Rigol, Siglent, Hakko, cannot be exported from the US to LatAm

[josfemova]

A little bit of context. In LatAm the usual way to get anything tech related is that unless it's a mass market product, you have to get it from the US and forward it from Miami because dealers just don't come here and if there's a local dealer they only have the shittiest version of anything in stock and at 300% the price. Mexico and Brazil are exceptions sometimes, but for central america we are usually limited to what we can forward from the US.
I bought a Hakko FX-951 last year from tequipment. 0 issues, no complications. I wanted to get a little bit more into repair and having the capability to do micro soldering so I decided to search for the compatible micro soldering pencil + tips, went to tequipment again aaaaand



Oh no

I was also going to buy more equipment as I'm building my personal lab bench but then...



 

Changes in export regulations have been a PITA in the past years - last time I got denied an Xiao ESP32-S3 Sense and a ESP32-H2 devkit at digikey with a similar BS export control restriction (circumvent them by buying at seeed studio bazar so kind of pointless).

Can I still get some of these stuff from other international dealers? Maybe, but the DHL/Fedex charges get somewhat ridiculous. To get the $300 awg you end up paying the $300 in export cost. I also prefer when I can buy my stuff from a reputable dealer like tequipment instead of having to rely on other sources. Best bet to get this stuff at a comfortable price is buying from some shady ebay/amazon seller and praying they don't squint.

Also something that bothers me is that, Siglent and Rigol are Chinese isn't it kind of pointless to export control something that's already produced in a country allied with the countries you are trying to screw over? My country is not even sanctioned ffs, and we are supposed to be a submissive backyard partner.

At least B&K is not an issue, currently asking for other brands to see what my options are.

[bdunham7]

It doesn't appear to be an export regulation issue to me (although there may still be one) but rather a territory limitation imposed by the manufacturer on the distributor as a condition for being an authorized reseller.

[ebastler]

Right, I would very much assume that Rigol and Siglent have appointed other authorized distributors for your country or region, and have given them (co-) exclusive distribution rights. So other dealers who are on a contract with Rigol/Siglent, but for other regions only, are contractually obliged not to ship to your country.

[DaneLaw]

I dont know the import restrictions in Costa Rica, but usually, you can at least bypass regional restrictions from vendors with the use of parcel-forwarding companies.
That will give you a physical address' that you then use when ordering, and then the forward company will forward it to your country.
https://bluewaterpropertiesofcostarica.com/blog/how-to-send-a-package-to-costa-rica-4-options/

Quite common in Europe from certain vendors inside EU or outside EU..fx eBay sellers that only ship to local addresses in their country, or even LIDL in Germany or LIDL Belgium  (*Parkside power tools) where only a fraction comes out in the local LIDL stores across Europe and often with quite a mockup.

[josfemova]

Right, I would very much assume that Rigol and Siglent have appointed other authorized distributors for your country or region, and have given them (co-) exclusive distribution rights. So other dealers who are on a contract with Rigol/Siglent, but for other regions only, are contractually obliged not to ship to your country.

Market volume is almost none. There's a single DS1052E rigol oscilloscope on a hardware store that does not seem to have any deal with rigol, and the scope has been there for like 2 years because the additional cost is like 50% of the original price

I dont know the import restrictions in Costa Rica, but usually, you can at least bypass regional restrictions from vendors with the use of parcel-forwarding companies.

I'm already using one of these, but many sites have registered these places specifically to either comply with export restrictions or what they see as fraud prevention (e.g. I cannot forward  anything from the adafruit store, but I can buy and import directly using Fedex/DHL)

[nctnico]

Yes. Using a forwarder is the way to get around sales regions limitation.

[ebastler]

Market volume is almost none.

Even more reason to grant dealers exclusivity for a region. If you expect them to spend money on inventory and on technical training for their staff, you need to give them some reassurance that they will get enough revenue.

I would not expect exclusive dealers to be appointed specifically for Costa Rica or similar small markets. But there are authorized Siglent distributors in Colombia and Brazil, for example -- maybe one of them is in charge of Costa Rica sales?

