Shipping to Brazil

[ozyr]

Not sure if this is the best place to post this, but looks like it to me, so here I go.

 

Through Packrat, I've shipped several packages to Brazil, and so far they have all gotten lost (stolen, dropped off a truck, who knows). Basically never got to the destination. I used USPS for both shipments.

 

Am curious if anyone else has had experience shipping to Brazil, and if they have and any success or not. Also would be nice to know if there is a more reliable way to ship to Brazil, as in some service that would be more reliable than USPS to Brazil.

 

So far, this is the only country that I've had issues with. Not cutting the country down, but their mail system is having some major issues.

 

Any advise, stores, tips on shipping to Brazil would be welcome. Thank you!

 

-Dave

[timdu]

I just shipped a package to Brazil and have 2 more to ship this week (WILDLIFE! for the Odyssey² orders). I will let you know how it goes. I also use USPS.

[tep392]

Can I add a question? How long does it normally take for a USPS shipped package to get to Brazil?

[LidLikesIntellivision]

I live in Brazil and I usually get some packages from USA and Canada.

 

Until now (from 20 to 30 packages? who knows? ), I got only one real case of a missing package and another one I couldn't receive because I was travelling when it arrived and I'm having problems to get it back.

 

One thing for sure, you have to wait up to 5 months! For example, I'm still waiting for an ebay purchase from 4th November... I know it's going to arrive but, as you see, it takes too long.

[+save2600]

So far, this is the only country that I've had issues with.

Oh, so you haven't sent anything to Italy yet?

[LS_Dracon]

Brazilian mail employers was in strike action until weeks ago, working intentionally slow (30%).

This made the packages to be delayed.

[TomBrazil]

Dont mean to sound arrogant here, but I have some authority on this subject. I was about to post something about that, since I'm seeing this post, I couldnt help writing. I also suggest pinning this topic.

I have received more than 300 packages from the entire world during many years. I know what is going on with our loved and f**** country (that is, Brazil).

 

Sometimes our mail employees goes on strike - that delays stuff pretty much. Other times, customs do slow work or simply hold packages by no known reason, and that delays stuff a lot. For those reasons, the deadline for packages delivery sent via USPS, for example, goes from 2 or 3 weeks to 7 months (not kidding).

 

Because of that,obviously PayPal and eBay's customer protection won't work. 45 (or even 60) days is simply not enough to aknowledge if a package will arrive or not. Some recent examples:

 

- Envelope from Italy with a Game inside: 2 weeks (fast)

- Box from US with 30 games inside: 3 weeks (very fast)

- Box with 6 sealed games from our beloved friends in Venezuela: 5 months

- Box with 30 games from our same friends in Venezuela: 1 month

- Small box with 1 boxed game from the US: 4 months

- Small box with 4 loose games fomr the US: 5 months

 

Having said that, in my experience, LARGER packages arrive FASTER. Smaller ones tend to take months. I have never lost a big package, so I recommend to ship bigger lots.

 

Eventually, I havent received some packages. I can assume they are lost, seller didnt send them or, who knows, they will take 7 months to arrive here. Recently I have been receiving many delayed packages.

 

To add for that, there's not an effective way to track those packages. The only secure way would be to ship via courier, but that's expensive.

 

There are dishonest people working in the mail system in Brazil, I have one package opened and some stuff inside robbed, other package opened and nothing stolen. When shipping about 100 carts and 6 consoles from one State of Brazil to another, I had then entire US$ 2,500 packages stolen, but in that case, thieves have stolen the mail guys. This kind of stuff has become much common lately.

 

Well, Rio de Janeiro seems to be riskier than São Paulo, but outer boundaries of São Paulo and agregated cities are dangerous too, that's where my big lot was stolen.

 

Finally, if something arrives missing stuff here, we dont have many options other than accept them like they are or return to the mail, which will lead all the way back to abrod, taking several weeks in the process.

 

In the general sense, even considering that, it's worth to have stuff shipped via USPS, which goes into Brazil mail system. Few packages are really lost, so it's still very much worth the risk.

 

Also, you guys must realize our customs charge 60% on top of declared value + shipping value. So, if you ship a US$ 300 game with a US$ 20 shipping we will have to pay US$ 192 of taxes (60% calculated over US$ 320). That is why we usually ask you to underdeclare invoices.... I do prefer the risk of losing something from time to time since insurance wont cover the real value of an underdeclared stuff, than to pay insane taxes over 40 years old games. You people always help when you agree to declare lower, keeping in mind customs can open the boxes, so there's no point in sending the real invoice inside the package.

