Ordering stuff from abroad

[Sunny]

Hello!

There's another BA expats forum, an older one, it seems. I posted these questions there too, I hope I am not breaking any rules.

I did a search before posting this question, but found nothing current and things have changed quite a bit since last December.

Do you order things from Amazon? I understand that a courier is needed to get stuff delivered to AR, but I'm not sure how that works. Could you please share some info/tips on that?

I could order stuff from Costco or Amazon, for example, and have it delivered to my address in the States and from there have it sent to CABA, but I wonder if the order would actually get to me safe and sound. Would Customs open the packages because they are not sent directly from the retailer?

Have you traveled to Chile or Brazil mainly for shopping? Do you recommend it? I've heard that a large number of Argentines have done some serious shopping in Chile last week, but that would make sense for those who live close to the border, I figure.

Thank you very much.





Reply

 

[Betsy Ross]

Hello!

There's another BA expats forum, an older one, it seems. I posted these questions there too, I hope I am not breaking any rules.

I did a search before posting this question, but found nothing current and things have changed quite a bit since last December.

Do you order things from Amazon? I understand that a courier is needed to get stuff delivered to AR, but I'm not sure how that works. Could you please share some info/tips on that?

I could order stuff from Costco or Amazon, for example, and have it delivered to my address in the States and from there have it sent to CABA, but I wonder if the order would actually get to me safe and sound. Would Customs open the packages because they are not sent directly from the retailer?

Have you traveled to Chile or Brazil mainly for shopping? Do you recommend it? I've heard that a large number of Argentines have done some serious shopping in Chile last week, but that would make sense for those who live close to the border, I figure.

Thank you very much.





Reply

Hello @Sunny. No one orders from Amazon here as the customs here in Argentina is really horrible. They will tax you really high taxes and IVA taxes. The import taxes are very high here. Typically it is not worth it with the high fees. Customs many times even if you have a receipt showing X price will charge a higher price.

Most people wait to go back to the USA or will ask a friend to bring things. Or you can also use a service like Grabr. There should be some posts on this board about Grabr. The best deals are in Paraguay not Brazil. Brazil is very expensive as they have very high import taxes as well. Chile is a little better but still more expensive than back home. Check out Paraguay as electronics are cheaper there. What are you looking to purchase?

Shop Overseas Products with International P2P Delivery | Grabr

grabr.io

 

[CaiseBruce]

I would totally avoid customs in Argentina. They are worthless and the worst. You can read this thread I started before.

Legal - How do i know if my package is stopped at customs?

Hi! In December I made a purchase coming from the Netherlands and it was scheduled to arrive on approximately January 29. However, the tracking provided by the seller shows no updates since December 28, when the package was moved from the Netherlands to Frankfurt, from where DHL would ship it...

www.expatsba.com

 

[Vince]

The closest thing to Amazon here in Argentina is Mercado Libre. It works very well but prices of electronics are 2X or 3X the prices back home.

Mercado Libre Argentina - Envíos Gratis en el día

Comprá productos con Envío Gratis en el día en Mercado Libre Argentina. Encontrá miles de marcas y productos a precios increíbles.

www.mercadolibre.com.ar

I go home once a year to visit my folks and load up on stuff then. Even if I don't need anything my friends usually ask me to bring stuff back (iPhone, airpods, iPad, Macbook, etc). You can typically always sell Apple products here so it is worth buying the latest iPhone or iPad and you can sell it here.

I don't know of anyone that uses Amazon and ships to Argentina. Hopefully with this new President, he will ease up on import taxes but I don't know when that might happen. I have had friends that tried shipping things to Argentina and things have been stolen from the package. I wouldn't recommend it. Other friends have used Grabr but most people ask a friend to bring it down.

Paraguay has few import taxes and duties so some people fly there as it is much quicker and cheaper than the USA. I haven't done that but know many that do.

 

[Digital Nomad]

I lost some Airpods and it was annoying the prices here are so expensive. Luckily a friend was coming down and I just sent to his house and he brought it down. Paraguay as some are suggesting is a good idea. One guy I follow on Twitter just mentioned the same thing. Just keep in mind if it's something bulky or big, the customs at EZE or AEP might still try to tax you on it. It is always a good idea to take stuff out of the boxes and just say it's used. But you have to be careful traveling with multiple phones or Ipads as some local friends told me they got caught and had to pay huge ass fines and penalties.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1744759105770655949

 

[Wally]

Avoid shipping stuff here to Argentina. You will regret it. I have had friends send old clothes and things and customs tried to say it was worth a fortune. Just avoid!

