Hi, everyone--
I have often browsed various import sites, looking for little "treats" from Spain--everything from hot chocolate to saffron to lovely capes to shawls to tiles. I never buy, though, because I know that the prices are pretty inflated. So...I was wondering whether anyone has found any great online or catalog deals on Spanish products here in the US, either from well-known importers or from lesser-known places? It would be great to know, for example, whether I can find even silly things like ColaCao cheaper than it's sold at the main importers' sites!

MM, is this question too "commercial"? I don't want to solicit ads, but it would be great to be able to know who has good deals on what.

Tara

[ 02-05-2002: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

No. I don't think it's too commercial at all. Well, it IS commercial, but since no one here will benefit from such discussion I don't see a problem with it.

I'd also like to reference the " shopping on-line for Spanish goods? " thread in this forum started by rgf from October 2000, but your topic is about finding GOOD deals so they are a bit different.

I agree that almost ALL prices found in stores/online ARE going to be much higher than those you'd find for the same items IN Spain, but you know, you pay for the importation of these products, plus tax, plus a kind of "convenience" fee.

I'll throw in MY deals right now. At Tienda.com and also at, I think, LaEspanolaMeats.com, I found the standard cans of anchovy-stuffed green olives from Spain for about $2.99/can. This is about $.50 more than for what I find them here at the latino store in Columbus, Ohio, USA. PLUS, you have to pay shipping on those online-items which might come to about $.50/can or thereabouts. If you buy them 6 at a time, for example, the shipping is less. But if you cannot find them where you are in the USA this is a good option.

The latino store here in Columbus is frequently OUT of these wonderful Goya brand anchovy stuffed green olives in Spain so when they DO have them I practically "buy them out". Last Saturday I bought 15 cans... and left two just to be nice. hehehe.. But at $2.49/can that REALLY adds up! Anyway, for months this store didn't carry it or never got a new shipment so I went to one of the two online stores I listed above and got them for $2.99/can and they were equally good, but of course, more expensive. I guess it's all supply and demand, right?

Saludos, MadridMan

MadridMan,

Good points on shipping costs and availability. Also, about pricing.

Maybe it's time for MadridMan to open up his own little "on-line" super market, or buyers club, where people join together using their numbers to create a better buying environment. Maybe importing the products as a group, then disseminating them with a small profit for the person who runs the "store."

It's possible we could actually save a substantial amount of money, be able to get a larger variety of products, and create a draw for other people to join us here at the MadridMan site.

Like they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Wolf (Who would certainly become a customer/group member.)

Sounds like a GREAT idea to me! Imagine if we had 100 partners, all "putting up" a small percentage of the start-up and maintenance costs. This way we'd all have less to lose and more to gain! And surely we could pad the price-per-item LESS than the competition to cover the import fees, shipping, etcetera.

Actually, I prepared myself for the possibility of doing SUCH a thing a couple years ago with buying/registering a VERY appropriate Spain-related domain name, but I won't share that now.

I agree 100%. But can we get 100+ people to put up the "VENTURE" Capital to get the thing started?!?!

$aludos, MadridMan

[ 02-05-2002: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

I'm still stuck on the idea of arranging a little informal trade ourselves, too...I think I started a thread about this a long time ago, but why not do something like the following:

I really LOVE the 300-gram blocks of "Chocolate a la taza" made by Valor. They go for $5 a block online here in the US, and I know they are WAY cheaper than that in Spain. So...if someone in Spain wants, say, $10 worth of Listerine Strips, and would mail me $10 worth of chocolate bars (taking into account shipping costs, of course), then isn't everyone happy?

MM, you could trade cans of olives for something easily purchased here in the US, and probably save quite a bit on the cost of them. Aren't there enough expats in Spain who can't bear to live without their Right Guard or Crest?

Just a thought...with so many well-traveled members, it's likely we have all fallen in love with something we can't easily buy at home.

taravb, I LOVE your idea of the informal trading amongst ourselves.... however, it may be difficult to be worthwhile or even prohibitive for Spaniards IN Spain to send things abroad. Not only are post offices not as accessible as they are here in the USA, but shipping/postal rates are VERY VERY high (as I understand it). A better option might be to "mule" (bad word, I know) desireable items back to the US from our trips and then ship them via USPS to others here as I did with the Osborne Sherry black bull stickers this last time. I've even asked some travelers to buy 10 Madrid keychains in exchange for my Madrid/Sevilla Video and it seemed to work out well for everyone.

Anyone want Goya brand anchovy stuffed green olives from Spain or Inca Kola (popular, yellow soft drink from Perú) ??

