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1) I have read the archived messages dealing with mail boxes in Florida versus the local mail service. I tried to find a specific reference to the problem(s)with the local mail but could find nothing explicit except the reluctance of online sellers to ship overseas. What exactly is the risk of using the local mail? And is it really worth the aggravation and expense of the stateside mailbox?
2) Any experience with Banco Popular? Is this the same bank that we have in MIami?
Thank you.
Letters are fine. Products are more complicated.
When you ship products to Costa Rica via the local mail service – depending on the product – you could spend a full day – I am not kidding – getting it out of Costa Rica customs…
You could ship the same product one week, the same product the following week and pay 100% more duty on one than the other, even though they’re exactly the same but, the customs agents is different.
Is it worth it? For me? God! Yes! But for someone who rarely orders products and who relishes the ‘challenge’ of Costa Rica bureacracy and has the time to wait in lines….
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comThe efficacy of the mail forwarding services appears to be 1)dependability and 2) the circumvention of customs? You mention that the application of customs regs can be arbitrary–how does this change with the forwarding service? One of the postings on this topic talked about driving into central San Jose periodically and picking up the mail. This is where I got the idea that somehow the forwarding service has found a way around customs.
Many thanks for your assistance.
Lee
Sadly, I can attest to the fact that the mail forwarding services have not found any way to circumvent Costa Rican Customs. The difference is that they take care of the problem for you. You’ll still be subject to the arbitrary application of the duty, but you won’t have to spend a day, as Scott says, chasing down your merchandise (maybe in a language you don’t speak).
Yes, if you use ARCR’s service (which we, who live in Grecia, do), you’ll have to drive into San Jose to pick up your stuff. Other, more expensive, services either deliver to your door (in some areas) or have outlying pick-up points.
The Costa Rican Correo (postal serice) is said to be less than totally secure. The buzz is that stuff disappears. I dunno. But we have friends whose birthday and Christmas cards from the U.S., sent via the Correo, have never arrived.
That said, I can also tell you that we have received U.S. mail, sent to our Miami mail forwarding address, that has arrived many weeks after it was sent.
Nothing’s perfect.
I have been thrilled with the service and the low cost of the regular Costa Rican mail service.
We have mailed tens of thousands of books to the USA plus LOTS of coffee PLUS our Real Estate Investors Kit which is nearly 2 kilos and although we “lost” maybe ten of them, most of them showed up back here when they were “unclaimed” in the USA.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comDelivery problems arise much more for packages entering Costa Rica than those leaving. Outgoing mail doesn’t get waylaid by customs, and is usually sent to a country that has more clear and concise addresses.
Also, Fed Ex, DHL, and ARCR definitely don’t “circumvent” customs, they just specialize in effectively dealing with them.
Contrary to what some have said on this forum, I don’t believe that Banco Popular in Miami is the same as the one in CR. If there is any relationship at all between the two, it is not strong enough to offer any appreciable benefit to someone trying to consolidate their international banking services. To the contrary, three of the four state-owned banks, Banco de CR, Banco Nacional and BICSA have strong relationships with major international banks, as do many privately-held banks doing business in CR.
Banco Popular in Costa Rica seems to be almost a quasi-governmental institution. It holds pension assets paid through the CAJA (social security) system.
Agreeing with what Scott has said, I, too, have used the Correo for outgoing mail with no problems whatsoever. If I’m sending anything of intrinsic value, such as a check, I always send it Certified Mail which costs about $1.10 or so.
It’s amazing to me that I can send First Class mail from Costa Rica to (say) Detroit cheaper than I can send that same mail from anyplace in the United States. And delivery time is about the same.
STAY AWAY FROM DHL IN COSTA RICA
I have been fighting with them for nearly FOUR MONTHS to get them to stop sending DHL packages with cheques in them to my previous address.
The DHL packet has my correct street address on it and some moron always adds a sheet of paper and puts it on top with my OLD address on it and then delivers it to the old address instead of my new address and the guard at the old address thankfully telephones me to tell me that it’s there.
My assistant and I have informed them on over 20 occasions of this problem and we can only hope that the next time …
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comRegarding direct deposit of Social Security checks into Costa Rican banks, a knowledgeable friend who is on Social Security says he does, indeed, have that option although he still has his check deposited in his U.S. bank. Also, there’s been an ad recently by Banco Nacional either on-line or in the Tico Times in which they offer to accept direct deposit of U.S. Social Security payments.
So, yes, it can be done. My guess is that any bank operating in Costa Rica can receive your Social Security pension payment directly.
What you do not want to do, however, is have a traditional paper check delivered to you here to deposit in a Costa Rican bank. It’s my understanding that it takes around 45 days for any U.S. check deposited here to clear.
Tested the Express Mail service at the CR Post Office. $20US for the fastest service from San Jose. I live 60 miles north of Chicago and received the 1 pound package in 4 business days. I paid someone by personal check for $1600US in San Jose. It was deposited in the National Bank and 8 business days later it cleared my account here in Wisconsin.
Postage in Costa Rica is a bargain. I think our Post Office box here in Parrita was $12 year. Scott the Post Office went private didn’t it?
How much does an average Postal Worker make per hour???
Stan Putra
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