Paraguay has cheap stuff. Ciudad del Este is popular.

Ciudad del Este Black Market: A Comprehensive Guide to South America's Largest Black Market

This city's strategic location near the unregulated border crossings to Brazil and Argentina make Ciudad del Este black market very profitable.

explorewithfinesse.com

 

[Spend Thrift]

I would AVOID sending stuff here. I had my sister send me some of my favorite shoes that I like that I can't get here. She sent via Fed Ex and Customs still tried to get me to pay double what I paid for the shoes! You can try Grabr but it sometimes takes a while for someone to accept the order but much cheaper than dealing with customs.

 

[fetch rover]

My husband used to live in Buenos Aires. I just recently went and it was funny. I went with my kids and we had to bring an entire suitcase full of items that work colleagues of my husband asked him to bring. Just be careful as customs will go through them at or least they did when we went through EZE airport. We had 4 ipads we brought down and luckily we didn't have the boxes. His work colleagues instructed him to activate them so it wasn't new. Customs turned on all the ipads to check them. We also brought 4 phones but we carried them in our jackets and it didn't go through x-ray machine. I was so nervous but my husband said this is very normal there.

All locals buy electronics when they go to the USA. Just be careful with boxes as they were looking for the iPad boxes and turned them on.

 

[GraceH]

Just a note that most likely on Grabr no one is going to bring anything big or bulky. I tried to have someone bring me an iMac and I couldn’t get any takers. That is for smaller items.

 

[Todd]

I won't be able to get a ML account until I get a bank account here, I guess. They don't allow international cc.

I've heard that Amazon wants to enter the Argentine market. I'm crossing my fingers.

I don't think you can sign up for Mercado Libre without having a permanent resident ID - DNI. I just use my friends. You can ask your friends and most likely they will help you and you can just give them cash. That is what I do. Or if you have a doorman in your building I am sure they would be willing to do it as well. Amazon won't enter Argentina. Mercado Libre is the dominant player here.

 

[Betsy Ross]

Thank you Betsy! I will read up on Grabr. I'm missing some Kirkland products and some things that I took for granted in the States and thought they'd be easy to find here. Also bulk spices. Today I went to a place that was recommended by a neighbor and couldn't believe what they charge for little packs of spices (e.g., 50 g of cardamom for $9K).

Thanks for letting me know about Paraguay. I had no idea.

Do you buy clothes in AR or travel to Paraguay for that as well?

De nada. Grabr works very very good. Especially for clothes and other items that people can easily carry in their bags. Spices here are a rip off. Try Chinatown for spices as variety is better but price is high here. They will charge 3X or more what it costs at home most times. It is getting a little better.

NO I don't buy clothes in Argentina. Highway robbery prices on clothes here which is silly. I buy when I am in the USA or I have used Grabr when I can't wait or ask friends coming down. Friends coming down is the best (and cheapest way).

A friend has used a company called Aerobox successfully but I never used it.

Aerobox Argentina

Compras online en USA y recibes directamente en Argentina con Aerobox

aerobox.com.ar

 

[Betsy Ross]

I won't be able to get a ML account until I get a bank account here, I guess. They don't allow international cc.

I've heard that Amazon wants to enter the Argentine market. I'm crossing my fingers.

Also international credit cards work on Mercado Libre. I have my USA credit card and it always works. But I have a DNI. I don't believe you can have a ML account without a DNI.

 

[Vince]

Also international credit cards work on Mercado Libre. I have my USA credit card and it always works. But I have a DNI. I don't believe you can have a ML account without a DNI.

Yes, USA credit cards work on Mercado Libre. I have mine linked and order stuff all the time without issues.

Also, for Amazon you can generally receive only books ok. But keep in mind there is some paperwork. Amazon usually uses DHL most times to Argentina and even worthless books you have to fill out a form from AFIP (Argentina IRS) to get them. But I did eventually get it but now I never use Amazon as each time I had issues with customs taxes.