[ 02-05-2002: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

MM, I think that's a great idea, if travelers to Spain are willing to take the trouble to purchase and transport things. I was trying to balance the time and effort out for the parties involved, but if, as you say, it's very difficult to ship things from Spain, perhaps "no vale la pena."

Just as a frame of reference, you can do a little virtual shopping at the supermarket at http://www.elcorteingles.es ... you just have to enter the online "supermercado" and type in a postal code (28027 is where my friend lives in Madrid). Obviously, you can't buy from there, but you can see what things cost--the chocolate a la taza that I mentioned above ($5, plus shipping costs, in the US) is 1.47 euros there.

And MM, you already know that olives like you describe cost under 1 euro a can in Spain!

Happy browsing!

[ 02-05-2002: Message edited by: taravb ]

Tara,

After looking up the UPS rates, it wouldn't seem practical to do small exchanges. A box, shipped UPS from Madrid, weighing 15 lbs., with a size of 12 inch x 12 in x 12 in, valued at 100 Euros would cost $169.10 to ship. This would be the approximate size of 18 small cans of olives. That means that each can would have a shipping cost of about $9.30. As you can see, it's just too costly.

The objective of a buying club is to arrange through an exporter/importer to buy products in quantities that are shipped into the US by sea. These shipping costs are only pennies compared to the UPS charges. By ordering the products we want, in advance of their ordering them, we get a better price, because we benefit in advance from their freight discounts for specified quantities. Of course this means waiting for up to three months or more for those products, so you have to be patient. In some cases, we'd be able to get the product that the importer already has in stock.

Of course that means ordering cases of products, not one or two cans at a time. As an example, we'd probably have to take as many as three to six cases of several items to make it cost effective.

This means we'd need numbers to make it work. A buying club of 50 or more members can do that, but less won't cut it. The reason is quantity. We would be able to buy for a specified price, sell to our membership at a fair price, and offer products to others who aren't members, for a higher price.

Of course, as time goes on, if these non-members want to join the club, they can, for a membership fee. That figure would be determined by the original investment of the charter members, and an agreement amongst them as to what is a fair fee. It should never be less than what it cost to become a charter member, that's for sure.

All of this would be worked out by potential members, and based on the initial investment it takes to get this started.

To be honest, it could end up a very large club. It's possible that prices could easily be less than 20% higher than they would, if you went into a store in Spain, and bought the products. Especially since the majority of the things we all are interested in don't fall into the high import tax categories.

I think it's worth a shot.

Wolf (Whose mouth is already watering for paella spices, olives, turron, and a host of other delicacies that are too damned high priced in most areas.)

Wolf, with prices like that, the UPS guy had better show up at my door, naked, with a dozen roses and a flamenco band to serenade me as I open my box of olives (actually, though you all might disown me, I don't like olives!)!

I'm intrigued by the idea of a buying club--but have never heard about such a thing before this. It sounds like a lot of administration...is it?

Maybe the thing to do is to open a thread advertising when we are going to Spain, where, and how much we're willing to bring back. Last time I was there, I brought back some beer, olive oil, chocolate, and other things for a friend and they were pretty heavy! But I should have planned more carefully for myself by picking up lots of hot chocolate and saffron.

For those who have branches of the Whole Foods grocery chain nearby, you can find some good Spanish cheeses and membrillo for pretty reasonable prices there. I wonder about anchovy-olives...maybe they have them.

Anyway, I think the upshot of all this is that it's pretty expensive to get Spanish goods into the US, and it's not quite the highway robbery I thought it was to charge $5 for my chocolate a la taza. But it would still be nice to know who has the best deals on what.

Hmmmm! The rusty gears in my head are spinning like crazy!!! (<-gears spinning) Let's see.. we'd need combination office/storage space in one of those industrial parks and there we'd package and ship the items available. Hmmm....

So we'd "simply" pay an importer to ship the stuff and then we'd go get it "at the docks" (??) and drive it back to the "office"? "El Jefe" would pay the importer the fee (expense) and make new orders to that importer and then count the orders (income). Hmmm...

taravb, YOU DON'T LIKE OLIVES!??!?

The Future Spanish Green Olive Baron, MadridMan

Hi there,

Here are my two cents(of euro¿?);

MMan, from my experience, (meaning I worked for UPS for more than four years), it's not so much that post offices here aren't as accesible; we have no problems sending whatever goods to, say Italy or Denmark (as long as for instance if we're sending a pastry we are willing to take the risk that only crumbs will turn out). And the cost is surely more expensive than in the US, but obviously, a lot less expensive than using UPS, Fedex, etc....to send something other than a document from Spain to the States.
A key thing is that, like it or not, any shipment going outside the EU is an export after all, and considered an import in the eyes of the US Gov. And the US customs is very "demanding and picky", with the FDA and other health authorities making it practically impossible for a private person to send perishable goods, pork products(ham or chorizo), fragile items(wine bottles), and forget about things like chocolates which can melt, sparkling wines like 'cava', that can explote, they also have a big problem with vitamins since they're considered medicinal, etc,....
You can ship most of the above mentioned through the post, but it's forbidden to do so through UPS(and the like), since it's really risky and problematic. (Besides customs, imagine if someone sent some chorizos not vacuum-packed and their grease not only affected the box containing them, but others that travelled under it, or beside it, it'd be a disaster!). Only during the X-mas season these norms relax a little.

