BrickPi, Brazil have a special and simplified importation taxes for products / goods bellow US$50 including shipment costs. Above US$50 price more than double because of taxes, creating dificulties to brazilian students, teachers and hobbist to take advantage of your product. Can Dexter Industries considers to separate BrickPi Board order from BrickPi case order, considering they will be bellow than US$50 each order ?
fmlemos, are you ordering from our website? We typically try to honor folks requests about the stated price when the order is placed through our website.
Your product: BrickPi is important to disseminate Robotic, Electronics, Progamable languages and DIY culture to prepare new generation in STEMS. As Raspberry Pi is important in this scenario and BrickPi helps to enhance the dissemination of it.
To buy “BrickPi Basic Power” through Dexter website, and deliver it in Brazil there will be the following costs for brazilians:
. BrickPi Basic Power (board + case): US$65.00
. Shipping costs: US$18,40 (Parcel Post)
. Total: USD$83,40
Then this products arrive in Brazil, Post office will check its total price is over simplified brazilian importation threshold of US$50.00 and will apply the following taxation:
. Total goods: US$83.40 (BrickPi + shipping)
. Total brazilian taxes: US$83.40
. Final cost: US$166.80 for a brazilian student, teacher or entrepreunuer
Dexter BrickPi is a bundle of a Board and a Case.
Supose into Dexter website there is an option to buy it in separate, as two orders bellow US$50.00 each, final costs for a brazilian customer will less since each one is bellow simplified Brazil importation taxes.
Example:
. BrickPi board + shippment, US$X (bellow US$50.00)
. BrickPi case + shippment, US$Y (bellow US$50.00)
Brazilians buying them into Dexter website in two separated ordes, will pay X+Y without applying Brazilian taxes.
To buy a Raspberry Pi in Brazil through Farnell or RS international websites is easy and cheaper, because their product and shipments stays bellow US$50.00 and are bellow Brazilian threshold for importation taxes (US$50.00).
Did you understand my point and how this could help to disseminate BrickPi in Brazilian Raspberry Pi community ?
Is it possible to Dexter Industries considers to split the possibility to have two item in the catalog to buy BrickPi board and BrickPi case in separate even if there will be two shipments costs that could be bigger than just one ?
Hey fmlemos, I totally see your point. Believe me, we want this product to be in Brazil, and we too feel the pain of import tariffs. One of our top priorities is to try to make this accessible to students and everyone. And by accessible, we don’t just mean the tech (making it easy) but we also mean the price. And this is not just a problem for Brazil: I have a lot of experience with India, which also has a very high import tariff on imported electronics.
I have one idea, and I have one request.
My idea: on our checkout page, we’ve added a field that lets the customer enter the value they want it declared at. If you want to declare it below $50, you can do that for customs purposes and we will try to enter that into the shipping documents.
My request: Who distributes LEGO Mindstorms in Brazil? Do you have any recommendations about who we could approach to partner with that can handle the importation of our goods?
I just saw this on Slate: http://www.slate.com/articles/video/video/2013/10/playstation_4_price_why_are_consumer_electronics_so_expensive_in_brazil.html
Apparently Sony PS4 costs almost 4X in Brazil what it costs in the US.
The video explain exactly Brazilian problems with outside imported electronics. In the other way, for small ammounts, bellow USD$50, there is a simplified rule that allows importation without taxation.
The idea on Dexter checkout page, field added that lets the customer enter the value they want it declared, is one path that’s not legal.
My request: Who distributes LEGO Mindstorms in Brazil?
Answers
Lego Products: have an exclusive distributor company,
M. Cassab Comércio e Indústria Ltda, http://www.mcassab.com.br
Lego Education: have an exclusive distributor company,
ZOOM Education for Life, http://www.legozoom.com
EXAMPLE / ISSUE: Lego Mindstorms cost in Brazil more than R$2.000 (USD$1,000) based on pricing approach like Sony mentioned in the video.
To make this accessible to students and everyone in Brazil probably I’d like to suggest some steps:
- Start with easy purchase process by spliting the orders into your website, orders bellow USD$50
- There are local distributor you can make partnership with like the ones mentioned or others to sell it in Brazil, but this will make it very expensive
- Open a Brazilian importantion company and sell your products over the web
- Growing the market, you could considers to produce it locally and open a Dexter subsidiary in Brazil to attend all Latin America.
Just my “2 cents” …