren't more people complaining about the ridiculous prices on everything?

Maybe the store try to take advantage of you because you're a foreigner. I don't know what prices these places are charging. I only wash at home but this would be shocking if true!

I agree the prices are high on most items. I cut back from meeting friends out for coffee. In many cafes in Palermo where I live cortados are between 4,500 and 5,000 pesos. That is very expensive. And it's not just the coffee. If you get a snack or cake it is very expensive. Maybe tourists will pay these prices but locals are going to stop going if they keep raising prices.

 

[Wally]

I went to the laundromat on friday to get some clothes washed. We have machines in our building that we need to buy tokens for but we can't find them anywhere lately. The price for those keeps going up too to do loads of laundry. How much is everyone paying? I went to one place in Palermo and they wanted a fortune to clean our clothes. We had a few pair of blue jeans, shirts and trousers. The woman tried to charge us 4,000 pesos per item. I thought I didn't hear her right. But we had about 6 items and she said 24,000 pesos!

The prices of everything is sickening. Inflation is supposed to be going down but prices keep going up. 4k pesos per article of closing is just obscene. Are you all finding prices continuing to go up?

How aren't more people complaining about the ridiculous prices on everything?

Sounds like a place that saw you're a foreigner and just trying to take advantage of you. Unfortunately people are getting more desperate and a shame they will try to cheat gringos but hearing more of that.

Milei keep saying inflation is going down and prices are not expensive in dollars. 🤡🤡🤡

Prices still keep going up. Look at beef. I almost have to stop drinking coffee in cafes. I only make at home now. A shame to cut back on meeting friends for a coffee.

I like many of the changes Milei is making but he is wrong when he says things aren't expensive in dollars. Things are expensive in general!

The solution is people just have to stop going to these places that charge $4 or $5 bucks for a coffee. Just stop going to them. People have to refuse to give businesses to places that are charging prices higher than what you think is normal. Until people stop going the places won't stop raising prices.

Supply and demand market principles do not work in Argentina. That is what Milei doesn't get

Supply and demand fundamentals have never worked in Argentina. At least as long as I have been here. Milei probably gets that but at this point he just has to deny deny deny that things aren't expensive here. The exchange rate with the intervention isn't going to blow up eventually. Might not be tomorrow or next year but a coffee at Starbucks is almost $6 now. Big Mac is almost the most expensive in the world. This does not end up well the last times this has happened.

 

[Cardiac Arrest]

I went to the laundromat on friday to get some clothes washed. We have machines in our building that we need to buy tokens for but we can't find them anywhere lately. The price for those keeps going up too to do loads of laundry. How much is everyone paying? I went to one place in Palermo and they wanted a fortune to clean our clothes. We had a few pair of blue jeans, shirts and trousers. The woman tried to charge us 4,000 pesos per item. I thought I didn't hear her right. But we had about 6 items and she said 24,000 pesos!

The prices of everything is sickening. Inflation is supposed to be going down but prices keep going up. 4k pesos per article of closing is just obscene. Are you all finding prices continuing to go up?

How aren't more people complaining about the ridiculous prices on everything?

I noticed the same thing! I went to a place to get my bed sheets washed and the first place wanted 10k pesos. I finally found a place that would do it for 7k but that was the lowest. The other 2 I tried were 9k and 8k. 7k was the lowest I could find. $6 dollars to wash a pair of sheets!

 

[Betsy Ross]

I noticed the same thing! I went to a place to get my bed sheets washed and the first place wanted 10k pesos. I finally found a place that would do it for 7k but that was the lowest. The other 2 I tried were 9k and 8k. 7k was the lowest I could find. $6 dollars to wash a pair of sheets!

Sadly prices at lavendarias in BA have gone up. Luckily I have my own machine but a few girlfriends that came to visit me and stayed in Palermo didn't have a machine and they took it next to them and they said it was more expensive than they thought it would be. They paid around 10k pesos for not too much to wash.

 

[HellsBellsNH]

They are tyring to screw you over for being foreign

A good price these days is 4500 pesos for a decent sized bag, basically a trash bag 45 x 60 cms full of clothes, and compared to the last few years this is horrendously expensive

A place I have been going for years raised their rates to 6000 pesos a bag and I just decided to never go there again

 

[VINO]

They are tyring to screw you over for being foreign

A good price these days is 4500 pesos for a decent sized bag, basically a trash bag 45 x 60 cms full of clothes, and compared to the last few years this is horrendously expensive

A place I have been going for years raised their rates to 6000 pesos a bag and I just decided to never go there again

It can vastly depend on which one you go to. Prices across all seem to be going up. Where are you finding for 4500 pesos for that size? Which neighborhood and location? Many places went up and I doubt they will come back down. Prices only seem to be going up up up. With water and electricity going up I do not think prices will stop going up. Add in insurance and labor and this seems disastrous for cost of living.

