Job Discussion Forums

[grahamcito]

Ok, so Sepomex has a terrible reputation... But I need to send a box of books to the US and I can't really spare the money to courier it.

Has anyone used Sepomex to send parcels to the US?

How much did it cost?

Did they get there?

How long did it take?

And is there a special rate for sending books?

[Guy Courchesne]

When I first arrived, I sent a number of postcards and letters home by snail mail. Less than half got there. Since then however, everything I've sent has arrived, including registered letters. I send all packages by DHL though.

[Samantha]

Grahamcito, Something I would do if I was living in GDL and needed to send something north is pay a visit to Gringolandia (Ajijic) just to the south and put a notice on a grocery store bulletin board such as Superlake, or at the Lake Chapala Society where they go and ask questions. If you can't spare the time, pop an ad in the Guadalajara Reporter (English), read by all the expats in the region. Beware: Ajijic/Lake Chapala is a scary place where they speak in English. Spanish is the second language!

This time of year is when those snowbirds drive north for the summer. We do this regularly in my area and it works well. I still have some ancient Canadian postage stamps kicking around in a drawer to slap on letters to be mailed north of the border. Good luck.

[some waygug-in]

The one parcel I did manage to send through the mail from Mexico to Canada..

At first, they refused to send it because I had taped it shut. They informend me that tape was not allowed. The package had to be wrapped in 'approved' brown paper and tied with a piece of string.
This, they say, is to allow inspection of the contents. (no drugs eh)


But what it amounts to is allowing people to open, sort through and steal whatever may be of value inside.

When the package arrived in Canada, the parcel had indeed been opened, some of the items were missing, others were damaged. It was all just touristy stuff I was sending home to my family. If you can, use DHL or send it with someone who is going.

I can't remember what they charged, but it wasn't exactly cheap either.
Suerte

[MELEE]

I have sent small packages to the US with success. Its coming from there when things go missing. But do to costs, I usually do a variation of Sam's technique. My package sending habits nicely coincide with my coworkers' vacations. I arrange for them to take it to the US and mail it from their home there.

[sarliz]

Might I threadjack here to ask about the reverse postal situation, receiving boxes from the states? I'm imagining I'll need some supplimental stuff mailed to me after I get settled somewhere, but my rate of postcard attrition during past trips to Mexico makes me a bit nervous to put my computer printer in a box and hope for the best. Ideas?

[Guy Courchesne]

It seems a crapshoot, in my experience and those of others I know. Aduana (customs) has twice held a package coming down to me and asked for duty...which maybe is to be expected, however, every day they called back, duty went up. A company like DHL apparently is helpless to intervene.

[sarliz]

Is the crapshoot whether everything arrives intact/at all or whether you have to pay customs? I'm game to try my odds at the second option, but the first would require more creative strategizing...

[Guy Courchesne]

No, as far as I've seen, everything arrives, particularly when dealing with DHL, FEDEX, or the like. The problem is Mexican customs. They can either be very selective with application of duty or outright corrupt in asking for a ransom for your parcel.

[cwc]

Why don�t you just buy a new printer? My laser HP 5400 cost 1,400 pesos. You can buy an inkjet HP 2200 for 600 pesos. New, warranty, and best of all, not bounce-checked. Why risk it with the thieves at customs?

[M@tt]

i should run a courier business...

if you want to send your printer along with some other stuff to make it really worthwhile, i could probably bring things into the country on my next trip. i fly to the states at least once a month. it would mean shipping your stuff to the address where i will be staying in the US, and then getting it from me once i'm here. i live in DF, so if you're not in DF this is probably not a feasible plan as i don't really feel like repacking and shipping things within the country (unless of course you feel like paying me for my time.)

[MELEE]

Matt, I know a guy in Oaxaca who does just that. But his clients aren't English teachers, but Oaxacans in the US who want to send stuff to their families, on the their trip he takes Oaxacan rugs which he sells in the US, on the back trip he brings gifts from Oaxacans for their families at home. He'd doing quite well for himself.

[seanie]

I think with duty charges, they might depend on the type of goods you are importing as well as the value. My stuff gets sent directly to the uni if the value is under 100 USD. If it's more, I get a papelito advising me that I have to go to the post office and how much I have to pay. That's for books, CDs, and DVDs. Every time I've had shoes shipped, I've had to pay; even when the value is below 100 USD.

[sarliz]

Thanks, Matt, for the very generous offer; I may take you up on it eventually. All of my advance planning is pretty theoretical at this point, as I still don't really know where I'll be ending up after the course in Guadalajara I'm planning on taking in September. I just need to generate a question every once in a while to justify my borderline compulsive checking of this board for something I might need to know.
Cwc raises an interesting point, though. Did you all just throw what you needed in a suitcase and never look back, or did you supplement your meager posessions with packages from back home at some point? I'm not too materialistic, I just think I've got a few useful items here that I've invested in, and it seems wasteful to have to buy them again.

[MELEE]