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Other Shipping an iphone from United States to Mexico

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rosebud33

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 3, 2010
3
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Perhaps MacForums isn't the appropriate place for this question but I thought perhaps someone could enlighten me...
I recently purchased 2 iphones, the 2nd being for my friend in Puerto Vallarta, Mx. I researched about shipping to Mx. ,that the USPS was more problematic and that I should use either UPS, Fedex, or DHL.
I went to UPS with the new iphone ready to ship and they asked me where the phone was manufactured and I told them it says "assembled in China". The lady at the UPS counter immediately got a supervisor on the phone and put me on the phone with him. He told me due to Mexico's anti-dumping laws concerning Chinese made goods, mainly toys and clothes, but he said once the phone reaches Mexican customs they might hold it and require my friend in PV to pay a 300% to 500% import tax or tariff on the phone! Or, the UPS rep. told me Mx. customs could even refuse it and/or seize it.
I bought the phones for the 2 of us so we could be on the ATT Viva Mexico plan together to try and save money on phone calls, plus he really wanted an iphone and he says they are really expensive in Mx.
It's muey expensive to ship via UPS, 140.00 for 2-day service, and my friend who weighs considerably more than the iphone could fly to Chicago roundtrip for about 300.00 to get his phone but his 6-day work week schedule does not permit any time off right now.
Anyway, I know I'm not being concise but has anyone shipped an iphone from US to Mx and what was your experience? Any advice?
 
Metropolitan Puerto Vallarta area is dominated by Telcel, I believe, so of course ATT is using there infrastructure, but with Viva Mexico plan there are no roaming charges between US and Mexico. Drawback is no mobile to mobile and A-list between US and Mexico as both phones have to be on US soil for those features.
 
rosebud33 said:
Metropolitan Puerto Vallarta area is dominated by Telcel, I believe, so of course ATT is using there infrastructure, but with Viva Mexico plan there are no roaming charges between US and Mexico. Drawback is no mobile to mobile and A-list between US and Mexico as both phones have to be on US soil for those features.
Click to expand...

FedEx. A bit more expensive, but more reliable. I'd also *coughs*LIE*coughs* about the phones value. The import taxes are CRAZY, I know. You're lucky you don't have to ship to Scandinavia.
 
Cynikal.Mindset said:
is mexico's att not different than usa att? or do they even have att there?? I'm just wondering how a US locked att phone is supposed to work in mexico
Click to expand...

there's no at&t in mexico, the ones that work with the iphone are telcel (the one that carries it) and movistar
 
I would not ship the phone -- Mexican customs will try their hardest to either keep it or if they don't succeed, nail your friend with a huge duty on it.

My dad runs a customs brokerage house in the San Diego/Tijuana area so we deal with Mexican customs on a daily basis.

With such a high value item, I would wait for your friend to fly up to the US to pick it up or fly down yourself.

The phone will work fine since Telcel has pretty good service in Vallarta. The viva mexico plans sounds very interesting. How does data work when in Mexico? Is the data plan the standard $25/$30 data plan?
 
Take it from someone who ships using all three carriers for a living, the UPS rep did you a big favor by telling you this information up front. Mexican customs can add up to 1200% duties/taxes (no joke) to anything manufactured in China, or they can simply flat out refuse it. If your friend does not agree to pay the customs fees YOU will have to pay again to have it returned back to you at a much higher rate than what you paid to initially ship it.

$140 is very steep. We usually prefer using DHL to Mexico. They have a much bigger presence in Mexico than Fedex and UPS combined. However, I strongly advise you against sending that iPhone to Mexico.
 
saturnino3 said:
I would not ship the phone -- Mexican customs will try their hardest to either keep it or if they don't succeed, nail your friend with a huge duty on it.

My dad runs a customs brokerage house in the San Diego/Tijuana area so we deal with Mexican customs on a daily basis.

With such a high value item, I would wait for your friend to fly up to the US to pick it up or fly down yourself.

The phone will work fine since Telcel has pretty good service in Vallarta. The viva mexico plans sounds very interesting. How does data work when in Mexico? Is the data plan the standard $25/$30 data plan?
Click to expand...