 

[Bharat]

They are tyring to screw you over for being foreign

A good price these days is 4500 pesos for a decent sized bag, basically a trash bag 45 x 60 cms full of clothes, and compared to the last few years this is horrendously expensive

A place I have been going for years raised their rates to 6000 pesos a bag and I just decided to never go there again

I am not sure if it is only foreigners. My maid who is a local washes my stuff and she also said it went up to 7,000 pesos for a bag. I find that shocking for local standards but then again I find the cost of coffee here also high. I just came from Brazil where coffee is reasonable. I guess because there is some coffee in Brazil but some meals here are the same as States. How do locals afford these prices? I can't figure it out.

Many places are crowded and it is not foreigners but locals there. I can hear them speaking with local dialect.

 

[Betsy Ross]

They are tyring to screw you over for being foreign

A good price these days is 4500 pesos for a decent sized bag, basically a trash bag 45 x 60 cms full of clothes, and compared to the last few years this is horrendously expensive

A place I have been going for years raised their rates to 6000 pesos a bag and I just decided to never go there again

Can you tell me where you get it for that low? My friends are in Palermo now and they are saying all are quoting 6k to 7k for a load of clothes. She found a machine in the basement of her building and will try that. Anyone know what the cost is for those loads?

I am not sure if it is only foreigners. My maid who is a local washes my stuff and she also said it went up to 7,000 pesos for a bag. I find that shocking for local standards but then again I find the cost of coffee here also high. I just came from Brazil where coffee is reasonable. I guess because there is some coffee in Brazil but some meals here are the same as States. How do locals afford these prices? I can't figure it out.

Many places are crowded and it is not foreigners but locals there. I can hear them speaking with local dialect.

I don't think it's just foreigners but for sure they probably are getting charged more. But some places publish their prices. Costs keep going up.

Many locals still dine out and frequent cafes. BA has a lot of wealthy people. Just take a % of wealthy in BA and it's a big #.

 

[earlyretirement]

They are tyring to screw you over for being foreign

A good price these days is 4500 pesos for a decent sized bag, basically a trash bag 45 x 60 cms full of clothes, and compared to the last few years this is horrendously expensive

A place I have been going for years raised their rates to 6000 pesos a bag and I just decided to never go there again

It's not just because they are a foreigner. Prices have all gone up. I own a few properties and we manage several others and laundry prices really went up. Same as maids. All the places have gone up. We send out to get sheets, towels, etc. from our rental properties and costs have drastically gone up over the past year like most things. Our maids are all locals so it's not just foreigners. It's all the places and this trend will probably continue as water, electricity, salaries go up. These places will pass that price on to consumers. However, it will get to a certain point if they go up too much people will just find another alternative.

Can you tell me where you get it for that low? My friends are in Palermo now and they are saying all are quoting 6k to 7k for a load of clothes. She found a machine in the basement of her building and will try that. Anyone know what the cost is for those loads?


I don't think it's just foreigners but for sure they probably are getting charged more. But some places publish their prices. Costs keep going up.

Many locals still dine out and frequent cafes. BA has a lot of wealthy people. Just take a % of wealthy in BA and it's a big #.

Correct. Buenos Aires province has about 13 million people. My best case guess is at least 10% are wealthy. So that is a ton of wealthy people concentrated in a relatively few neighborhoods so you will witness a lot of locals spending a lot of money. They might complain bout the rising cost of coffee or meals and maybe cut back but they are still dining out and spending money.

@Betsy Ross many of the modern and new buildings have industrial laundry machines in the basement which is what I think you're referring to. I have those in a few of my apartments. Especially the ones that have amenities. And my new apartments I just bought in Palermo have those machines in them. You buy tokens at various kiosks. Those tokens cost 1,600 pesos. They are a metal token that you load the machines into. One token for washing machine and one for dryer. So just to do a load in a machine yourself is 3,200 pesos total. They work really well.

I always thought the risk would be someone potentially stealing the clothes as there is no camera in the actual room. But the modern buildings have cameras going into the elevators. But in managing hundreds of properties over the past 20+ years and dealing with tens of thousands of guests that often times used these machines, I've never ever had any guests complain of clothes getting stolen which I consider a minor miracle considering the terrible economy over the years.


