Author: Journeyman Jack Ecuador

“This place is a mad house.” I said to my friend.

We were across the border from Ecuador, in Colombia, at a tire shop, and it was choke full of Ecuadorians buying tires for their cars.

I soon found out why.

A set of 4 Goodyear tires in Ecuador in the Quito area for my jeep/SUV would set me back $691 USD. I got the quote in September of 2015 a few days before I came to Colombia cause I had heard whispers.

In Colombia, after converting the Peso to the Dollar with the current favorable exchange rate, the same Goodyear tires came to about $45 each! Total $180 USD!

Wow! Big difference, hard to believe I’m only 4 hours from Quito.

So, as you can imagine, a lot of drivers will drive over the border for the day, get new tires placed on their car, throw the old ones out and drive back over.

As long as you’re not bringing new, unused tires back loose inside your car the border patrol rightly assumes the tires are for personal use and don’t try to charge the steep import duties importing tires would normally incur.

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This week I finished installing the irrigation system for my one hectare (2.2 acres) Stevia lot.

There were a few different options… install a drip irrigation system or a sprinkler system. My part-time farm manager with experience in Stevia said for this crop a sprinkler system is fine.

The quotes I was getting for installing the drip systems were $3-4,000 USD for the hectare.

The spinkler system about half that.

All said and done the sprinkler system came to $1,400 materials, $300 for the 5 horsepower Briggs-Stratton American gas pump, and $250 for the installation. Total $1950.

Duration of installation: 3 days.

There were cheaper Chinese pumps available in the $200 range but I went with an American brand.

But as soon as my manager saw the installed system as per the photo below, he said I should have used more powerful sprinklers and I would have put fewer lines and saved a lot, for a hectare he says I should have spent around $800 in materials. Overspent there. Live and learn.

Also, after a week of irrigating the land pre-arrival of the plants I´ve learned an important lesson, DON´T buy a gas pump! Go electric if humanly possible even though the electric pumps may cost triple that of the gas pumps, and it may be a hassle to get an electric connection nearby. It is not only cheaper in the long run but much less of a hassle also to not have to be going to gas stations every other day and filling up the 5 gallon jug.

Little things my manager probably should have told me but hey, now I know.

Only 4 more days left in the HALF PRICE special on my new Insiders Guide to Random Importing to Ecuador, a brief yet useful guide of the most profitable items to bring back from Colombia or the USA to Ecuador for the casual traveler or expat in Ecuador. This guide is ideal for ANYONE looking to travel to Ecuador (or for an expat living in Ecuador) that goes back frequently to the United States or Canada looking to make a few extra bucks.

Why not have your trip pay for itself, and more?

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After 3 days here on the border of Colombia and Ecuador it’s become evident where in Ecuador I’d start a business right now.

Ipiales, Colombia.

I know, technically it’s not Ecuador, but it’s close enough, it’s a smallish town about 5 minutes from the border of Colombia and Ecuador.

Why Ipiales?

Ipiales offers a chance to sell to Ecuadorians without actually having to import to Ecuador.

Each weekend a sea of Ecuadorians swarm the shops and fill the hotels and restaurants of this small town.

In just 2 days I’ve spent over $800 USD and of the thousands that come each week to take advantage of the favorable exchange rate, which is currently one of the most depreciated currencies of the last year against the dollar, I’m sure I’m below the average spend.

What specifically would I sell?

I cover that and more in my new Insiders Guide to Random Importing to Ecuador, a brief yet useful guide of the most profitable items to bring back from Colombia or the USA to Ecuador for the casual traveler or expat in Ecuador. This guide is ideal for ANYONE looking to travel to Ecuador (or for an expat living in Ecuador) that goes back frequently to the United States or Canada looking to make a few extra bucks.

Why not have your trip pay for itself, and more?

If you liked this article, you’d love my weekly newsletter, revealing everything you need to know BEFORE you invest in Ecuador. Unsubscribe at any time:

Day 2 here in Colombia, and I´m quickly learning the ropes.

What´s cheaper than Ecuador, what´s not, and what´s a LOT cheaper.

But I´ve learned that just as important as knowing what to buy is HOW to buy?

To get the best deals in Colombia pay for EVERYTHING on credit card!

Why?

If you take dollars to exchange to pesos you will get a really lousy exchange rate, right now on the street and in the banks its around $2680 pesos to $1 USD.

If you take out of the ATMs using your Ecuadorian or international bank card like I did directly into pesos you will get hit with several nasty surcharges.

To be specific, I took out $100 USD worth of pesos from my Ecuadorian Banco Pichincha ATM card and I got nabbed with about $10 in fees!

But… if you buy things with a credit card you will get without a doubt the best rate once the purchase is converted over to your currency, actually, you will get the official exchange rate of $3125 pesos to $1 USD. No extra fees.

So forget the cash, and take a few credit cards on a side trip from Ecuador to Colombia and take advantage of one of the most devalued currencies in the world over the last year!

So far so good, I already bought one item I need for my business in Ecuador that in Ecuador costs $700, here I got it for $265! Learn about it and many more of the most profitable items to bring back from Colombia to Ecuador in my new Insiders Guide to Random Importing to Ecuador, ideal for ANYONE looking to travel to Ecuador (or for an expat living in Ecuador) that goes back frequently to the United States or Canada looking to make a few extra bucks.

Why not have your trip pay for itself, and more?

If you liked this article, you’d love my weekly newsletter, revealing everything you need to know BEFORE you invest in Ecuador. Unsubscribe at any time:

Today, I´m checking in from the border of Ecuador and Colombia, where I´ve never seen anything like this!

There is currently a 3 hour line up of cars on the Ecuadorian side waiting to get into Colombia!

Why the incredible mass exodus from Ecuador?

When I lived in Colombia 7 years ago, the peso-USD echange rate hoovered around $2200 Pesos to 1 USD.

Last year, when I visited Colombia in October of 2014 the peso was at around $1800 to 1 USD or around where it´s been for the last decade.

Now, as of the last few weeks, the peso is at a record low against the dollar, $3125 pesos to 1 USD.

In other words, the dollar has almost doubled in value, or another way to think about it is that you can buy twice as many pesos as a year ago!

No sense sugar-coating it. Overall, for the last decade Ecuador was cheaper than Colombia, but now, on most things Colombia has Ecuador beat!

And Ecuadorians know it, as the border is only 4 hrs from one of Ecuadors largest cities, Quito, many are making weekend trips to go shopping.

Which is a great idea right now for anyone living in Ecuador.

Heck, I´m here.

So, specifically what is best to bring back from Colombia or the USA?

Why not have your trip pay for itself, and more?

If you liked this article, you’d love my weekly newsletter, revealing everything you need to know BEFORE you invest in Ecuador. Unsubscribe at any time: