Shwidelson said:
Jim, I am curious because I too will be needed to send a package, well over 2KGs, to the US. Given the poor reputation of every other service Argentinean, are not these other options better than through the Correo? Is the Correo actually reliable? And why do you say that about FedEx? I've not used them before. Are they shit?
Here is a link to an old post with some info
http://baexpats.org/expat-life/5189-bad-experience-amazon-2.html#post35352.
I've since used UPS a few times for packages to and from the US without problems other than cost, although I've noticed that when I go to their office on Cabildo, they automatically discount their outrageous rates by a good percentage, to merely VERY expensive instead of Outrageous. They also have a low maximum package weight, btw. I find DHL the most reliable for documents, although I have never tried to ship a package with them, mostly because of their fees.
My fedex horror story is now 6 years old, so things may have changed. As I was in the middle of my move from New York to Buenos Aires, my desktop computer crashed. Fearful of trying to replace components in Argentina, I did last-minute repairs after the movers had shipped everything else.
With a massive amount of hand luggage already, I called Fedex to see what would be involved in shipping the computer, and they assured me that they would provide door-to-door service, including customs clearance for an additional, steep fee. (Yes, now that I know Argentina much better, I would not believe such claims from any shipper.) I packed the machine in its original materials and took it to the local Fedex office where I paid ~U$ 400 to ship it here for delivery in 3 days. I understood that I might have to pay some duty on delivery, but since I had a fresh resident's visa, I thought this would be waived as personal effects, which are legal to import within the first 6 months of residency. Along with the customs forms that Fedex requested, I included a letter in Spanish with copies of my passport and resident's visa.
10 days later - instead of the contracted 3 days - the doorbell rang, and someone announced "Fedex." I went down to find a guy badly dressed, with no Fedex ID, holding just some papers. I almost didn't open the door, but since I was anxious to get the computer, I asked if he had the package. He said he did and that I needed to sign for it, which I did. I assumed the package was in a truck somewhere nearby.
He then handed me an envelope and ran off without responding to my shouts
"Donde está la encomienda?" The envelope contained a badly Xeroxed page with some handwritten numbers and a date 5 days earlier telling me to go to the freight terminal at Ezeiza to collect the package within 3 business days.
I called the local Fedex number to no avail - no answer for 2 days and then no useful information. They told me to follow the instructions I had signed for, and they refused to provide any help in retrieving the package. I called the US number to complain, but they told me I had already received the package and even emailed me my own signature to prove it.
A family emergency struck, and I left for the US that night. When I returned a couple weeks later, I asked my friendly remisero to take me to the freight terminal to pick up the package. The aduana there wasn't yet open, so we waited around for a couple hours until someone appeared, looked up the Fedex number, and presented an invoice for U$ 280 in storage charges.
Fortunately my remisero is a master of negotiation, and he cajoled his way up to the head of the unit, who discounted the charges to U$ 80 based on my having been out of the country for most of the time.
We then went to the customs agents, who opened the package and declared a value of U$ 4.000 - a couple times higher than I had paid in the US a year or more earlier. I wasn't carrying invoices, which probably would have made no difference anyway.
Thanks to more cajoling by Carlos the Remisero, we got the value reduced by about a third, and I paid the still-outrageous duty. They refused to recognize my right as a new resident to import personal items and told me I would have to hire a lawyer to reclamar.
Since then I have avoided Fedex in Argentina.
