Economy Will Clothing Prices Drop?

[Leo]

I see this as a very positive development. The elimination of customs controls for clothing and footwear means the import process will be simpler and faster, which could reduce costs for importers. This, in turn, could lead to lower prices for consumers, as the decrease in bureaucratic costs might allow companies to offer products at more competitive prices. Clothing and footwear have always been very expensive here, so hopefully, things continue to improve with these economic measures.

El Gobierno eliminó controles aduaneros para la indumentaria y el calzado

La Secretaría de Comercio busca bajar el costo burocrático que implicaba la normativa que regía hasta la actualidad y facilitar las importaciones

www.infobae.com

 

[milo]

Hopefully, this will be the case, even if it takes some time. Clothing here is very expensive compared to the U.S., where prices are much lower. In fact, I often take advantage of friends visiting from the U.S. to bring me some items.

 

[Blockchain]

I thought clothings and shoes were crazy expensive here. And some of the electronics here are crazy! Prices of iphones here are crazy!

 

[Vince]

Costs should come down tremendously on clothes and shoe prices if they truly get rid of customs controls. They need to do the same thing on electronics and everything else. Prices of clothes here are ridiculous.

 

[Jakoval]

Costs should come down tremendously on clothes and shoe prices if they truly get rid of customs controls. They need to do the same thing on electronics and everything else. Prices of clothes here are ridiculous.

Electronics are ridiculously expensive and janky here. And I refuse to buy clothes in Argentina. A few months ago I needed some shirts and when I looked at the price, I was like...you gotta be kidding me. The cheapest decent shirt I found at the mall was like 30K-ish. A basic Zara shirt costs 90K which is ridiculous. I ended up asking my friend coming from Rome to pick up a few shirts for me from Primark. It wasn't the best quality but at 8 euro a pop it's good enough for me to make do till I can buy something nicer elsewhere.

 

[BA Bound]

Electronics are ridiculously expensive and janky here. And I refuse to buy clothes in Argentina. A few months ago I needed some shirts and when I looked at the price, I was like...you gotta be kidding me. The cheapest decent shirt I found at the mall was like 30K-ish. A basic Zara shirt costs 90K which is ridiculous. I ended up asking my friend coming from Rome to pick up a few shirts for me from Primark. It wasn't the best quality but at 8 euro a pop it's good enough for me to make do till I can buy something nicer elsewhere.

Agreed! I got my iphone stolen and really needed a new phone but I just bought a cheapo phone here until I got back to the States. Clothes here is crazy! Low quality and priced like it's some great name brand in the States. @Jakoval correct about the basic cheapo Zara shirt here and being so expensive. The airline lost my bag on my last trip as it was left in Miami. I had to go 48 hours without all my clothes but I went to the mall and was like no way.

How do locals deal with these clothes prices? They are nuts. Even baby clothes was priced like they were name brand designer clothes in the States. I assume once they get rid of all these taxes these local companies will go out of business? How will they compete once they allow clothes to come in with no import taxes?

 

[Wally]

Electronics are ridiculously expensive and janky here. And I refuse to buy clothes in Argentina. A few months ago I needed some shirts and when I looked at the price, I was like...you gotta be kidding me. The cheapest decent shirt I found at the mall was like 30K-ish. A basic Zara shirt costs 90K which is ridiculous. I ended up asking my friend coming from Rome to pick up a few shirts for me from Primark. It wasn't the best quality but at 8 euro a pop it's good enough for me to make do till I can buy something nicer elsewhere.

It is not just clothes that are crazy expensive. Towels and sheets here are terrible quality and expensive too. I always wait until I go back home to buy clothes or ask friends when they come to visit.

Agreed! I got my iphone stolen and really needed a new phone but I just bought a cheapo phone here until I got back to the States. Clothes here is crazy! Low quality and priced like it's some great name brand in the States. @Jakoval correct about the basic cheapo Zara shirt here and being so expensive. The airline lost my bag on my last trip as it was left in Miami. I had to go 48 hours without all my clothes but I went to the mall and was like no way.

How do locals deal with these clothes prices? They are nuts. Even baby clothes was priced like they were name brand designer clothes in the States. I assume once they get rid of all these taxes these local companies will go out of business? How will they compete once they allow clothes to come in with no import taxes?

I am not sure that locally made brands will do well. But keep in mind that it will still be more expensive here. Besides import taxes we have 21% IVA tax on everything. I doubt you can avoid IVA.

@Jakoval smart to avoid buying here. I haven't bought any clothes here in years.

 

[Blockchain]

Electronics are ridiculously expensive and janky here. And I refuse to buy clothes in Argentina. A few months ago I needed some shirts and when I looked at the price, I was like...you gotta be kidding me. The cheapest decent shirt I found at the mall was like 30K-ish. A basic Zara shirt costs 90K which is ridiculous. I ended up asking my friend coming from Rome to pick up a few shirts for me from Primark. It wasn't the best quality but at 8 euro a pop it's good enough for me to make do till I can buy something nicer elsewhere.