But if somebody is up to starting a trading company, I'd like to be part of that. I can't way to be an 'empresaria'!

For those who love white asparagus and can't wait until Wolf has solved the problems of a buying club which sounds great but very problematic - Trader Joe's carries glass jars of quality white aspargus - it's about $2.80 or so. Also, depending on Trader Joe locations - they have some decent Manchego -

[ 02-07-2002: Message edited by: Puna ]

Hello everyone who is making me hungry at 11:30 AM!

It just so happens one of my friends here runs the US branch of his family's US-Spain shipping company. He's a customs broker and handles this kind of business all the time. I think they ship most of their clients' goods on container ships. Anyway, I can pick his brain about this and report back. It seems like a really interesting venture, but not so easy to get off the ground without start-up cash and the appropriate staff. I agree with MM -- could be done by way of ecommerce at a virtual "store."

Churrito (who wishes fresh cafe con leche and churros could be imported!)

PS Of course the "Baron of Green Olives" could become a pirate and smuggle goods by way of the high seas!!! Argh, matie!!!

Madridman unrust those gears!
I've got it!
Why not focus on La liga. I know that thousands and thousands of children just in California who would love to purchase joma's and kelme's but there is ONLY one main general soccer distributor in the US. I have tried to find Spanish soccer sale sites and there supply is VERY limited (team uniforms and such) As soccer is one of the fastest growing sports in the states, you really can't go wrong. Low supply, big demand, and very little competition. This is something I would sincerely invest my money and heart in!
Wolf, what do you think?
And of course we could include some food and wine in those Spanish shipments

[ 02-07-2002: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

Toddy,

I'm not certain the soccer stuff would sell. If you look into the dollar volumes of sales related the the U.S. pro soccer teams, it's dismal. Licensing agreements have dropped to just about nothing because of it.

Since they aren't even selling their product in their own home towns (like the Chicago Fire), it's hard to believe people would bite on bigger ticket items that carry a higher price, from Spain.

The things that I see as being most cost effective are things that weigh very little, and can be consolidated into smaller shipping containers. As an example, spices, not in a branded can, but in bags, ready to be placed in proportioned containers here. If people can get along without the "Spanish label" can, they could get spices shipped in plastic pouches, and put it in their own can, or in their shakers as they see fit.

Weight and size. If the shipment has a lot of light items, you can add heavier items because the light items become very cost effective.

Anyway, that's how I see it.

Wolf

Wolf:

Never underestimate the power of the "peso"...there are thousands of latino kids playing soccer, watching Telemundo, and noticing the Kelme-type shoes, and wanting them. They don't grow up to play for the Chicago Fire, but they do play...and play a lot. I worked for a manufacturing firm here that fielded THREE teams in local leagues...they played with something laced on their pies.

Tara: I hate olives too...estoy contigo.

There's a local soccer shop here in Upland, CA that has all that euro stuff. They do a brisk business.

And MM: You can go ahead and put up the venture capital, I'll take the stock options...

Cali,

I know there are some shops that make a go of selling soccer stuff, but by and large, the majority of the U.S. doesn't see it as a major product. I always remember an old thing that they would say for the traveling burlesque shows. "If it doesn't play well in Peoria, it won't play well anywhere."

California is probably the one area that I would consider it a potentially good market. But in most areas of the US there isn't the total Latino population, or the intense interest in soccer. It's considered a secondary sport. In fact nobody watches high school games in our area other than parents, yet each high school football game is jammed with people.

Unless the game is big in your area, it really doesn't draw much interest, and therefore, very few sales of jerseys, etc.

Anyway, that's what I see from out here in the Midwest -- tucked away from civilization --

Wolf

Remember, that Spanish olives are alreay imported in mass. I can even buy them at my local $.99 store. There is not ONE online Joma store and the Kelme is very weak. All major US cities have a rapidly growing latino pop/market that is buying and will continue to buy Spanish goods. Look outside your window towards your local park every Saturday and Sunday morning. You probably will see many many kids playing soccer. Importing/promoting Spanish soccer products is an easy sell. I'm sure if you wrote Joma right now and let them know of your interest in distributing their products or creating a website, they would be quite happy. As far as the website goes, I have no technical background. However, I could promote through sponsored tournaments and special events.

