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Sassy Blake

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Posts posted by Sassy Blake

  1. I have 2  40' high cube containers coming from the states around 14 april 2023.  I expect, if they arrive on time, that they'll be ready to travel from Balboa to the Lucero, Boquete area around April 17.  Both are for sale.   One will be emptied the same day it's delivered and is ready to go directly to your location.

    The other will be ready to go at a later date, around a month from now.  They are not being sold as a pair--they can go to two different locations.

    The wonderful thing about these containers is that they are infinitely useful!   Novel guest quarters or rentals; storage; personal library; office; domicile; workshop; garden shed; man cave; sewing room; darkroom; outdoor kitchen; endless options!

    Cost:  $4775.00 for this container.  The second container is $4625.00

    Nothing as convenient as having it delivered as the trucks are on their way back down to David.

    Questions:  please call +507 6609 3310 Signal or cell.  NOT Whatsapp.

  2. from time to time, News.Boquete posts requests for people to carry mail back to the US.  I wrote them to ask if there is someone carrying this week, and I got a generic email saying:

    "News.Boquete acknowledges receipt of your email. If submitting an email about an event (something with a specific date or dates), then you first must also post your event on the calendar of the Chiriqui.Life website  For assistance see How To Post An Event."

    I need to send something to the states this week, and I still don't know whether there is anyone going there this week.  I live about 35 minutes from the Tuesday Market, and I've been advised by my doctor to not drive at all for a time.  So I"d like to know the status of someone carrying mail this week , and how I can confirm in future weeks that someone is carrying should a need arise.
     

    I'd hate to send someone to the Tuesday Market with mail, if there is no one carrying this week.  Please advise whether someone is carrying this week, where to bring the mail, and where to look in the future to confirm that there is someone carrying.

    Thank You,

    Sassy Blake

  3. thank you.
    Another question:  from time to time, News.Boquete posts requests for people to carry mail back to the US.  I wrote them to ask if there is someone carrying this week, and I got a generic email saying:

    "News.Boquete acknowledges receipt of your email. If submitting an email about an event (something with a specific date or dates), then you first must also post your event on the calendar of the Chiriqui.Life website  For assistance see How To Post An Event."

    I need to send something to the states this week, and I still don't know whether there is anyone going there this week.  I live about 35 minutes from the Tuesday Market, and I've been advised by my doctor to not drive at all for a time.  So I"d like to know the status of someone carrying mail this week , and how I can confirm in future weeks that someone is carrying should a need arise.

     

    I'd hate to send someone to the Tuesday Market with mail, if there is no one carrying this week.  Please advise whether someone is carrying this week, where to bring the mail, and where to look in the future to confirm that there is someone carrying.

    Thank You,

    Sassy Blake
     

  4. you might have found your answer by now, but if you're still looking for styrofoam sheets, Annie at Cano Ferremix in Dolega has procured styrofoam sheets for an acquaintance.  If she can't get them for you, I think Hopsa on the interamericana hwy in David may be able to get it for you if they don't  have it in stock.

  5. thank you.  I am aware of acodeco.

    what started the post is that I unknowingly bought a new item which had been discontinued from the mfr 2 years before it was on the shelf of a retailer in Terronal Plaza.

    So I got the idea that it might not be uncommon, here in Panama, to buy discontinued products from the states or elsewhere, and therefore there may not be warranty service or replacement parts from the manufacturer.

    I asked my PriceSmart contact whether PriceSmart also buys those kinds of products.  The First 2 posts are my correspondence with her and her responses.

    There are so many people on this site who are PriceSmart members, and when I get any information that I think might enlighten others as I've been "enlightened" , I just share it.

    But thank you for posting the acodeco site.  I'm sure it'll be useful for others as well.

  6. I asked my PriceSmart contact about why they made the change to Hellmann's mayo from Kraft.  My personal favorite is Hellmann's so I was delighted.  her answer is below.  So "vote" for you favorite by purchasing the one you like.

