Hola from a new arrival- Steve from SF Bay Area

sszydeco wrote:

I want to buy a Samsung tablet (mine fell off the table) , and I wonder if it would be cheaper on Mercadolibre than paying shipping and customs from the US.

Thanks,
Steve

Dear Steve,

Welcome to the Ecuador forums of expat.com ...

Top reasons to buy a tablet in Ecuador or Colombia:

1.  Avoid shipping and customs fees and SENAE delays.

2.  Warranty will be honored in South America, probably with fewer hassles.

3.  If you buy in Colombia (especially in Ipiales near the Ecuador border), you will probably pay much less.

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Have you considered getting your damaged tablet repaired in Cuenca?

cccmedia

Hi. Thanks for your reply.
I want to see if I can get it fixed, but it is an 18.4in screen, and parts are hard to come by. The screen is really cracked, but it does work fine. The problem is the charging jack. The charger pin does not stay in anymore, so I cannot charge it. That could possibly be repaired.
samsung has a newer model, better, tho only 17in screen. It is about $650 on Ebay, but $800 on Mercadolibre, in Quito. But I do not like that I cannot get the shipping cost from Quito, or ask any questions of the seller, until I buy it. I don't know how safe it is.
If I buy the new one, and can get the charging port fixed on the old one, I would donate the old one to a student. It is actually a really cool big tablet, and can be a TV also. I installed the same apps on it that I have on my Fire TV stick. I will look for a repair person tomorrow.
What is Ipiales that you mentioned?
I have 2 stepsons in Cali, Colombia...but how would they get the tablet to me? Are you saying buy it in Colombia at a store, or on Mercadolibre?
Have you purchased stuff there? How about Amazon marketplace?
My second airbnb here, their 26 yo son says he only buys on Amazon Marketplace.
Thanks
If you could call me, it would save me all this typing, and many typos...
Thanks
***
PS- How long have you been here? I'm from the SF Bay Area

Sorry...wrong cell***
Steve

Ipiales is a pueblo or city on the border? But it is a lonnnnng way to Colombia from here, right? I checked flights to have my stepsons come visit me here in Cuenca...3 flights, 8 hours, and about the same cost as a flight from Guayaquil to the US...about $800...unbelievable.
BTW, my direct email is ****
Steve

Yes, Steve, Ipiales is a Colombia border city a few hours north of Quito.  When I was there for ten months in 2017 it was a safe (IMO) city, much safer than some of the rural areas in surrounding parts of Nariño province.  I enjoyed it for its cool air, manageable size, quality restaurants and casino blackjack.

If you looked around the parking lot of the biggest shopping mall in Ipiales on a weekend, you would see that half the cars parked there bore Ecuador license plates, an indication of many folks visiting to take advantage of the dollar-to-peso exchange rate for the mall shops' offerings.

Yes, I did buy a tablet at the large electronics store there, for a friend.  I paid $250 US for which she reimbursed me .. and she was delighted with the value and the price.

Ipiales is a long way from Cuenca, as you surmised, and you might only be there if you were traveling by car or bus to meet your wife in Colombia at some point.

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After my long stay in Ipiales (mostly at a hotel rate of $10 US per night based on a monthly rate) I returned to Quito for a while where I own a condo in Centro Histórico.  I have been on the road outside Ecuador for most of the time since 2016.

cccmedia

There is more I wanted to say in response to your post(s).  However, due to WiFi problems, it must wait until tomorrow, Memorial Day.

cccmedia

sszydeco wrote:

I have 2 stepsons in Cali, Colombia... how would they get the tablet to me? Are you saying buy it in Colombia at a store, or on Mercadolibre?
Have you purchased stuff there? How about Amazon marketplace?
My second airbnb here, their 26 yo son says he only buys on Amazon Marketplace.

If you could call me, it would save me all this typing, and many typos...

***
PS- How long have you been here? I'm from the SF Bay Area

Steve, my WiFi has cleared up so I am responding to yesterday's questions.

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Your stepsons in Cali might send you product via DHL.  I have found DHL to be reliable in South America.

My guidance on buying in South America applies to in-store buying and Mercado Libre or equivalent, although I have not used ML myself.  While I am a longtime Amazon customer, the term Amazon Marketplace is not familiar to me.

I bought a tablet when I was in Ipiales, at the mall supermarket's electronics section.  It was for a Quiteña friend, who reimbursed me.  She was delighted with the value and the price, $250 US.

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I arrived in Quito seven years ago from the US (lived in Reno, Bethlehem, PA, originally from upstate New York) and lived in my Quito condo (2013-16) before spending most of the time since traveling in South America, often spending three months or more at a time at locations in Colombia and Peru.

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I see that the Home Office in the Mascarene Islands has deleted your personal contact information as per expat.com rules.... It's better, anyway, that we communicate on this forum .. so that other members might benefit. 

cccmedia

Hi-
But you do have a name, right? Or do you want to keep that a secret?....8<) ....Are our messages visible to all members?
You are right about Amazon Marketplace....my bad....It is Facebook Marketplace that my 26yo friend uses to buy cell phones. But I find it very strange to look at....I never get a reply when I try to ask a question of a seller.
I will ask my stepson about whether he can find that big tablet for sale. I kinda doubt it.
La Victoria has nothing bigger than 10in in a Samsung tablet.
Thanks for your input.
If you feel like it, I would like to hear more about your travels...like, did you drive a car?....where did you stay?...hotels, airbnbs?
What kind oif experiences did you have?....It sounds like great experiences.....
I have been following the Italian couple Youtube overlanders, Leaw, Luca and Sara.......they have had incredible adventures also. Have you seen them?
Ciao

sszydeco wrote:

like, did you drive a car?....where did you stay?...
What kind oif experiences did you have?....It sounds like great experiences.....

The scariest adventure came at night at the end of my first day driving into Colombia, after starting out from Tulcán, Ecuador, a border town south of Ipiales.

I wrote it up on expat.com shortly afterwards in a series of posts that can be Googled at:

  frightening attack by moto night riders on panamerica highway

It's an important cautionary tale for anybody who would dare drive between distant Colombian cities late at night.

  -- cccmedia