[rvalente]

Get it on aliexpress or use a friend/relative to ship to with a courier like fedex/ups. If costa rica is a tax madness like brazil, be ready to pay high import taxes.

[tautech]

Also something that bothers me is that, Siglent and Rigol are Chinese isn't it kind of pointless to export control something that's already produced in a country allied with the countries you are trying to screw over?

We are bound by territorial agreements.

You may find a local dealer for Siglent in the list here:
https://int.siglent.com/map/

[josfemova]

I would not expect exclusive dealers to be appointed specifically for Costa Rica or similar small markets. But there are authorized Siglent distributors in Colombia and Brazil, for example -- maybe one of them is in charge of Costa Rica sales?

South American dealers seem to either have almost non existent stock, and also they only ship locally so I'm still screwed. Will probably contact siglent/rigol sales to see what options I have to see if it's still possible to get their stuff without breaking the bank

[ebastler]

Will probably contact siglent/rigol sales to see what options I have to see if it's still possible to get their stuff without breaking the bank

I think that's the right step. There must be some dealer somewhere who has the (exclusive) right to sell to Costa Rica, otherwise it wouldn't make sense to bar the North American dealers.

[josfemova]

I think that's the right step. There must be some dealer somewhere who has the (exclusive) right to sell to Costa Rica, otherwise it wouldn't make sense to bar the North American dealers.

You would be surprised of how hard it is to get quality gear here. Only official distributor for decent gear seems to be a GW Instek one and they target the EDU market so prices are not only inflated, they are absurdly inflated (and will probably require a minimum number of benches to be equipped). Everyone ends up getting FNIRSI, Hantek or Hanmatek (and the other clones) if they need test gear. Universities rely on embassy donated gear and that Instek distributor.

[Njk]

That's pure American issues. The US is near, perhaps it'll make sense to make a trip to buy the Chinese equipment there

[tautech]

That's pure American issues.

Rubbish.

We are bound to not export from our authorized area.
Further, some models are only available in certain areas and wobetide any reseller that gets caught exporting these models as they will suffer some harsh penalty.

[bdunham7]

I think that's the right step. There must be some dealer somewhere who has the (exclusive) right to sell to Costa Rica, otherwise it wouldn't make sense to bar the North American dealers.

Companies very well may decide to simply not import their products at all into certain countries through any channel for various reasons, such as regulatory hurdles, liability or consumer protection laws.

[bdunham7]

I think that's the right step. There must be some dealer somewhere who has the (exclusive) right to sell to Costa Rica, otherwise it wouldn't make sense to bar the North American dealers.

Companies very well may decide to simply not import their products at all into certain countries through any channel for various reasons, such as regulatory hurdles, liability or consumer protection laws.  It wouldn't surprise me in the least if Siglent simply decided not to allow any sales at all to Costa Rica.  Also, the distribution contract between Siglent and TEquipment will likely not bar specific nations or areas but rather will specify the territory that they are allowed to sell to, most likely either the USA exclusively or North America.

[josfemova]

Got some more info about other brands, don't know if this applies to all sellers but essentially

Export OK:
- Weller
- Quick
- B&K Precision
- GW Instek
- UNI-T

Either export controlled or NA vendor cannot sell for final destination outside US/NA depending on contract (freight forwarder option not viable either)
- Siglent
- Rigol
- Keysight
- Teledyne LeCroy
- Tektronix

Depending on brand a local distributor is available, for my case the brands that technically have a distributor assigned:
- Keysight has a distributor in El Salvador without online store
- Tektronix and Fluke have a local distributor (Elvatron)
- Teledyne LeCroy lists digikey, mouser and RS as distributors for Costa Rica

[tautech]

Either export controlled or NA vendor cannot sell for final destination outside US/NA depending on contract (freight forwarder option not viable either)
- Siglent

Siglent HQ not NA is responsible for Costa Rica.

Did you look for your local reseller in the Siglent Map link I posted ?
Later today I can check with HQ if you have a Costa Rica seller.

[Njk]

Rubbish.

