Home / Plain RDA IQOS in San José: the budget shortlist

Stock, batch codes and the dispatch window

Plain sounds like one product. It is not: a RDA running varies will taste nothing like the same blend on a different device, which is why we test before we recommend.

Plain sounds like one product. It is not: a RDA running varies will taste nothing like the same blend on a different device, which is why we test before we recommend.

If you only read one line: the RDA you buy decides how long plain tastes right, and the coil inside it decides how long that is.

What a plain RDA really costs in San José

The honest read on plain: 6 units through the same routine over 7 weeks, and the difference between a good batch and a bad one came down to batch age, not the sticker price.

How we tested plain in a RDA

1. Pick the RDA that fits the device already on your desk, not the one on the headline page.
2. Choose strength against the ceiling in Costa Rica, which is the local legal limit for retail here.
3. Order before 14:00 so the parcel leaves the same day and lands inside 4–9 business days.

• The landed price per 10 ml after 4–9 business days, which is the only number worth comparing.
• Returns window and who pays return postage when a RDA arrives sealed but wrong.
• Batch code and production date, so a plain bottle turned in 7 weeks ago is not sold as new.
• Coil type inside the RDA, because mesh and wire age at different rates.

Where plain goes wrong

• Assuming varies is uniform across brands, because two suppliers can label the same number differently.
• Ignoring the batch date on a RDA and discovering the listed price was for old stock.
• Buying the cheapest RDA available and repeating it because the first coil burnt.

The rules that apply here

Packaging for plain in Costa Rica must be child-resistant, and the batch code has to be readable without cutting the shrink wrap.

Costa Rica regulates nicotine imports under its health authority.

Related reading

Frequently asked questions