I went to the mall and I didn't see anyone buying anything several times when I went. I didn't know if it was just the recession or not. I did notice restaurants full with locals too. I guess they would rather eat than buy stuff. Bars were also packed and lots of locals. How do these stores stay in business? Like Zara. In Europe and the USA it's so cheap. The clothes are not known as high quality. How do all these stores stay in business?

 

[Uncle Wong]

Electronics are ridiculously expensive and janky here. And I refuse to buy clothes in Argentina. A few months ago I needed some shirts and when I looked at the price, I was like...you gotta be kidding me. The cheapest decent shirt I found at the mall was like 30K-ish. A basic Zara shirt costs 90K which is ridiculous. I ended up asking my friend coming from Rome to pick up a few shirts for me from Primark. It wasn't the best quality but at 8 euro a pop it's good enough for me to make do till I can buy something nicer elsewhere.

I thought the same thing! But clothes and shoes are also expensive in Brazil. We get so spoiled in the USA, Europe and Asia. Clothes are so cheap. I do think if they open up import with no duties local companies will struggle. Just about everything is overpriced in Argentina. Even if the economy improves, I doubt it will be a while before salaries get too high.

I talked to several business owners there and many are struggling. That was before utility rates went up and even though inflation is slowing down it's still crazy high. Argentina is an interesting country but constant change.

 

[Jakoval]

I thought the same thing! But clothes and shoes are also expensive in Brazil. We get so spoiled in the USA, Europe and Asia. Clothes are so cheap. I do think if they open up import with no duties local companies will struggle. Just about everything is overpriced in Argentina. Even if the economy improves, I doubt it will be a while before salaries get too high.

I talked to several business owners there and many are struggling. That was before utility rates went up and even though inflation is slowing down it's still crazy high. Argentina is an interesting country but constant change.

My first South America trip was actually to Brazil. I remember going to a shopping mall and saw the prices of electronics in Sao Paolo and Rio and felt that it was so expensive. This was back in 2007-2008. What shocked me even more was when I saw that people paid for clothes in instalments. We don't do that back at home because clothes are more affordable. For electronics I understand about paying in instalments because they're normally a lot more expensive and it makes more sense to pay in instalments. I mean it's the same thing here in Argentina and not only clothes now, everything can be paid in cuotas even in supermarkets. To me that is quite strange. I thought about buying a new phone and was looking at Samsung S24. Back at home it costs around 1M pesos and here 2.4M pesos. The price difference is crazy.

 

[Vince]

My first South America trip was actually to Brazil. I remember going to a shopping mall and saw the prices of electronics in Sao Paolo and Rio and felt that it was so expensive. This was back in 2007-2008. What shocked me even more was when I saw that people paid for clothes in instalments. We don't do that back at home because clothes are more affordable. For electronics I understand about paying in instalments because they're normally a lot more expensive and it makes more sense to pay in instalments. I mean it's the same thing here in Argentina and not only clothes now, everything can be paid in cuotas even in supermarkets. To me that is quite strange. I thought about buying a new phone and was looking at Samsung S24. Back at home it costs around 1M pesos and here 2.4M pesos. The price difference is crazy.

Yes I actually went to Brazil before I came to Argentina and was shocked at the price of shoes and electronics. Ah the famous installment payments. Paying for a toaster on 12 payments. I thought the same thing as you @Jakoval. But that is the only way that stores will sell things and the only way many will be able to afford buying anything. They have to fix the price of electronics to get things more competitive. Paying 2 or 3 times more for the same thing is just broken.

 

[Vero]

I went to the mall and I didn't see anyone buying anything several times when I went. I didn't know if it was just the recession or not. I did notice restaurants full with locals too. I guess they would rather eat than buy stuff. Bars were also packed and lots of locals. How do these stores stay in business? Like Zara. In Europe and the USA it's so cheap. The clothes are not known as high quality. How do all these stores stay in business?

Mall traffic has fallen a lot over the years. Mercado Libre has become very popular here over the years. Probably like in the States many people now buy things online. Clothes and shoes here are expensive but for many they have no choice but to pay these prices. Many don't have the luxury to travel and buy it somewhere else or have friends that come in so they are stuck buying it here and just pay with quotas over 12-24 months.

 

[Uncle Wong]

Electronics are ridiculously expensive and janky here. And I refuse to buy clothes in Argentina. A few months ago I needed some shirts and when I looked at the price, I was like...you gotta be kidding me. The cheapest decent shirt I found at the mall was like 30K-ish. A basic Zara shirt costs 90K which is ridiculous. I ended up asking my friend coming from Rome to pick up a few shirts for me from Primark. It wasn't the best quality but at 8 euro a pop it's good enough for me to make do till I can buy something nicer elsewhere.