    "Since we carry a limited selection of items, we have to be very judicious about the items we carry.  Of course we look to partner with manufacturers that support the quality and value philosophy at PSMT, and then the other side of that is seeing what our members want & need…and that is what we learn directly from the sales volume of the item.  We’ve carried Kraft for years but the Hellmann’s group made a strong case to be featured at PSMT…with the right combination of quality and value.  So we decided to launch Hellmann’s.  For now we are keeping both Kraft and Hellmann’s so that we can get a sense of which one members prefer, before we make any decisions on carrying one or the other."

  7. This is the answer I got from PriceSmart regarding their warranties; I hope this is helpful and reassuring:

     

    Warranties.  I got a response from my counterpart, the VP of Buying in Non-Foods.  Here is what she shared about warranties for appliances:

     

    We give full refund within 30 days if the member has the receipt, packaging and the product. After 30 days we cover whatever is stated in the instructions or on the box. For example, if the instructions say 1 year parts and labor, we will honor that statement and fix it without charging the member within that time period. If the member brings it in after the stated warranty, we can fix it but we will have to charge the member for the parts and labor.

  8. PriceSmart has switched mayos from Kraft to Hellmann's.  For West Coasters, Hellmann's is Best Foods.  Same mayo, same company, just different names on the East Coast and the West Coast.  It's a larger container and a lower price.

    Of course, they still have the gallon jars of Member's Selection

  9. For the sake of brevity, I've copied here a correspondence between myself and my PriceSmart contact, the VP of Specialty Foods.  This story isn't about Speciality foods but she often helps me with other questions.

    Question:  when PriceSmart carries an item for instance Hisense A/C units, does PriceSmart make sure that there is convenient warranty service available to customers who buy their products from PriceSmart?

    I know there is a money back guarantee, but after an A/C unit is already installed, having warrantee service is important.

    This is an unrelated issue but informs the question:  A couple years ago, I gifted a Farberware food processor to a friend.  Why did I buy that particular processor?  because it was direct drive, that is the workbowl is directly over the motor.  It’s more efficient, is stronger, and won’t lug.

    Early on, after a short time of use, but after the warranty expiration, a part broke on the work bowl .  she asked my husband to investigate it and he discovered a defect in manufacturing.  BUT the warranty was expired.

    She gave me all the information so I could call Farberware.  Come to find out that model was manufactured in 2011, and discontinued more than 5 years ago.  That means the department store in Terronal Plaza,David from which I bought the processor was selling it 2 years after it had been discontinued.  

    This leads me to conclude that probably these retailers in panama buy up merchandise like Big Lots does, and they have no concern about customer service.  They buy cheap, sell high, and the customer gets stuck with obsolete goods, with no replacement parts available.

    So this same friend is considering buying an A/C unit, and was price shopping.  But when I told her what I figured out about her processor, she’s hesitant about buying the A/C unit from just anywhere.
    The other question is whether the small appliances PriceSmart markets, are also obsolete models?

    PriceSmart:  I can say with confidence that our strategy does not include purchasing discontinued/obsolete merchandise.  We work with manufacturers on the latest available and most reliable models.  Price and value is important at PriceSmart, but not by sacrificing quality.  Please let me check with the team about warranties.  I know we have a Corporate team that is dedicated to helping members with service issues, etc, so I feel confident that we will have the support behind the purchases of these items.  I just don't know the exact details behind it because I've always been in the Food area.  
     

    I will forward further information when she sends it.

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  10. "Uncommon Knowledge" is a Hoover Institution program is interview format in which authorities on various topics discuss the issues of the day.  This interview with Stanford Professor of Medicine and Research Associate, Jay Bhattacharya is quite informative.  Just when I thought I'd OD'd on covid-19 info, I discovered this somewhat contrary information.  For me, it was refreshing to hear.

     

  11. Last night I received a note from Melissa, Senior Vice President at PriceSmart.  I asked her about whether PriceSmart only accepts their own credit card since now they're on a no cash basis.  I'm sharing portions of her responses because of the frustrations members have expressed over the availability of favorite items.  Shoppers aren't the only frustrated and/or challenged ones!