The data plan, if you want to call it that, is cost prohibitive at $5/MB, so I told my friend to always keep the international roaming feature shut off and take advantage of free wifi locations, which is fairly common in the PV area.
Thanks to you and everyone else for your sound advice. I had a feeling I wouldn't get a response that someone actually shipped an iphone to Mx. and had a positive experience. Off the subject, but don't ship Garage Pail Kids trading cards to Mx. (what?) I actually read that on their customs website. They singled out GPK of all things due to the cards depicting children in a demeaning way... could Wacky Paks be next on the list?
 
Shipping USED iPhone to Mexico

Hello everyone,

This thread is somewhat old but I've come accross a very similar situation.

I'm currently studying in NY and while here, my iPhone 4's screen cracked.
I bought a new one because the iPhone 5 had just come out.

Recently, though, I got the 4 repaired and thought I could mail it to my mother back at home so she can have an upgrade from her 3s...

It's a used phone, and I was thinking of mailing it via USPS Priority Mail International, which would cost about $32, I believe, with insurance on $200 and tracking tools, or so they say. (in a padded envelope and covered in bubble wrap.)

Will Mexican customs charge my mother for importing the phone even if I'd be declaring it as a gift?

Thanks a lot for your help,

Carmen :)
 
carmeyeii said:
Hello everyone,

This thread is somewhat old but I've come accross a very similar situation.

I'm currently studying in NY and while here, my iPhone 4's screen cracked.
I bought a new one because the iPhone 5 had just come out.

Recently, though, I got the 4 repaired and thought I could mail it to my mother back at home so she can have an upgrade from her 3s...

It's a used phone, and I was thinking of mailing it via USPS Priority Mail International, which would cost about $32, I believe, with insurance on $200 and tracking tools, or so they say. (in a padded envelope and covered in bubble wrap.)

Will Mexican customs charge my mother for importing the phone even if I'd be declaring it as a gift?

Thanks a lot for your help,

Carmen :)
Click to expand...

DO NOT SHIP IT USPS they just pass it along to FedEx. DHL prob best way to ship
 
Thanks for the advice.

Do you think she will still have to pay taxes (and have all the "made in china" trouble) even though it is used?

Thanks,
Carmen
 
This sounds like a perfect business for somebody living in San Diego. Know a friend there? :)
 
did you send it?

Hi Carmeyeii,

I am in a similar situation. My mother in law is visiting us in the UK form Mexico, her mini ipad broke we took it to an apple store here but it has to be replaced in the country of purchase (it is a cellular model). She is not back until after the guarantee runs out. We have been in contact with apple care, they have extended for 30 days the guarantee (enough time for her to go back) but the people in the shop (mixup ishop) Mexico dont want to knowledge the extension (my brother in law when to the shop and asked). We are thinking on sending the mini ipad to Mexico to my brother in law (he has the receipt) but we have no idea if they are going to charge us taxes as people in custom cna be very difficult.
What was your experience in the end?
Thanks,:confused:

carmeyeii said:
Ah! :)

Unfortunately, I don't have a friend close to the border...

So do you think I should send it, or will the outrageous taxes still be applicable ?

C
Click to expand...
 
Damn, I thought brokerage fees for items from US to Canada were bad.
 
Years ago I bought a computer as a present for a friend in Canada, and shipped it there from the US.

It sat in customs for days, and my friend had to pay a lot in duties.

I think the lesson is, it's sometimes a lot easier and cheaper to simply send people the money to buy items locally.
 
rosebud33 said:
Perhaps MacForums isn't the appropriate place for this question but I thought perhaps someone could enlighten me...
I recently purchased 2 iphones, the 2nd being for my friend in Puerto Vallarta, Mx. I researched about shipping to Mx. ,that the USPS was more problematic and that I should use either UPS, Fedex, or DHL.
I went to UPS with the new iphone ready to ship and they asked me where the phone was manufactured and I told them it says "assembled in China". The lady at the UPS counter immediately got a supervisor on the phone and put me on the phone with him. He told me due to Mexico's anti-dumping laws concerning Chinese made goods, mainly toys and clothes, but he said once the phone reaches Mexican customs they might hold it and require my friend in PV to pay a 300% to 500% import tax or tariff on the phone! Or, the UPS rep. told me Mx. customs could even refuse it and/or seize it.
I bought the phones for the 2 of us so we could be on the ATT Viva Mexico plan together to try and save money on phone calls, plus he really wanted an iphone and he says they are really expensive in Mx.
It's muey expensive to ship via UPS, 140.00 for 2-day service, and my friend who weighs considerably more than the iphone could fly to Chicago roundtrip for about 300.00 to get his phone but his 6-day work week schedule does not permit any time off right now.
Anyway, I know I'm not being concise but has anyone shipped an iphone from US to Mx and what was your experience? Any advice?
Click to expand...
 