Another company that you might want to check is Tienda Mia.

https://tiendamia.com/ar/

 

[Betsy Ross]

Your account must be older than two or so years, then. I do have a DNI but the platform does not accept my US cc. I've read somewhere that ML used to allow foreign cc but changed the rules some two years ago, something to do with the cepo, I think, not sure.

Yes you are corrrect. My account is several years old. Maybe that is it. I haven't updated my credit card for 2 years. My credit card will expire soon so I hope I will not have issues with the new expiration date and security code. That will be disappointing if so as I would rather not use my local debit card and I heard that AFIP will track local bank activity and I use ML all the time.

@Sunny do you use your local ATM card with ML then?

 

[Wally]

Thank. you, Todd. I do have a DNI, the problem is that they've changed the rules about foreign cc a couple of years ago (I guess for new accounts).

I also use my American CC with Mercado Libre but I think it's been over a year since I added it. I have been using Mercado Libre for a while now.

 

[earlyretirement]

Your account must be older than two or so years, then. I do have a DNI but the platform does not accept my US cc. I've read somewhere that ML used to allow foreign cc but changed the rules some two years ago, something to do with the cepo, I think, not sure.

@Sunny my USA credit card also works on Mercado Libre. I have had my account for a few years but I just added this credit card in July 2023 so less than a year ago. What is the error message you get when you attempt to add your USA credit card to the platform? The annoying thing is it was impossible to get anyone on the phone with ML. But just for a data point I added mine less than a year ago.

I would highly recommend Banco Galicia if you need a local bank account. With a DNI you can apply all online with your DNI and I got mine within 5 days of applying online. I was with HSBC for 20 years but had issues with them during COVID but Banco Galicia is great.

 

[Palermo]

@Sunny my USA credit card also works on Mercado Libre. I have had my account for a few years but I just added this credit card in July 2023 so less than a year ago. What is the error message you get when you attempt to add your USA credit card to the platform? The annoying thing is it was impossible to get anyone on the phone with ML. But just for a data point I added mine less than a year ago.

I would highly recommend Banco Galicia if you need a local bank account. With a DNI you can apply all online with your DNI and I got mine within 5 days of applying online. I was with HSBC for 20 years but had issues with them during COVID but Banco Galicia is great.

I second the Banco Galicia recommendation. I opened an account for free. Only took a few days and I got my ATM card in the mail in less than one week.

https://www.galicia.ar/personas/cuenta-gratuita-universal

 

[Vince]

No, I haven't opened a bank account here yet. I use my foreign cc and cash.

Look into Mercado Pago as well. I don't use that but Mercado Libre also owns them so you may be able to use that for payment on the stuff you are buying on Mercado Libre.

Mercado Pago | De ahora en adelante, hacés más con tu dinero.

Pagá, cobrá y resolvé tus finanzas desde un solo lugar.

www.mercadopago.com.ar

 

[roam around]

I have purchased from Amazon a few times while traveling around the world. I did use it here in Buenos Aires a few times. Just keep in mind some things you can't import into Argentina. Certain products and electronics. You can see sometimes when you try to put in the shipping address for Argentina what it is. I have a 50% 50% success rate. I would suggest if you're ordering stuff you don't order many things at once as one time the customs said something wasn't in the package. I didn't know if they took it or Amazon forgot it but I am assuming someone took it at customs.

But it is not true that you can't use Amazon and it won't arrive here. Just keep in mind there might be issues but I have used it a few times.

 

[Uncle Wong]

When I was in BA I ordered something on Amazon and it took forever but I got it. My other friend there said he ordered something and it came through to him fairly quickly (within 9 days) but he ordered from Amazon Europe since he is from Germany. I don't know what accounts for some people having issues and some not.

Some friends said they ordered small electronics from Amazon and paid import fees on the front end and it came to them. Some said things were missing but Amazon credited it. The safest thing seems to be to use Grabr.

My friend uses Grabr all the time and he said the girl bringing it is a flight attendant that always flies to EZE so now he just orders directly with her and he saves the commission and they both make out.

Apparently many of the people that bring with Grabr work on the airlines and it's a way for them to make money each week.