For several days in December, warehouses in Ecuador and other countries, such as the United States, offer discounts and deals aimed at Black Friday promotions or black friday, which will be this November 24, the last Friday of the month.

In Ecuador, discounts have been going strong since the beginning of November and gaining momentum as the date approaches. One of the products that are preferred by customers at the moment in the country are televisions. For example, last weekend some commercial stores in Mall del Sol offered Black Friday discounts, where you could find 32-inch screens for $169 and $199, depending on the brand, and 40-inch screens for $389, 50-inch screens for $399 $ with soundbar included, 65-inch at $719 and up.

The brands that presented these prices were mostly assembled in the country.

A TV up to 60 inches and five liters of liquor, which is allowed to enter Ecuador by plane without paying taxes

Another option, which includes more premium brands and models that are not in national warehouses, is to buy displays in the United States and take advantage of the reform of the National Customs Service (Senae) from September 15 of last year, through the resolution SENAE -SENAE-2023-0079 -RE, which determined new quantities and products that can be brought in by air and that are considered personal belongings of passengers. This change, for example, now allows you to bring in a TV up to 60 inches without paying tax, previously only 32 inches were allowed.

What is the benefit of bringing a TV purchased in the USA?

A customs expert compared the prices of purchases in the United States and what it costs a formal importer to bring these products into the country:

For example, with normal prices without Black Friday deals, a 55-inch screen from one of the world’s most famous brands with Walmart’s benchmark in the United States costs $497.99 plus tax, which is $32.37; The total amount the consumer pays is $530.36.

Meanwhile, to import the same TV, an Ecuadorian trader must pay an FOB (goods on board) price of $461.21, plus insurance and freight of $23.06, resulting in a CIF price. (cost, insurance and freight) of $484.27. But to this should be added $24.21 ad valorem, $158.14 Special Tariff and $79.99 VAT, which ends up costing $746.62. That’s more than $200 more than it costs a customer to buy one in the United States. This price should include all costs related to importation, internal logistics and marketing, such as customs agent, storage, rental, warehouse staff, promotion, among others.

These days, the price in Ecuador, including an “up to 80%” Black Friday discount, of the same brand TV as the comparable one at Walmart in the United States, but with fewer features because it’s an inferior model, sells for $585 cash, on credit its price is about 900 dollars.

What about cell phones? This is another one of the products that consumers prefer when Black Friday deals arrive. In Ecuador, for example, you can find the 256GB iPhone 15 Pro Max for $1,399 at importers who offer cheaper prices than large home appliance stores, a price that already includes the Black Friday discount.

In the United States, without Black Friday discounts, the same iPhone can be found for $1,099. Those who want to save on the purchase of phones consider the possibility of buying them on the sites of that country, such as Amazon, eBay, among others, and send to the lockers of people who are dedicated in Ecuador to bring purchases made in the country to stores in the United States in exchange for a commission .

How many cell phones can you bring into Ecuador by plane?

María (name withheld), who along with her father is dedicated to bringing things from the United States, charges $50 to bring an iPhone or other smartphone in your luggage. “That’s how much space in a coffin costs. With this service, the customer pays a price of 1,059 dollars for his iPhone 15 Max Pro, the passenger calculated, although she indicates that with discounts for Black Friday the price can drop up to 200 dollars more.

María administers the tariff for the products she brings from the United States:

These services are also promoted on social networks, and prices may vary. For example, one of these profiles that posts its prices charges $65 for referrals laptop and $25 for each smart watch (watches), while for video game consoles it charges $80 per unit.

However, it is true that the National Customs Service of Ecuador in its resolution limits the amount of products, especially technological products, that travelers can enter the country by air without paying taxes.

The passenger can take a new mobile phone and a used one, without the need to declare when entering through the international airports of Ecuador, located in Quito and Guayaquil. Likewise, you can bring a new computer and another one in use, as well as some others device Type of GPS, headset, smart watchetc.