After a snitch's complaint, dollar prices for cars and apartments disappeared from popular Belarusian websites
In April, several popular Belarusian classifieds websites completely removed prices in dollars. Now we have to get used to a car costing 75 thousand rubles, and an apartment, for example, 300 thousand. Here's what happened.
Illustrative photo. Photo: Nasha Niva
Indeed, since April 23, dollar prices have disappeared from av.by, the most popular car sales platform in Belarus. The website administration explained this as a recommendation received from the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade.
Two days later, similar changes were introduced on abw.by, also citing recommendations from MART.
Screenshot: av.by
The audience, judging by comments on social networks and abw.by, is not happy with such innovations.
"It's impossible to get used to this," writes a person in a Threads discussion under av.by's news about abandoning dollars in ads.
"And how do we understand what things cost now?" asks another commenter.
"Then make BYN the main currency and show USD in a slightly smaller font," advises another. However, precisely this option, where the price was indicated in rubles in large bold font, and below it in dollars, had long been on the website. And it was this that officials began to fight against.
According to this scheme — the main price in Belarusian rubles, and a reference price in dollars — websites had been operating for the last ten years. Then the Ministry of Trade demonstratively blocked "Onliner" where prices were indicated in dollars. Business owners had to make concessions. Now, however, they are required to completely hide prices in foreign currency.
How the price was displayed before the latest innovations. Screenshot: av.by
Under the news on abw.by, most commentators also criticize the refusal to duplicate prices in foreign currency.
Screenshot: abw.by
"Very inconvenient," writes one.
"They still convert everything to dollars anyway. I'm 10000% sure. They just made nonsense for people. In short, only to make things worse," adds another.
And rare supportive comments receive many dislikes.
Why did MART take such a step?
According to MART, they were allegedly prompted to such a decision by an appeal from a citizen who complained that real estate prices on websites were indicated in foreign currency.
In this regard, officials have already issued 18 recommendations to internet resources that advertise tourist services, real estate, cars, and other goods with prices indicated in foreign currency, to remove dollars.
Belarusians, apparently, are not ready to abandon dollars when buying and selling cars, so they have even managed to develop an extension for av.by in Google Chrome that will convert prices according to the National Bank exchange rate.
However, when installing such applications, one should be vigilant: such extensions can also be created and distributed by fraudsters.
Why are dollar prices important to Belarusians?
Despite the Belarusian ruble being relatively stable in recent years, Belarusians have developed a habit over decades of calculating all major purchases in dollars.
And in the case of imported goods, including cars, such an approach generally seems logical, since, apart from domestic Geely/Belgee, which have a fixed price in rubles, other cars are imported from other countries.
When it comes to imports from third countries, the car needs to be cleared through customs, and customs duties are specified in euros, not in Belarusian rubles.
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