Any Experience Ordering Online From The Us (Amazon, Etc)

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

I would love to have play with one of those 3d printers. Incredible technology.

Has to be some pricey piece of kit !

 

[EricLovesBA]

I would love to have play with one of those 3d printers. Incredible technology.

Has to be some pricey piece of kit !

I bought some motors recently at this place http://kikailabs.com.ar/
and finally got see one running up close and personal. It is indeed a thing of beauty. The down side of ordering from China is the wait - typically 45 days, so it will a while yet before I get to put mine together.

 

[scotttswan]

I was buying some things recently to build a 3d printer, so the following advice applies more to smaller imported items.

The printer parts were extremely difficult to find here, some impossible, and everywhere I went to buy it was always the same scene. A guy or couple in their 20's, operating out of a small business or from their house, buying and selling full time. I asked where did the stuff come from, and it was always from China, and being sold here at about a 50% markup. This advice is an outline of what I learned, asking numerous such vendors their advice.

• Order from China, because they tend to have low-cost or free shipping, good prices, and more of a tendency to mark a yet-lower price in the shipping paperwork.
• If you buy from a china vendor with a good reputation, they are in the buying/selling business, not in the business of ripping you off. There might be occasional problems with quality, but they're not likely to just take your money and run.
• Customs is in the business of getting all the money they can, but their resources are not limitless. To greatly increase your chances of the package passing custom-free straight to your door, follow these rules of thumb:
• Order amount less than US$100
• The smaller package dimensions, the better. (this seems to help it get here faster too, as the low cost china shipping is also low priority to get loaded on the plane. There will more likely be room on the plane if you have a small package)
• Weight, best under 500g. Up to 2Kg is possible.
• If the vendor is putting a lower declared value than the actual value, best it is not something common. If the custom agent recognizes it to be a cell phone, bicycle part, etc, something common, they're going to know the real value.
• Use regular air mail, china post, usps, etc, NOT UPS, Fedex, etc. (I believe this also relates to pickup in retiro vs EZE if it happens to not pass customs, correct?)

Some interesting sites for this type of purchasing: ebay, dx, aliexpress, dhgate​

I've used dx before for some things like memory cards, hdmi connectors etc. always works out cheaper.

 

[robwerwe]

I've bought clothes from the UK before all arrived ok. Any electronics either gets nicked or you have to pay an import tax.

 

[HenryNisental]

I have quite a lot of experience in this subjet (from stuff coming from the US).
Books do not pay import taxes . If the book weighs less than half a kilogram it should be delivered to your home. Otherwise you should pick it up at the CORREO INTERNACIONAL office in Retiro
The best way to ship anything from the US to BA is to send the stuff to a friend or relative in the US. Then ask them to ship it WITH an small INSURANCE to BA. This insures that the package will not get lost, since everybody touching it will have to sign for it. It is quicker too.

 

[cruizes]

If I ship a box or two of used clothing from the US to BA how would be the safest way to do it. Since it is used do you have to buy tax on it?

 

[cbonanni]

There is always the more expensive , but easier way via and Air Freight Forwarder. Everything has always gotten through. I have a good one if interested.

 

[HenryNisental]

Usually they do not charge import duties for used clothes, except for Armani suits, Gucci shoes,etc.

 

[ARbound]

How should I go about getting my friends in either the USA or Canada to send me a video game I want? I'm going to be living in Buenos Aires durring the launch of GTA 5 and I really want it, so do I just get them to send it via expedited air mail with tracking or something? And if so, who do I use? Any companies to avoid? I was thinking either USPS or Canada Post, though Canada Post does one service through FedEx...

 

[NickBA]

I've bought books with regular shipping that arrived to my door without a problem.