 

Please guys - DO NOT AVOID shipping to Brazil. It really frustrates me to see there are expensive games I cannot bid simply because you dont wanna ship here. One buyer is what it takes to double the price of a dispute sometimes.

[peedenmark7]

I just sent a 5220 and 7800 to Brazil.. Will post how it goes.

[SoulBlazer]

One of our long time AA members recently got ripped off by someone in Brazil, hard to say if they were dishonest or just inpatient, but PayPal took his money back: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/223082-ebay-rant-dont-ship-tutankham-and-super-cobra-to-brazil/

[TomBrazil]

One of our long time AA members recently got ripped off by someone in Brazil, hard to say if they were dishonest or just inpatient, but PayPal took his money back: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/223082-ebay-rant-dont-ship-tutankham-and-super-cobra-to-brazil/

 

How about point them here to discuss? Sometime ago I opened a dispute and money was chargebacked by PayPal. Later, I received the cart. I looked for the seller and paid him again.

[adolescent]

I sent a game to Brazil recently (this month) via USPS Priority International. It took a total of 12 days including stops at customs on both ends but no problems and it was tracked all the way. No problems at all!

[ozyr]

Wow, thanks for the comments, from all.

 

@LidLikesIntellivision - Nice to know most package arrive, but may take a long time (months). That info helps. Thank you!

 

@save2600 - Yes, have shipped to Italy, with no problem (once so far, another soon).

 

@LS_Dracon - Did not know there was a postal strike. Nice to know.

 

@TomBrazil - Wow, Super thanks for all the information, very, very helpful. Puts back my confidence in shipping to Brazil (not that I was too worried, but was a bit concerned) — just have to let people I ship to know that it may take some time to get their packages.

[SoulBlazer]

 

How about point them here to discuss? Sometime ago I opened a dispute and money was chargebacked by PayPal. Later, I received the cart. I looked for the seller and paid him again.

Have done, but I doubt it will help in this case. He complained that the person who bought his rare games had already bought them again from someone else BEFORE he opened the chargeback with PayPal. And even though EBay agreeded that was suspicious, they still found in the buyers favor and returned him his money. If the buyer hadn't re-purchased the games from someone else, I'd agree with you 100 percent.

[TomBrazil]

Unfortunately, there are dishonest people that give us sometimes a very bad rep.

[eightbit]

I know it stinks that ebay (and other) sellers refuse to ship to Brazil most of the time. For this reason, I used to have ebay items that Eduardo (OpCode) purchased sent to me, and then I would send them to him. But things get lost in the mail in my experience...or as you said they take a LONG time. One time I sent him his boxed 2600 games, and they arrived fine but took very long. Another time it was a Super Action Controller (I think...been many years) and as far as I remember that never got to him. It is just too iffy for me personally, and now I never ship to Brazil or anywhere outside of the USA and Canada nowadays.

[+BBWW]

Yeah, I've been screwed out of a Super Cobra and Tutankham…I will NEVER ship to Brazil again. I can't afford the loss. I'm not a store or a business. It's not even a loss I can take off my taxes. So I'm out the money AND the games. Sorry, love you Brazil, I just won't ship to you. I had proof that it shipped and left U.S. Customs and then it dropped off the map…the guy I sold to informed me in 30 days he an bought the item again and ONLY wanted his money back. The only time he corresponded with me was when he opened a case. Not even an acknowledgment of emailing him the tracking number.

 

I honestly feel like it was a set up from purchase day one.

[jasonbar]

In 6 days, I will hit my 15-year anniversary on eBay. I've been selling for quite a while.

 

Brazil is the only country that I exclude from my listings because I had such a huge number of problems relative to the number of transactions. (I'm not counting large/heavy items that I limit to US-only bidders because international shipping is silly pricey.)

 

-Jason

[peedenmark7]

My recent shipment to Brazil went smooth. No damage.

[Almost Rice]

I have lost all my regular First Class international Shipments to Brazil. The only shipment that I had no problems with was when I shipped a package Express Mail. So this country is on par with Italy at the moment for being my worst mail service.

[Certifiable]

I only use Priority when shipping overseas.

 

I shipped an INTY II and 38 games in a box to Brazil with zero problems but the shipping was very expensive: ~ $88.00 or so...

[Blazing Lazers]

I think the only time I've ever shipped anything to Brazil was a Vectrex multicart PCB to a trusted and established fellow AA'er here. It did take a while to arrive but everything went well. Ebay's a different story though- I block Brazilian and most other international buyers there since usually I won;t know who I'd be dealing with.