@Jakoval I guess once stores start selling that 8 Euro shirt, the competitors will be torching the place down. My friend was telling me how it's difficult to even lower prices even when you want to get more business. Competitors will burn your place down.

Here is a bakery that lowered their prices. The others tried burning it down!

Vendía el pan barato y sus competidores le tiraron bombas de estruendo al local por no subir los precios

Ocurrió en una panadería de Carlos Spegazzini, partido de Ezeiza. El ataque produjo un incendio en la fachada del lugar. La dueña del comercio denunció que ya la habían amenazado en otras ocasiones

www.infobae.com

 

[Mother Russia Argentina]

Electronics are ridiculously expensive and janky here. And I refuse to buy clothes in Argentina. A few months ago I needed some shirts and when I looked at the price, I was like...you gotta be kidding me. The cheapest decent shirt I found at the mall was like 30K-ish. A basic Zara shirt costs 90K which is ridiculous. I ended up asking my friend coming from Rome to pick up a few shirts for me from Primark. It wasn't the best quality but at 8 euro a pop it's good enough for me to make do till I can buy something nicer elsewhere.

This first thing we notice here @Jakoval. Very surprised at cost for clothes here. Even clothes for my kids price like adults. I am waiting for some shipments of clothes from Grabr. We order many and a nice American is bringing for us in 2 weeks. We can't wait! Also, we have her bring some toys. Something else very crazy expensive here are toys. How the local people do it?

Shop Overseas Products with International P2P Delivery | Grabr

grabr.io

 

[Digital Nomad]

Sounds like the only one that can afford to buy clothes is the upper classes. Most of the others are really struggling. But the upper classes here seem like spending doesn't slow down at all.

LA NACION

Información confiable en Internet. Noticias de Argentina y del mundo - ¡Informate ya!

www.lanacion.com.ar

 

[Spend Thrift]

Sounds like the only one that can afford to buy clothes is the upper classes. Most of the others are really struggling. But the upper classes here seem like spending doesn't slow down at all.

LA NACION

Información confiable en Internet. Noticias de Argentina y del mundo - ¡Informate ya!

www.lanacion.com.ar

Yeah there are a lot of wealthy people here. Some of these restaurants are always full. Cafes too with locals. Look at this luxury outlet. Line blocks long.

Luxury Outlet abrió hoy: nuevo récord y fuerte presencia de marcas deportivas

El circuito de compras permanecerá abierto hasta el domingo 18 de agosto; reúne a más de 50 marcas, con precios competitivos a nivel internacional

www.lanacion.com.ar

 

[GraceH]

Many people I know have cut back on buying clothes during this recession. I have a few friends that normally fly to Miami once a year but they are skipping out on trips this year trying to just pay bills and save up a bit.

 

[Cardiac Arrest]

Yeah there are a lot of wealthy people here. Some of these restaurants are always full. Cafes too with locals. Look at this luxury outlet. Line blocks long.

Luxury Outlet abrió hoy: nuevo récord y fuerte presencia de marcas deportivas

El circuito de compras permanecerá abierto hasta el domingo 18 de agosto; reúne a más de 50 marcas, con precios competitivos a nivel internacional

www.lanacion.com.ar

You have to figure that many in Buenos Aires have so much money they will be ok no matter what happens economically. Most of these people have all their dollars stashed away. Blue dollar is back up to 1450. The worse the economy gets the better it is for them.

 

[Digital Nomad]

My first South America trip was actually to Brazil. I remember going to a shopping mall and saw the prices of electronics in Sao Paolo and Rio and felt that it was so expensive. This was back in 2007-2008. What shocked me even more was when I saw that people paid for clothes in instalments. We don't do that back at home because clothes are more affordable. For electronics I understand about paying in instalments because they're normally a lot more expensive and it makes more sense to pay in instalments. I mean it's the same thing here in Argentina and not only clothes now, everything can be paid in cuotas even in supermarkets. To me that is quite strange. I thought about buying a new phone and was looking at Samsung S24. Back at home it costs around 1M pesos and here 2.4M pesos. The price difference is crazy.

Clothes prices here are still shockingly expensive. Saw this today. Clothes in Argentina is some of the most expensive in the world.

 

[Betsy Ross]

Clothes here are outrageously expensive. I think even if they get rid of some of the taxes, the stores selling have the wrong mindset for selling clothes. It almost seems like they don't care if they sell in volume. They hold out even if it takes a long time to sell things for crazy high prices. Even accounting for taxes, they mark up clothes here very expensive. Sometimes it's the same with other stores too. Half these stores don't have the mindset to be a business owner.