HUSBAND. FATHER. DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST.
ENTREPRENEUR. MEDIOCRE GOLFER.
I’m John Jonas. I live in Utah and I founded OnlineJobs.ph. My life is better because of my Filipino OFS (Online Filipino Specialist). My team.
I had a normal “job” for 8 months after college and my biggest goal at that time was to be able to quit that job. I managed to quit back in 2004 and worked from home for myself ever since then.
When I first hired someone from the Philippines in January of 2006, I knew I was onto something special. Since then I’ve learned that for most people, life is definitely better with Filipino workers on your team.
Yes, because of my Filipino workers I get to play a lot of golf, spend a lot of time with my wife and kids, and get out backpacking in the middle of the week. I work for about 17 hours a week because of the amazing work they do. However it’s not just better for us; it’s better for them too.
Learn why & how to hire
talented OFS from the Philippines
Start finding
an OFS using Onlinejobs.ph
Join the 7 Day
One VA Away Challenge
P.S.
I DON’T DO SOCIAL MEDIA…
MY OFS DO IT FOR ME.
Electronics is expensive in the Philippines
Did you know that buying electronics and computers in the Philippines can be more expensive than buying them here in the US?
Just how expensive is it?
Let me give you an example.
One of my OFS, Jam, is considering getting the MacBook Neo for his daughter. In the US, it’s priced at $599 for the base model and $699 for the upgraded model.
When he went to the Apple Store website, the price was Php39,990 and Php46,990. That’s $679 and US$799 respectively, when converted to US Dollars.
The price difference doesn’t make sense. These devices are made in China and shipped directly to the Philippines. If these were shipped from the US, these products would be more expensive, but not by much.
Some markup is expected, but it doesn’t make sense for laptops and cellphones to be that much more expensive, right?
What could be the possible explanation for this?
Electronic devices like laptops and phones are heavily taxed in the Philippines. There’s VAT, shipping costs, and import taxes. They put a lot of import taxes on, which partially explains the high markup.
Despite being more expensive to buy in the Philippines, I still don’t recommend buying locally and shipping it to them.
Even if you ship it, you’ll still go through the same import tax issues.
Plus, customs in the Philippines are notoriously corrupt. They’ll likely ask for bribes in addition to taxes just to get their items shipped.
There’s also theft by “last mile” couriers, the 3rd party couriers contracted by the bigger couriers to handle customer deliveries. Last mile theft is on the rise…I don’t know why.
Lastly, there’s always the issue of devices and computers getting damaged or lost during shipping or customs. “Lost” (stolen) is a real issue.
Because of all this, Jam would rather buy a laptop from an Authorized Apple seller than buy it online. It will be more expensive due to the additional markups (Apply doesn’t have official stores in the Philippines), but at least he’s guaranteed to bring the laptop home when he buys it from them.
That’s why, despite the cost, most Filipinos see buying electronics from a store as the better option.
They don’t have to worry about the device getting lost or damaged when shipping. If anything happens to the device after they purchase it, it can be covered by warranty, repaired, or replaced at the local shop.
After going down all these routes, we decided years ago that if we’re going to pay for a computer, we’ll let them decide on what computer to buy and let them buy it locally. We then reimburse them for it.
John
Like what you read here?
Subscribe to my newsletter!
I won’t spam you!
My Newsletters
Like what you read here?
Subscribe to my newsletter!
I won’t spam you!