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Buying a Barbie bike in Peru vs. Venezuela
529 sats \ 12 comments \ @bief57 18h econ
I was walking through a shopping center here in Venezuela and out of sheer curiosity I went into a toy store and a cute Barbie bike caught my eye. You can imagine my look of horror when I saw the price: $495 is the modest price of a 16-inch Barbie bike.
Since I live in Peru, I am tempted to constantly compare prices between these two countries. $168 full price and sale price $118
What for some countries these items are accessible in Venezuela is a luxury.
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98 sats \ 8 replies \ @Undisciplined 18h
Even $118 seems steep. Inflation's a real son of a bitch.
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136 sats \ 7 replies \ @bief57 OP 18h
Absolute crap. At that store I mentioned, I saw the Barbie house for $780.
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42 sats \ 1 reply \ @stack_harder 6h
i've gone down a Barbie bike price research rabbit hole
meanwhile, on amazon Germany
(but that's because it's shipped from the US)
why is it so expensive in Venezuela? is it import controls and taxes?
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42 sats \ 0 replies \ @bief57 OP 2h
Exactly. There's no free market. The only way you can import is if you're part of the political elite.
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114 sats \ 4 replies \ @Undisciplined 18h
Fortunately for us (sort of), my parents buy more kids' transportation devices than we know what to do with.
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42 sats \ 3 replies \ @bief57 OP 18h
How lucky the grandchildren (and parents) are to have their grandparents. I can already imagine they've bought them electric cars, electric motorcycles, scooters, skates, bicycles, and anything else that rolls. It's a blessing.
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72 sats \ 2 replies \ @Undisciplined 18h
No electric vehicles (thank god), just two bikes, a wagon, and a sled.
The only thing she really uses is the microscooter we had already gotten her.
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42 sats \ 1 reply \ @bief57 OP 18h
Hahaha, what do you have against electric vehicles? Two bikes? Why? The day you want to get rid of those toys, your little girl will surely want to play with them.
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @criptopanas 10h
Venezuela is a VERY EXPENSIVE COUNTRY.
There are a few things that are really cheap as gasoline and electricity, but the rest is more expensive than Spain.
I still have family in Caracas, every time we talk, we compare prices...Having a coffee or eating in a restaurant is more expensive in Caracas than Spain. Also, going to fix the car in a mechanic (workshop) or the dentist...
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @bief57 OP 2h
Si, es muy costoso. Tener algo de una marca semi decente es inaccesible. La gasolina está en 0.50 centavos el litro pero es de mala calidad
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @flat24 18h
OMG 🙀 Every day I am more surprised with the level of speculators that you can find in Venezuela.
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