So here we are in November of 2015. Your discussion came up on google when I did a search for sending a iPhone to Mexico via mail. I'm only replying because I think this form needed more help from me then I got from it. I've sent iPhones in the past to family, the best way is find a local Mexican store in your area, it would have to be one that ships packages to Mexico, you would know because they have demo boxes on display with prices on them size dependent. These boxes can range from $80-$200 price including unlimited waight. This is useful when sending many items to family. They will charge a fee, or deductible on the box so you can take the box home prepare it and load it up. I tape the crap out of the box in shipping tape making it virtually impossible to open without notice. Take the box back with a brief description of what's in it so they can charge you the proper custom fees. I would describe an iPhone as a simple cell phone not mentioning it's a iPhone. Or one could say MP3 player. I normally stuff the phone in the middle of the box surrounded by clothes you could even stuff in a shoe. The custom fee paid upfront will depend on what you tell them is in it. It's probably better to tell them there is a phone inside or electronics. The custom fee is like another $15 and they sell insurance on your box should it get lost. Insurance price depends on how much you want to cover. $200 = $15 and so on. I have sent three large boxes in the past and every box has made it to the address in Mexico intact with all belongings. They are like there own private shipping service. I'm in PortlAnd OR and we have many Mexican stores that offer that service. Sorry I don't know the name right now. It's based in Miami I think because the recipe has a customer service number from Miami. It could take up to a month for boxes to make it.
 
Since this thread is brought up again, I also have a question very similar to this. It's not Mexico though, I want to send an iPhone 6 Plus that I used to use to a friend in Israel.

I have only two options unless I either want to walk 4 hours to DHL or ride a taxi to it since I have no car and I live on campus. The UPS store on campus or 30 minute walk to the USPS store (which has some nasty reviews, so I'm kind of skeptical about going there).

I attempted the UPS store, the manager there helped me. He noted that I'm sending an iPhone and called the UPS about it... Apparently he has to get in touch with Israel UPS to confirm that I can ship my phone to my friend there? He promised to call me back when they update him, it's been a week. I called the store twice and was told Israel UPS has not gotten in touch with him yet, and second time he was not available and never heard from on that day. I'm planning on going back to the store physically and attempt to send again...

I think I should just get shipping boxes and tape and filling and package the phone myself, and just tell them I'm shipping a used phone to my friend as a gift? Will they accept it then? I have another 6 Plus and my friend wants an iPhone so I decided to be nice and send him my old 6 Plus (has dents and cracks in corners so resale value isn't gonna be good anyway), and these things are confusing.
 
Sumter said:
Since this thread is brought up again, I also have a question very similar to this. It's not Mexico though, I want to send an iPhone 6 Plus that I used to use to a friend in Israel.

I have only two options unless I either want to walk 4 hours to DHL or ride a taxi to it since I have no car and I live on campus. The UPS store on campus or 30 minute walk to the USPS store (which has some nasty reviews, so I'm kind of skeptical about going there).

I attempted the UPS store, the manager there helped me. He noted that I'm sending an iPhone and called the UPS about it... Apparently he has to get in touch with Israel UPS to confirm that I can ship my phone to my friend there? He promised to call me back when they update him, it's been a week. I called the store twice and was told Israel UPS has not gotten in touch with him yet, and second time he was not available and never heard from on that day. I'm planning on going back to the store physically and attempt to send again...

I think I should just get shipping boxes and tape and filling and package the phone myself, and just tell them I'm shipping a used phone to my friend as a gift? Will they accept it then? I have another 6 Plus and my friend wants an iPhone so I decided to be nice and send him my old 6 Plus (has dents and cracks in corners so resale value isn't gonna be good anyway), and these things are confusing.
Click to expand...
[doublepost=1516744878][/doublepost]the best way to ship anything to mexico is through Amazon.com/mex bar none there is tax to be paid but its reasonable and that person will be sure to get it plus any problems they can send it back to amazon
 
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