    Quote

    "PriceSmart accepts different credit cards, not exclusively PriceSmart cards.  I hope you have a good experience at the club when you visit us.  The retail world is spinning right now with how the virus has totally changed people's shopping habits, in such a drastic way.  We have been working tirelessly to sort this out.  And trying to do it in the 13 different countries where we operate makes it especially challenging.  The governments are all responding in different ways.  These are the biggest challenges I have ever faced in my 15 years at PriceSmart : )"

    I have not asked Melissa's permission to share this, but since it opens a bit of a window to the operations to one of our most frequented stores, and one for which we maintain high expectations, I took the liberty.
     

  12. PriceSmart has to deal with many bureaucratic procedures to import food stuffs and other products into Panama.

    I used to live and work in Saudi Arabia, and it was a similar issue.  When something as simple as Peanut butter or tuna got stocked in the stores, the word would go out that those items were in, people would stock up on those items immediately, and then anyone who didn't get the items would wait sometimes for another 9 months until the next shipment came in and went thru the same importation bureaucratic process.

    That's how it is when living abroad.

    These are the threads from recent emails from PriceSmart regarding the lasagna.

    March 5:   the Buyer is working on a replacement from Nestle Stouffers...but we're currently unable to provide a timeline.
     

    March 6:  I received, today, from Nestle.

    - Lasagna – we have expedited this product, I have BuyDoc, Photos, and partially completed Technical Data Sheet – we are waiting for Certificate of Origin to proceed issuing the FTA, this takes the most time internally

    Not sure which market SassyBlake is in but if it is Central America it will be a while before we get registrations. At least 6 months from the time we get all documents.

    March 15:  About the lasagna - only 1 SKU is in the works due to limited space.

    note from SassyBlake:  I'm assuming that the one SKU means the lasagna will be either meat of vegetarian, but not both varieties; at this time.  They want to meet the requests, so if there is a demand and the item is a good seller, they'll do what they can to keep us stocked. 

  13. The Banco Nacional ATM shows that there is a $4 fee for cash disbursements.  But when you confirm that you agree to this, the receipt shows it deducts $5.25.  My husband discovered this at the Boquete Banco Nacional ATM.  Today, I saw this again at a Banco Nacional branch in David.

    When I addressed this with the Customer Service person at the Boquete branch she rather defiantly said, "check your statement.  If in fact, there is a $5.25 deduction, your bank must dispute it, and our bank will settle it with your bank."

    I checked my statement and sure enough, there are all $5.25 fees from the Banco Nacional ATM.

    I called Schwab, who issued our ATM card.  They actually reimburse the ATM fees back into our account; so it's them whose being cheated.  It doesn't matter to me who is paying the bill, it appears to be cheating on the part of Banco Nacional.

    Maybe someone can enlighten me, but it seems that when we agree to the $4 fee, that is a contract between the client and the ATM owner.

    Schwab had no idea that this was going on and they were alarmed that it was happening.  Unfortunately, at least at the level of management that I was dealing with, they said it was not in their authority to pursue the bank.

    But if anyone reading this has to have the ATM fee taken from their personal account, please check your statements and be aware that it appears that Banco Nacional is cheating.  When I told the Customer Service person that this appears to be fraud since we agree to the $4 fee, and then they assess a $5.25 fee.  The Banco Nacional representative didn't seem the least bit interested, apologetic, or interested in trying to explain it--as if there is a legitimate explanation.

    IMG_1146.jpg

  14. In the past, there were some requests for real vanilla extract at PriceSmart.  At the time of the inquiries, real vanilla extract was $30+ a bottle.  It's still a bit pricey,  $25 + change, but at least it's here now.  I don't know anything about whether it'll be a regular item or for how long it'll be on the shelves.  But if you need real vanilla extract, it's at PriceSmart now.

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