Buying a computer in Mexico, or not

A few weeks ago, my computer died. It had the grace to live long enough that I got *most* of the new files since my last backup, though I did lose a few photos. At the time, I blogged about my choices.

I decided I wanted a widescreen Toshiba, as that's what my husband has and I have envied him from time to time, not just for the screen's width but also for the quality of the images on the screen. I did some research online and found one I liked for around $1500 US. I got a price quote from a local computer store for a similar computer: $ 29,000 (pesos) or about $2735 US. and the local one, while available the next day and with Windows in English, would have to have a Spanish keyboard.

I decided to take my chances with Mexican customs instead.

One of my friends here had a sister coming to Guadalajara late in March, and the sister (whom I'd never met) quite willingly received my laptop at her home in the US -- I had to call my credit card company and tell them that I wanted a special ship-to address for this large purpose, and the computer company then had to call the credit card company for a special permission, but that all went through fine. The sister had my laptop at her house for a couple of weeks, and let me know that it worked.

Once you arrive in Mexico, whether by land or air, normally you push a button and get either a red or green light. If it's red, then you have to talk to a customs agent. I had been visualizing her getting a green light, and sure enough she did, so there was no customs. And I soon had my new laptop! If she had gotten a red light, and had had to pay some duty, it still would have come out way ahead of the other price.

I've had the computer a few days, and just now I decided to see if I could upload images to my blog, which for some reason I couldn't do from Kelly's computer. No problem, so you photo fans can look forward to more pictures. This one is part of the Lake Chapala Society, and typical of a lot of the architecture around here.