Sending Letters?

[saraleviathan]

Hey guys,
This is a pretty basic question but I can't seem to find a good answer (not even from my Argentine roommate...). How do you go about sending letters? I went to a Correo Argentino office once, but it's far from my house and the wait was so long because people were doing a million other things there. There's got to be a simpler way to send mail, right? Are there simple post offices? Or where can I find stamps/a postbox?
Gracias!

 

[nlaruccia]

Hi Sara, Hopefully we'll meet up at another Expat picnic the next time one is organized. Unfortunately, the only way to send a letter is Correo Argentino. Plus, you have to purchase your own envelope at a papeleria if you want to send it "simple" which takes about 7 to 10 working days. Correo Argentino only sells envelopes for rush deliveries which cost a lot of money. I've never had any letter lost sending it "simple" or "certificada". I understand your apprehension about having to wait in line every time you need to send a letter. I've discovered that it's actually the same price, if not cheaper, to send an international fax from any locutorio and you don't have to wait in line. I send everything via fax now.

 

[lamarque]

Hey guys,
This is a pretty basic question but I can't seem to find a good answer (not even from my Argentine roommate...). How do you go about sending letters? I went to a Correo Argentino office once, but it's far from my house and the wait was so long because people were doing a million other things there. There's got to be a simpler way to send mail, right? Are there simple post offices? Or where can I find stamps/a postbox?
Gracias!

Yes, you don't have to go to the correo Argentino office that is not the way, there are thousand of small kiosk and locutorios were you drop your letter in less than a minute pay the fare and forget about that. They normally have a little correo argentino logo or you just enter and ask, there are at least 3 just in my block so i supose they are everywhere around the city, you just have to know how to recognize them, i have send letter to dublin more than once is easy and not time demanding at all, of course the letter take a time to reach destination depending the service you pay.

 

[saraleviathan]

Okay, thank you! I've seen the Correo Argentino signs at kioskos around the city, but was never sure if I had to purchase my own postage before going. But if it's the same as the offices, that makes things much easier... I had been going to the one on Corrientes which obviously has lots of traffic, but I can definitely find one of the little ones nearby.

Thanks to you both!

 

[Rich One]

A word of caution ...I go to a store that sells Lotto and has Correo Argentino logo, ask them to weigh the letter in front of me and stick the stamps, then ask for the letter back (dirty looks) and walk to a nearby Correo Argentino main office in Pueyrredon and insert the letter in the box labeled international outside the P.O. In the past when I gave the money to the clerk at the Kiosk and the clerk said I WILL STAMP them later..... jajjajaj The letter NEVER arrived.

 

[mariposa]

go to one of the kioskos to mail your letter and avoid correo argentino like the plague. life is too short......

 

[Ceviche]

I sent a letter from the post office at Sante Fe ( near Plaza Italia subte station) about 25 days ago. The clerk overcharged me on weight and made me pay 40 pesos for 2 A4 pages ( documents) in a simple light weight white envelope. And guess what? The letter never arrived at its International destination.

This has got me worried! Do I need to courier everything now?

The clerk from the look of his face looked corrupt. It seems to me, they charge you for the stamps but then sell the stamp to another client thus pocketing your money. I wanted him to put the paper stamp and then 'stamp' the stamp so that the paper stamp gets used and unusable. But he did not agree.

 

[Rich One]

I sent a letter from the post office at Sante Fe ( near Plaza Italia subte station) about 25 days ago. The clerk overcharged me on weight and made me pay 40 pesos for 2 A4 pages ( documents) in a simple light weight white envelope. And guess what? The letter never arrived at its International destination.

This has got me worried! Do I need to courier everything now?

The clerk from the look of his face looked corrupt. It seems to me, they charge you for the stamps but then sell the stamp to another client thus pocketing your money. I wanted him to put the paper stamp and then 'stamp' the stamp so that the paper stamp gets used and unusable. But he did not agree.

So many letters got lost in the past is hopeless , if important use DHL about $US 50 for the letter size envelope....!! or buy the stamps glue them on and take the letter to the P.O. mailbox....!!

 

[dennisr]

Argentine Mail:

Absolutely absurd the mail service in Argentina. Have a friend in the Peace Corps that I correspond with. He has mailed me letters from some of the remotest and desolate places on the Planet and the mail has always made it: US address. Shame on you Argentina. Just unconscionable the mail service here.

 

[nlaruccia]

That's why I fax almost everything.