www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I hope to install a smart tv in my condo in San Jose soon. Having checked the prices in CR and the US, it seems I can get a better deal on a better TV in the US and take it with me on Delta. Anybody done that? Other than risk of damage in shipment, anyone see a problem with that? Will US tv work okay in San Jose? Probably will install cable and internet. Any recommendations for service providers? TIA.

Forget the cable. Get the internet only and bring a Roku with you. All the smart tv you need. Buy the tv here and make sure it has a hdmi slot.

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I am NOT a Cien Boy!!

I have brought with me three TV's over the past two years. TV's in Costa Rica have come down in price as of late but you still can't get as good of a deal as you can in the USA. You will want to make sure to bring a copy of the receipt for the TV. Customs at the airport will ask you about it, and they will stamp your passport making you ineligible to bring anything of value for the next six months into CR. So far I have not had any issues. I think the max dollar amount is up to $600 every six months without additional CR tax added but I'm not sure about that.

I agree with everything Florida John said except the max $ amount has been $500 every 6 months for over 10 years. That said, it could have recently changed and I just have not heard about it. I brought a small (21") flat panel TV back with me several years ago. Was also bring 2 new very thick pillows. Packed the TV (out of the box) in the middle of a ridged bag and between the two pillows. Made it just fine and customs paid no attention if they even saw it at all when screened.

Not promoting Walmart but the way I understand the import tax on electronics here is that it is based on what the company pays for the item. Because of Walmart's extremely high volume purchasing and their telling the manufacturer what they will pay for an item, what they pay for a particular TV model is as little as half what even the largest Tico stores pay. Thus their tax on the item is much less and their required profit margin is much less than other stores here. Results: TVs are generally much lower at Walmart! BUT still as much as 50% more than the same TV in the States.

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Old and retired but still bang, and bang, and bang!!!

U.S. TVs will work in CR with the cable system and with Roku using the internet.

But CR has adopted the South American standard for digital over-the-air signals. This standard is different from the standard used in the States. So...... a U.S. TV tuner will NOT receive digital signals over the air in CR after full implementation is reached in CR in another year or two.

The further away that you get from San Jose and the closer that you get to Panama the cheaper the TV will be. Even if you go half way to San Isidro, you will notice the price difference. Everything is way over priced in SJ.

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Now, I am back in the game!

Agree w Squirrel, in fact if you can locate someone who goes to Panama regularly they probably bring back tv's w a moderate mark up.
Thats how I acquired the two I have in my apartment. I contemplated bringing one down but the idea of having to deal with it just seemed too much.
I think I can get you contact info if you want just pm me. Also we had a problem w one LG we purchased and a local store honored the LG warranty replacement.

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im way deep into nothing special
riding the crest of a wave breaking just west of hollywood