packages from US

[veronica]

Here is the info in English from the AFIP site http://www.afip.gov.ar/english/postalSystem.asp

I order makeup online and have it sent here and I've yet to have a problem (knock on wood). I just make small orders 10-20 usd to stay under the limit. Also, I've noticed if things are sent USPS first class mail and they are in an envelope they'll come to my door in about 10 days, but if it's in a box, I have to pick it up.

What I do is just bring a copy of the AFIP site in Spanish just in case they try to charge me. Seems to me that some of the works at the post office don't know the rules themselves.

Good luck!

 

[JuliaR26]

I just got an update - apparently my package was delivered on April 15 and has been sitting in customs ever since (or at least this is what my Mom was told.) Does anyone know if 'customs' means the main post office or the airport? Again, any suggestions are welcome.

 

[EvergreenGal]

Hard to say, but would think that it is at the Post Office in downtown...have her scan and email you the paperwork she has on the box, I would think somewhere on the papers it should say where the box is located.

Unless you get a notice of some sort you might be stuck, you can take any documents your Mom has and take your chances at the P.O. in downtown.
Good luck!!

 

[JuliaR26]

Thanks again - I'll probably go to the post office this week. Is the main post office located at Sarmiento 189?

 

[stephie]

Just thought I would add my experience...

I had a small package come at Christmas, sent through Fed Ex, and it went directly to customs at the Ezezia airport. I had to go through various security checkpoints to find it, not to mention wait forever in line at each one. In the end, in order to actually retrieve my package, I was charged a fee of $250 USD, supposedly for storage and taxes. It was an absolute nightmare, and not at all worth the ornaments and decorations my mom had sent me for the holidays.

I am almost positive your box probably ended up where mine did. Go to customs at the airport (which is actually not inside the airport, but a separate building next door) prepared with your passport and cash, if you ever want to get your stuff.

 

[JuliaR26]

Yikes. Looking back, I'm not sure why I thought it would be a good idea to send stuff from home. Well tomorrow I think I'll try my luck at Ezeiza - I've heard bus 86 can take you there (eventually...) ?

 

[erindanelle]

why dont you try calling customs and the post office first? If your package was sent via standard US mail and to Correo Argentino, it may very well be in Retiro. If it was sent via an independent company such as Fed Ex it probably doesn't get past airport customs. My US colleague experienced the same problem (package was at Retiro, never received a note) and they ended up sending it back to the States.
The Correo Argentino website does have a spot somewhere we you can enter the tracking code and it may advise you of the status/whereabouts. I know you can do this over the phone in Spanish.

The #8 is good to the airport as well. Although there are 2 #8's so just make sure you're on the right one! It is a long journey and you'll see some very different sides of Buenos Aires along that trip!

Suerte!

 

[JuliaR26]

So unless I'm mistaken Correo Central - at Sarmiento 189 - is different from the International Post Office in Retiro. Where exactly is the Retiro post office - right by the station?

 

[JuliaR26]

Well, I finally have the packages after spending several hours at the International Post Office at Retiro. Ironically, the delay was more my fault than Correo Argentino's fault, and I didn't find the bureaucratic nightmare I was expecting (though I think I'm just one of the lucky ones.) Had I remembered my original passport, and given both tracking numbers at the same time, I would have been in out of there in about an hour. But considering I only had to pay 44 pesos and everything was still there, I'm not complaining. Thanks again to all for the advice!

 

[Popper]

Glad you were able to get the package, but since I just received a notice today, I thought I'd post the location of the place in Retiro:

Centro Postal Internacional
Letonia y Antartida
Horario: 10:00 a 17:00 HS.
de Lunes a Viernes

Do you have to have your passport or can you use a passport photocopy or driver's license? Anyone know?