It's a jungle out there: Shopping for Mother's Day

It's a jungle out there: Shopping for Mother's Day

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff


The Día de la Madre is Saturday, and this is a big day in Costa Rica where mothers remain the heart of the family.

But it also is a time, like Christmas, when store operators can capitalize on the desire to give presents.

The economic ministry did another of its consumer studies late last month and reported that the price of certain household items can vary as much as 415 percent. The ministry checked 25 retailers in San José, Cartago, Alajuela and Heredia.

The biggest disparity in price involved an automatic coffee maker. An off-brand model sold in the Visol store for 6,740.25 colons or about $11.56. A comparable Oster brand coffee maker was offered at El Gallo más Gallo for 34,700 colons or $69.52, according to the report.

Another product with a large gap between the lowest and highest prices is a hair flat iron, according to the report. Once again, the JM brand scored lowest at 15,798.12 colons or $27.10 with a Gama brand being sold for 72,590 colons or $124.50. That is a difference of nearly 360 percent.

There are similar differences in other products, but the reason may not be gouging. JM is a trademark of the Jaiman Sanitary Ware Co. Ltd. in China. Oster is a trademark of the New York Stock Exchange-listed Jarden Corp. Gama is an Italian manufacturer of high quality flat irons, hair dryers and similar products.
The report recognized that quality differences might affect the price. Another example is a Sony digital camera being sold by Verdugo for 185,020 colons or $317.36 versus a camera with the trademark Look also being sold by Visol at 61,165 colons or $104.91.

Although both companies offer a year's guarantee, there really is no way to compare the two complex cameras based on the information in the report.

So the price surveyors of the ministry compared identical items. They still found differences ranging from 61 to 95 percent. A Proctor Silex electric fry pan was 22,780 colons ($38.94) in Electro Centro Gonzáles S.A.. But the same model was 44,450 colons ( $76.24) in Electro Cartago S.A.

The Gama hair iron was 25,610 colons ($43.93) in Almacén Gollo in Tres Ríos. El Gallo más Gallo had the same product for 48,600 colons ($83.36).

The Dirección de Apoyo al Consumidor of the Ministerio de Economía, Industría y Comercio also checks on information being made available to consumers. Retailers have to list the cash price, and various specifics if there is financing involved.

These include the base price for financing purposes, the term of the financing in months, the down payment, the interest rate, the total amount paid over the term of the financing and the entity that actually will hold the note.

A related study of 21 Central Valley retailers found that 18 did not comply exactly with the law. And the other three only sold for cash.