Here you can see the logo. Any kiosk around town that has this logo outside on its door will sell the locals for the washing machines. Tell your friend to ask the doorman of the building they are in and they will tell you the nearest kiosk. I'm assuming all the places sell the tokens for the same price. Here is an example below of one of the apartments we just bought last year.

 

[Betsy Ross]

It's not just because they are a foreigner. Prices have all gone up. I own a few properties and we manage several others and laundry prices really went up. Same as maids. All the places have gone up. We send out to get sheets, towels, etc. from our rental properties and costs have drastically gone up over the past year like most things. Our maids are all locals so it's not just foreigners. It's all the places and this trend will probably continue as water, electricity, salaries go up. These places will pass that price on to consumers. However, it will get to a certain point if they go up too much people will just find another alternative.


Correct. Buenos Aires province has about 13 million people. My best case guess is at least 10% are wealthy. So that is a ton of wealthy people concentrated in a relatively few neighborhoods so you will witness a lot of locals spending a lot of money. They might complain bout the rising cost of coffee or meals and maybe cut back but they are still dining out and spending money.

@Betsy Ross many of the modern and new buildings have industrial laundry machines in the basement which is what I think you're referring to. I have those in a few of my apartments. Especially the ones that have amenities. And my new apartments I just bought in Palermo have those machines in them. You buy tokens at various kiosks. Those tokens cost 1,600 pesos. They are a metal token that you load the machines into. One token for washing machine and one for dryer. So just to do a load in a machine yourself is 3,200 pesos total. They work really well.

I always thought the risk would be someone potentially stealing the clothes as there is no camera in the actual room. But the modern buildings have cameras going into the elevators. But in managing hundreds of properties over the past 20+ years and dealing with tens of thousands of guests that often times used these machines, I've never ever had any guests complain of clothes getting stolen which I consider a minor miracle considering the terrible economy over the years.


Here you can see the logo. Any kiosk around town that has this logo outside on its door will sell the locals for the washing machines. Tell your friend to ask the doorman of the building they are in and they will tell you the nearest kiosk. I'm assuming all the places sell the tokens for the same price. Here is an example below of one of the apartments we just bought last year.
View attachment 8754

Thanks @earlyretirement! I have lived in BA for years but didn't know this. I have my own washing machine and dryer. This is helpful. Thank you.

 

[Uncle Wong]

It's not just because they are a foreigner. Prices have all gone up. I own a few properties and we manage several others and laundry prices really went up. Same as maids. All the places have gone up. We send out to get sheets, towels, etc. from our rental properties and costs have drastically gone up over the past year like most things. Our maids are all locals so it's not just foreigners. It's all the places and this trend will probably continue as water, electricity, salaries go up. These places will pass that price on to consumers. However, it will get to a certain point if they go up too much people will just find another alternative.


Correct. Buenos Aires province has about 13 million people. My best case guess is at least 10% are wealthy. So that is a ton of wealthy people concentrated in a relatively few neighborhoods so you will witness a lot of locals spending a lot of money. They might complain bout the rising cost of coffee or meals and maybe cut back but they are still dining out and spending money.

@Betsy Ross many of the modern and new buildings have industrial laundry machines in the basement which is what I think you're referring to. I have those in a few of my apartments. Especially the ones that have amenities. And my new apartments I just bought in Palermo have those machines in them. You buy tokens at various kiosks. Those tokens cost 1,600 pesos. They are a metal token that you load the machines into. One token for washing machine and one for dryer. So just to do a load in a machine yourself is 3,200 pesos total. They work really well.

I always thought the risk would be someone potentially stealing the clothes as there is no camera in the actual room. But the modern buildings have cameras going into the elevators. But in managing hundreds of properties over the past 20+ years and dealing with tens of thousands of guests that often times used these machines, I've never ever had any guests complain of clothes getting stolen which I consider a minor miracle considering the terrible economy over the years.


Here you can see the logo. Any kiosk around town that has this logo outside on its door will sell the locals for the washing machines. Tell your friend to ask the doorman of the building they are in and they will tell you the nearest kiosk. I'm assuming all the places sell the tokens for the same price. Here is an example below of one of the apartments we just bought last year.
View attachment 8754

This is great. I will keep that in mind when I come to BA in May. One of my Airbnb places had this but didn't know where to get them and there was no doorman or any signs. I will look for that sign. Is there any way to see their website and see all the various locations that might sell those tokens?