# shipping items to MX



## chulor (Aug 19, 2013)

if i ship boxes ups to MX from US, will i be taxed an import tax on certain items?

and what can i ship and not ship?

i want to send some personal and file items.

is every box open and inspected?

thanks

cj


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

You will find that it will be extremely expensive and that, yes, you will have to pay duty. Search for the Mexican customs (Aduana) website for permitted/prohibited items. You should also know that Mexico may charge very heavily for electronics or anything made in China. If you are shipping from the USA, most everything may have been made in China.
So, what to do? Either pack your car and drive the stuff down, probably getting the green light at the border and paying nothing, or pack your bags and fly, paying the excess freight for baggage.
Please, next time you post, check your boxes for those missing capital letters.


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## chulor (Aug 19, 2013)

Thanks! Not sure what you mean. "Please, next time you post, check your boxes for those missing capital letters".


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

chulor said:


> Thanks! Not sure what you mean. "Please, next time you post, check your boxes for those missing capital letters".


Grammar Police.


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## chulor (Aug 19, 2013)

So would it not be safe/smart to ship my files, old tax forms, etc?

What about shipping photo albums?

I'd be using UPS or FedEx.

Thanks


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## tijuanahopeful (Apr 2, 2013)

Put file and old tax forms on a flash drive. If you insist on having paper files and tax forms, take them with you. The same for the photo albums. It's much easier to minimize what you have in advance to take with you.


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## Dray2 (Apr 14, 2012)

So now this is a site that is teaching English grammar.....Please, give me a break. Some people need to find something better to do with their time. The original poster was simply asking for advice; not a lesson in grammar.


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## Bill Gruntleman (Oct 18, 2013)

Why the fact that USPS/Correos Mexicanos is duty free in 99% of cases is so little known amongst expats in Mexico is beyond me. I know that many believe that the Mexican Postal Service is incompetent and dishonest. My experience over the course of 11 years has been that not one package sent by USPS/Correos Mexicanos to me has been lost. I have been receiving approximately one package every 10 days for 11 years, most all by USPS/Correos Mexicanos, and only ONE duty was ever paid, and that was on a US$1100 pair of Japanese made binoculars. I buy everything online mostly from the USA. If they won't ship USPS, then I don't buy it. If you have anything shipped here by UPS, Fedex, or DHL you are guaranteed to pay duties (and exorbitant shipping charges). If the original poster needs to send stuff here I would suggest he use either USPS First Class Mail International for small packages under 64 ounces, or USPS Priority Mail International for larger packages. 99% of shipments by those methods will be duty free. I might add that I would suggest having a Post Office Box. I would not do it any other way. I have had Post Office Boxes my entire life, so it's nothing new for me to have one here. Note: there may be some who do not understand how it works: When you ship USPS to Mexico from the USA, the package gets handed over to Correos Mexicanos (Mexican Postal Service) at the border or at the airport. Also, do not expect any lightning shipping speeds. USPS 1st Class Mail International and USPS Priority Mail International come here in an equal amount of time in my experience, and you can expect to wait on average 7 to 17 days for package arrival.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

Bill Gruntleman said:


> If you have anything shipped here by UPS, Fedex, or DHL you are guaranteed to pay duties (and exorbitant shipping charges). If the original poster needs to send stuff here I would suggest he use either USPS First Class Mail International for small packages under 64 ounces, or USPS Priority Mail International for larger packages. 99% of shipments by those methods will be duty free.


This has been my experience, too. In 14 years, I have lost only one package shipped via Post Office. In two shipments from the same company with similar merchandise , one by DHL and one by USPS, the DHL package got hit with a duty while the USPS package made it through duty-free.


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## diablita (May 7, 2010)

Bill Gruntleman said:


> Why the fact that USPS/Correos Mexicanos is duty free in 99% of cases is so little known amongst expats in Mexico is beyond me. I know that many believe that the Mexican Postal Service is incompetent and dishonest. My experience over the course of 11 years has been that not one package sent by USPS/Correos Mexicanos to me has been lost. I have been receiving approximately one package every 10 days for 11 years, most all by USPS/Correos Mexicanos, and only ONE duty was ever paid, and that was on a US$1100 pair of Japanese made binoculars. I buy everything online mostly from the USA. If they won't ship USPS, then I don't buy it. If you have anything shipped here by UPS, Fedex, or DHL you are guaranteed to pay duties (and exorbitant shipping charges). If the original poster needs to send stuff here I would suggest he use either USPS First Class Mail International for small packages under 64 ounces, or USPS Priority Mail International for larger packages. 99% of shipments by those methods will be duty free. I might add that I would suggest having a Post Office Box. I would not do it any other way. I have had Post Office Boxes my entire life, so it's nothing new for me to have one here. Note: there may be some who do not understand how it works: When you ship USPS to Mexico from the USA, the package gets handed over to Correos Mexicanos (Mexican Postal Service) at the border or at the airport. Also, do not expect any lightning shipping speeds. USPS 1st Class Mail International and USPS Priority Mail International come here in an equal amount of time in my experience, and you can expect to wait on average 7 to 17 days for package arrival.


I concur. I too have a post office box and have received many packages from the USA with no problems what so ever. I also buy stuff online from China and have never had to pay duty on anything. Nothing arrives quickly but it get here and it's unopened.


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## MichelleRN (Nov 4, 2013)

tijuanahopeful said:


> Put file and old tax forms on a flash drive. The same for the photo albums. It's much easier to minimize what you have in advance to take with you.


Yes good advice, the photos can go on a cloud, which is where Flickr or SmugMug come in handy. With that, minimizing and getting rid of hard, tangible items has always been hard for me to do.


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