Colon Free Zone: Your Shopping Guide
Share
In this post, we'll give you everything you need to know about shopping in the Colon Free Zone .
Before starting this step-by-step guide, we recommend reading our article on why you should shop in the Colon Free Zone to understand all the advantages this commercial zone offers.
1. Introduction to shopping tourism in Panama
If you are looking for shopping tourism in Panama And if it's your first time traveling to the Colon Free Zone , here we present the different options available to you so you can create your own plan .
1. Visit on-site : Tour the sales rooms within the Zone.
2. Digital contact : Contacting sellers directly through their digital channels and finalizing the purchase through this means.
3. Bridgemarkets : Use the Panamanian marketplace to buy online from distributors in the Free Zone.
Quick tip : If you're still undecided, explore our online catalog and get expert advice.
👉 Explore what we have for you at "La Marketa"
2. Which option is best for you?
It depends on you, on the amount of money you have available to travel to a country as a tourist, on what you want to make the purchases for: if it is for personal consumption or if it is for the resale of the items, on the means of payment you have, on how much you know about what you want to buy , where they sell it within the Panamanian free trade zone and for many tourists, it also depends on the internal economic situation of the countries where they are going to introduce this merchandise to make a profit.
3. Analysis of each modality
A. In-person visit:
For many, visiting the Zone is the most complex or expensive option, considering the costs involved in airfare, lodging, food, communications, transportation, and an entry pass to the Zone, as well as the time spent browsing the stores. All this investment of time and money will impact the price you'll need to calculate for each product you buy, to determine its true value and add a profit margin.
· Advantages : you check quality and variety instantly.
· Disadvantages : additional costs (accommodation, transportation, entry pass) and greater investment of time.
B. Contact with distributors
To save yourself the trip to contact sellers, you'll need a very clear idea of what you want and where to buy it within the Free Zone, so you can contact the distributor, have time, and have patience. Keep in mind that not all distributors have digital channels for contacting you. In those cases, it's not always convenient or effective to communicate with them quickly because the Zone is designed for visitors. That's why we value swift communication: we are attentive to our digital channels, and you can write to us with confidence. We're here to help you, even remotely.
Although some retailers in the Free Zone are moving ahead with technological development and have implemented online sales channels, not all have embraced this, and you may find that what you want isn't within reach of a text message. Added to this is the need for a digital payment method, local or international credit or debit cards, and merchants in the Zone charge a percentage interest for card payments.
· Advantages : You save travel if you know exactly what you are looking for and where.
· Disadvantages : Not everyone has digital channels; communication can be slower.
Note : At La Marketa, we value fast communication . Write to us here and we'll help you, even remotely.
C. Bridgemarkets
In the case of purchases through Bridgemarkets, we can say that it's a recent platform that seeks to be an alternative, facilitating online shopping. It's only recently launched and has the advantage of being able to filter by merchant, which is useful if you know who sells what you need, or by product category, allowing you to find everything related to them. It has a shopping cart option, and shipping can be done from this same platform for Central American destinations, except Cuba. In this case, you'll also need a credit or debit card.
· Advantages : online platform with filters by store and category, integrated shopping cart, and shipping to Central America (except Cuba).
· Requirement : credit/debit card and possible digital payment fee.
4. Alternatives “outside” the Free Zone
If you don't want to enter the Free Zone, you can also shop tax-free at:
· Columbus 2000
· Colón 2000 Duty Free
· Snowfall
All affiliated with Puerto Libre , with items marked “Puerto Libre” without additional tax costs.
Conclusion
The answer to this question will depend on what you're looking for, why, the date you'll visit the Free Zone, whether you like leaving home or not, the amount of money you have, your familiarity with the area, and many other factors that define your personal context. Your situation isn't the same as others', so you should adapt your circumstances to the options available to everyone and find the one that best suits you.
