Beware of merchant named Argan at the Puerto Costa Maya port

[JamesPhil]

All of the merchants at this port are VERY aggressive. But Argan takes the cake. My wife overpaid 3x for a skin care product over and above what you can find it for on Amazon.  When she got home, the product was old and dried out. Worthless.  No recourse.  This port in general has nothing going for it. Very discouraging.  

[Xaa]

Buying skin care products from a stranger in a foreign country on the street.  What could go wrong?

[ChessE4]

Just say no....and keep on walking while you hold your bags close! We found Turkey worse than Costa Maya, but dealing with aggressive vendors is a skill.

[wordell1]

For the record, my wife and I have shopped many times in the secured port in Costa Maya - It's actually one of the nicer ports.  I'm not sure if OP is referring to this area, or the downtown area of Mahahual.  The secured area is one of the largest of any port and has lots of shopping.  The vendors in my experience are active (standing in the door asking you to come into thier shop), but not aggressive.  In town can be more aggressive and there are vendors on the beach itself.  In either case, a simple "no thank you" is enough.

While there are deals to be had in some ports, generally you are probably not getting a deal on most items.  If you want to buy something, use google to check prices - it doesn't take a minute.

[Abel Perez]

My wife and I traveled on Harmony of the Seas from March 23 to 30, 2025. Excellent trip until we visited Costa Maya Mexico on Thursday, March 27, 2025. While we were walking through the port shops, a very friendly young woman named Lee from the Argan cosmetics store approached her and offered her several products. We made the mistake of trusting her. My wife really likes creams and cosmetics. I wanted to please her and bought the products for a total of $928.00. I paid with the Affirm card. When we returned from the trip, while I was checking the accounts, I noticed that they charged the card $3,200.00 plus $473.94 for a total of $3,673.94. I called Affirm and complained and thank God they deducted the fraudulent charge. If you visit Costa Maya, Mexico, don't trust the cosmetics stores. They are very friendly and aggressive. Beware of the Argan store and the girl named Lee and the manager Giovani, they are scammers.

[smokeybandit]

2 hours ago, Abel Perez said:

I paid with the Affirm card.

"Right now, the Affirm Card can only be used in the United States of America, excluding US territories."

[Ryan79]

@smokeybandit Who knew an Affirm card can be used in a country where an Affirm card cannot be used?? Another hit and run post!  

[twangster]

$928 in skin care products in a foreign country while on a cruise?

Care for a partial ownership of the Brooklyn Bridge?  I know a guy.

[rjac]

7 hours ago, twangster said:

Care for a partial ownership of the Brooklyn Bridge?  I know a guy.

Hey, I know the same guy!