About that soccer interest conversation...

I used to interpret for the Hispanic Soccer League of Philadelphia. I didn´t interpret for the latinos that played in the 25-some team league, but rather, interpreted the weekly Spanish language meetings for the Jamaicans, Greeks and Poles who all had teams playing in the Hispanic League (go figure).

The Hispanic Soccer League of Philadelphia was very interesting..during the spring and summer months it took over one of the overgrown fields in N. Philadelphia and during the winter months ran an indoor soccer league that played in a gym at 10th and Bainbridge.

Soccer is a huge sport in the USA. While its popularity may not be measured by the professional teams, just take a look at all the neighborhood teams and school leagues that have sprung up over the past 5 or so years....

Chica, I totally agree with you, based very much on the fact that AYSO (American Youth Soccer League)has been extemely popular and has sustained a huge growth rate for the last almost 20 years. Boys and girls - starting at about age 5 - participate for years. The kids that were in the early days of AYSO are now parents for the young soccer players. The nicest part about AYSO was that all the kids signed up played - not just the most athletically gifted few.

And the US soccer team win in the summer Olympics certainly helped spike the game

If only soccer could get some national media attention in this country . . .

The US Men just took a team of MLS players (missing key European-based players) to the Gold Cup and won the tournament. Of course only the final game was on cable TV and that was on Univision in Spanish (no problem for me).

Coach Bruce Arena has tough decisions to make on a very deep roster for this summer's World Cup. The US plays Italy in a friendly tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 ET on ESPN. Getting back to Spain, I will be in Spain for the start of the World Cup (in Korea/Japan). The level of intense interest everywhere will be interesting to see.

And the level of interest on Spanish soccer products in the US is probably pretty high.

Ok folks...back to the good deals on Spanish products topic before ref MM blows the whistle and flips us la tarjeta roja! :p

I saw on Tienda the other day that they now have a wholesale division. I think you have to be a merchant with a number to purchase wholesale but who knows?

Jaime, you beat me to it!! I just noticed today that Tienda.com has the wholesale section...SO which one of us is going to get a Federal #?!? (Sorry MM, I know they're your sponsor, but this could be the loophole we've been waiting for!!)

GG

I know the topic is Spanish foods but since I'll soon be visiting my son who is studying in Madrid this year, I'd like to surprise him with some of his favorite foods. Which American foods are hard to find in Spain? He mentioned that he was craving a root beer float but that they don't sell root beer in Spain. What else might they not sell? Some of his favorites are Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing, Sour Patch Kids (candy), herb (rosemary) sour dough bread, peanut butter, spinach dip, catsup, and Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies :p
I'd appreciate any suggestions you might have.
Thanks!

Mama chula, good question! You might want to start a new topic in this forum to gain more information from, say, those living in Spain who miss certain products from their home countries (for example, MARMITE from the UK or Lucky Charms cereal from the USA). I try to encourage that threads stay on-topic and not digress too far from their subject lines. Thanks!

GranadaGirl, I hadn't noticed Tienda.com's wholesaler section. SURELY SOMEONE has a friend or a friend of a friend with such access. No? Let's get this ball rolling!

Saludos, MadridMan

[ 02-20-2002: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

My mom has a wholesale number but it's for the music industry. She said they are very easy to get. I wonder what the wholesale prices are like at Tienda?

Well guess what! I know (via email) one of the guys at Tienda.com. I'll drop him a line and ask! How's that?!

Saludos, MadridMan

Let's get this show on the road!! (I can just taste the jamon serrano and Fanta Limon now!!)

Mama Chula: I'd definitely bring peanutbutter with you if your son likes/misses it. If there's any particular Easter candy he likes (jelly beans, Cadbury cream eggs, Easter bunnies) I'd bring that too, since you won't find that there. When I was there, the real stuff we missed was just our moms' home-cooked meals and maybe 'real' peanutbutter now and then!!

GG

[ 02-22-2002: Message edited by: GranadaGirl ]

I second the peanut butter. I hadn't eaten peanut butter in years (had to watch my girlish figure...it's a little more "womanly" these days), but when my Mom sent a jar to me in Spain, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I took the jar to class, and between me and my classmates, we emptied the entire jar, amid grunts of pleasure and Homer Simpson drooling sounds.

And a rousing third on the peanut butter! It's one of the few things you can't even begin to re-create abroad. A couple of jars will be really appreciated

Hi all you peanut butter lovers. I am coming over to Madrid in March. Who wants to meet me to have some PBJ's? I am willing to bring some over if anyone really wants some. Send me an e-mail
Mark