We are bound to not export from our authorized area.
Further, some models are only available in certain areas and wobetide and reseller that gets caught exporting these models as they will suffer some harsh penalty.

No vendor can ignore the US market, it's too lucrative. If the thing is available in US and not available in Costa Rica, what can prevent a local individual from visiting the US with the purpose to buy it from any dealer there for personal use and to bring it with him on the return flight. After all, the distance is not too long, the product is not an expensive technology masterpiece that can trigger the export regulation and custom fee issues. Where's the rubbish?

[tautech]

That's pure American issues. The US is near, perhaps it'll make sense to make a trip to buy the Chinese equipment there

Rubbish.

We are bound to not export from our authorized area.
Further, some models are only available in certain areas and wobetide any reseller that gets caught exporting these models as they will suffer some harsh penalty.

No vendor can ignore the US market, it's too lucrative. If the thing is available in US and not available in Costa Rica, what can prevent a local individual from visiting the US with the purpose to buy it from any dealer there for personal use and to bring it with him on the return flight. After all, the distance is not too long, the product is not an expensive technology masterpiece that can trigger the export regulation and custom fee issues. Where's the rubbish?

Your original statement added for context.

Unless you are in this game you would not know we are bound by our territorial agreements, pure and simple and nothing at all to do with the US marketplace.

However nothing does prohibit the individual to source product from wherever they like but when they do have local representation those representatives might be less than impressed when you go to them for aftersales support.

[josfemova]

Did you look for your local reseller in the Siglent Map link I posted ?
Later today I can check with HQ if you have a Costa Rica seller.

Already checked, no distributor listed for Costa Rica although there are a bunch for individual countries in South America

Unless you are in this game you would not know we are bound by our territorial agreements, pure and simple and nothing at all to do with the US marketplace.

However nothing does prohibit the individual to source product from wherever they like but when they do have local representation those representatives might be less than impressed when you go to them for aftersales support.

I mean, is the intent to circumvent not enough to deny the product? Here my order is being denied even with a shipping address in the continental US because at the end of the day final destination is still Costa Rica. Wouldn't the same apply if I physically go there to try to buy it? I mean both billing and physical address would remain the same, and the intent to take it back with me to CR wouldn't change, I don't see how that would be different from using a freight forwarder.

I don't care for the aftersales support really, in this region it's a given that it always sucks or is non existent. Any time I buy something and send it to the freight forwarder I'm well aware it's a gamble because warranty and support terms don't mean much once the product lands here

[tautech]

Officially CR is served from Mexico:
Logicbus SA de CV
 (33) 3854 5975
 www.logicbus.com.mx
 support@logicbus.com

Hover a mouse over the map:
https://siglentna.com/how-to-buy/

[josfemova]

Officially CR is served from Mexico:
Logicbus SA de CV
 (33) 3854 5975
 www.logicbus.com.mx
 support@logicbus.com

Sent them an email to see if I'm forced to buy via the Mexico store and ship from Mexico. Some stuff has similar prices to the US store, but for something like a 2104X Plus the prices go up like $347 and probably would be forced to ship via Fedex/DHL which makes the cost even worse. I was already going over the initial budget with the US price  :'(. Will have to reevaluate my options, probably more cost effective to get something from the brands tequipment is allowed to send me.

[KungFuJosh]

Officially CR is served from Mexico:
Logicbus SA de CV
 (33) 3854 5975
 www.logicbus.com.mx
 support@logicbus.com

Sent them an email to see if I'm forced to buy via the Mexico store and ship from Mexico. Some stuff has similar prices to the US store, but for something like a 2104X Plus the prices go up like $347 and probably would be forced to ship via Fedex/DHL which makes the cost even worse. I was already going over the initial budget with the US price  :'(. Will have to reevaluate my options, probably more cost effective to get something from the brands tequipment is allowed to send me.

$1399 is the normal price: https://www.logicbus.com/SDS2104X-Plus_p_23915.html

[tautech]

Do be aware SDS2000X Plus is under promo ATM with an additional very well priced option bundle.
https://siglentna.com/news-article/permanent-analysis-bundle-on-your-new-oscilloscope/