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Hello,
I needed to buy a couple of Laptops for Costa Rica, My question is are the prices and laptops similar to what we can purchase in the states? or is just better to purchase them in the states and bring them along. On a similar subject what about printers and scanners.
Thanks
I just helped a friend buy a Toshiba laptop for his daughter here in Costa Rica. I was surprised to learn that the cost, and the advertised costs for Dell computers to be bought here, were virtually the same as in the U.S.
On the other hand, Apple computers are substantially more expensive. Were I in the market, I’d import an Apple.
I bought a Canon printer at Office Depot in Escazu a year or so ago. It was much, much more expensive than the advertised prices in the U.S. So are ink cartridges. Recently, I bought a replacement for the Canon (a refurbished one) from http://www.ecost.com. It was about a quarter the price, but I had to get it here. I’m not sure I made myself a good deal.
I buy replacement ink cartridges online at ebay.
No comparison- I found the prices at least 2-3 times higher, for the higher end items, in CR. BTW, I just brought in 4 brand new, in the box, MacBook Pros. Declared them all, and paid about 35% duty on each (Total $1,650). Made easier by having all doc and receipts. Also 1 30″ Apple monitor, which i couldn’t find in San Jose.
Besides prices, most computers sold in Costa Rica are setup with Spanish keyboards. Sometimes this is easy to change, other times not.
On the Spanish keyboards it requires an odd CTRL key combination to get an @ sign which can make it a pain to type in an email address. Some letters are in different places as well. Once you have learned the differences it may not be a bother but until then. . .
Note that this is from the perspective of someone who has only visited friends, albeit numerous times, and had to try to use their computer, WHICH every time it is serviced for some reason the techs change to the Spanish settings. . . I was also carrying my laptop but it would not work on the local network.
I strongly recommend buying up north. Spanish keyboards are confusing to most of us, but especially to those of us who touch-type. My husband just bought a NetBook for under $300.00. I got mine last year for a little less. Once back in CR, I bought a large, flat-screen monitor to use with the little computer. (No, I’m not going to share it with my husband! He uses his only for solitaire games.) I already had a standard keyboard tacked on to the baby computer–in fact I have two–one here on the boat in BC, the other lives in CR. These little guys do everything the big ones do, and for less initial outlay. They’re also great for travel. Just leave the external keyboard and screen at home. Mine is an MSI Wind, my husband’s is a house-brand from a drug/computer store.
Judyinthejungle
[quote=”gzeniou”]Hello,
I needed to buy a couple of Laptops for Costa Rica, My question is are the prices and laptops similar to what we can purchase in the states? or is just better to purchase them in the states and bring them along. On a similar subject what about printers and scanners.
Thanks[/quote]
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