INSIDECOSTARICA.COM
| COSTA RICA
NEWS | Thursday
24 November 2011
Costa
Rica:
Buying
Online
on
Black
Friday
To
take
advantage
of
the
Black
Friday
deals
offered
by
online
retailers
in
the
United
States,
two
companies
are
offering
Costa
Ricans
to
make
their
purchases,
with
reduced
discounts
on
their
fees
and
longer
hours
of
operation.
JetBox
and
Aerocasillas
are
two
companies
that
offer
a
mailbox
in
the
United
States
and
online
purchases
to
those
who
cannot
for
whatever
reason.
JetBox
said
it
will
be
offering
a
25%
discount
on
international
freight
tariffs
and
a
voucher
for
use
in
2012.
Aerocasillas
says
it
will
waive
its
commission
to
customers
who
use
their
Aerocasillas
sponsored
credit
card
to
make
their
purchases
and
open
its
stores
until
10pm
Friday.
Typical
items
purchased
online
are
electronics,
clothing
and
books.
Of
course,
you
do
not
need
either
or
any
other
service
to
make
your
online
purchase,
but
will
for
the
delivery
and/or
if
you
do
not
have
an
credit
card
that
can
be
used
online
for
international
purchases.
Here
are
some
tips:
-
Talk
to
your
banker
to
learn
if
your
credit/debit
card
can
be
used
online
for
international
purchases
and
if
not,
how
to
obtain
such
a
product.
- In
terms
of
delivery,
since
there
are
no
"traditional"
street
and
number
addresses
in
Costa
Rica,
your
options
can
include
the
expensive
courier
delivery
like
DHL
and
UPS
or
the
much
less
costly
postal
box
offered
by
Correos
de
Costa
Rica
(Post
Office).
-
Please
note
that
in
many
cases
online
retailers
will
only
deliver
to
the
address
registered
with
the
credit
card.
In
some
cases,
like
that
of
Scotiabank
Mastercard,
that
rule
is
not
strictly
applied,
but
not
available
at
all
retailers.
-
Online
payment
for
all
online
purchases
is
required,international
COD
is
not
available.
-
Then
there
is
the
cost
of
duty
and
sales
tax.
Although
some
items,
like
computers
(but
not
computer
software
and
books,
for
example)
are
exempt
from
duty,
the
13%
sales
tax
is
payable.
And
the
tax
is
based
on
the
value
placed
by
Aduana
(Customs)
on
the
item
and
not
the
invoiced
or
price
paid.
-
Depending
on
your
checkout
choice,
your
purchase
will
arrive
from
5 to
30
days.
Next
day
delivery
offered
by
online
retailers
means
it
will
be
shipped
to
the
US
address
the
next
day,
which
you
must
then
add
from
a
few
days
to a
few
weeks
-
depending
on
your
choice
of
delivery
in
Costa
Rica
-
for
your
purchase
to
arrive
and
clear
customs.
-
Consider
returns
if
merchandise
is
not
to
your
liking
or
defective.
Returning
a
defective
or
unwanted
item
can
be
very
expensive.
Companies
like
JetBox
and
Aerocasillas
will
return
items
free
of
charge
if
purchased
through
them,
for
not,
the
cost
will
be
yours.
-
And
then
there
is
the
guarantee.
In
most
cases
warranty
on
products
purchase
online
is
not
available
in
Costa
Rica.
The
item
has
to
be
returned
to
the
retailer
where
purchased.
In
some
cases,
however,
like
computers,
the
manufacturer
will
honour
an
international
warrantee,
but
there
still
may
be a
cost
associated.
If
you
are
considering
making
an
online
purchase,
add
-
average
-
35%
to
the
cost
of
the
item
for
duty,
taxes
and
delivery.
For
example,
an
iPad2
sold
in
Costa
Rica
for
$890
can
be
purchased
only
for
$600.
But,
if
you
add
the
25%
($600
x
1,35),
the
final
price
is
$810.
The
price
difference
is
only
$80,
not
much
when
you
consider
that
your
online
purchase
will
not
likely
be
covered
by
Apple's
warrantee
in
Costa
Rica
and
the
time
to
get
it.
And
then,
the
quality
of
the
item,
NOT
ALL
SELLERS
ON
EBAY
ARE
REPUTABLE.
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