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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2016 8:18:47 GMT -5
I am thinking about getting a virtual PO Box (casillero virtual) in Colombia for some online shopping. I am considering Colombian Post 4-72 casillero virtual service because they make you save VAT and Customs taxes for small packages (less than 2kg). And their prices are rather good. Like USD 7 for a 1 lb package, or USD 12 for 2 lbs. Additionally, you can request your package to be delivered to one of their selfservice lockers in Bogota.
Are you using similar service, which one and why? Anyone has hands one experience on 4-72 casillero virtual reliability? I mean, that's Colombian post after all.
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Post by livinginmedellin on Aug 2, 2016 9:37:17 GMT -5
The name "4-72" probably means you receive only 4 out of 72 packages sent to you from the horror stories I have heard from several Colombians using that service. I have heard that Colombia postal service 4-72 is very unreliable. I would recommend Mail Boxes Etc - co.mbelatam.com/. With the Mail Boxes Etc e-box service you get a mailing address in Miami and anything sent to that address is forwarded to your mailbox at the Mail Boxes Etc office in Colombia in normally 5-7 days in my experience. The e-box service costs $14 per month and you can send 1 kg for free each month. I send things bought on Amazon to the Miami address for free using Amazon Prime and the cost to send on to Colombia isn't very much. When you pick up the package you pay any taxes and additional shipping charges. Some items have no taxes. You can also have them deliver packages to your home. I have been using this service for over five years and never had a problem. Mail Boxes Etc has offices in Colombia in Bogotá, Medellín, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga and Cartagena.
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Post by papitohead on Aug 2, 2016 10:34:54 GMT -5
This is good to know livinginmedellin. Thanks. I am wondering about medications. I could have the VA send my meds to Florida and then my sister can send them to me in Colombia.
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Post by colombiana on Aug 2, 2016 13:07:12 GMT -5
LOL about "4-72" probably means you receive only 4 out of 72 packages
A girlfriend tried to use 4-72 to send 2 package to Bogota and neither package arrived.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2016 16:33:00 GMT -5
Thanks LM for sharing your experience. I don't like very much the idea of a monthly service fee. $14 ain't cheap!
Regarding 4_72, a Colombian (female) friend is buying a lot of things from China through Aliexpress.com. Most of the time, 4-72 is the local carrier in Colombia. She told me nothing was ever lost, but delivery time is very variable, like from 3 weeks to more than 3 months.
I myself recently received a small package from China (a replacement battery for a cellphone). It was a simple certified mail thick enveloppe. It got to me in a bit more than a month, and took a week from arrival in Colombia to my home. Their tracking service is, errr... a bit strange. They kept updating the system 2 or 3 days after the delivery.
Meanwhile some Colombians told me about Coordinadorausa.com and Skybox.net. About Skybox, the guy told me his bank is providing free skybox subscriptions for their premium customers (Helm bank). What's not clear to me though is who is delivering the packages locally. If it's 4-72, why paying more than the 4_72 offer.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 2, 2016 16:56:46 GMT -5
This is good to know livinginmedellin . Thanks. I am wondering about medications. I could have the VA send my meds to Florida and then my sister can send them to me in Colombia. This would need to be investigated, but I think medicines are restricted for import in Colombia.
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Post by papitohead on Aug 3, 2016 0:29:41 GMT -5
Well, well, that would stink if is so.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2016 4:07:47 GMT -5
I have used 4/72 for several years now. They shipped about half a dozen boxes for me, all from Amazon, also a renewed debit card from my US Citibank. Nothing was ever lost. I especially like their exclusive tax free service up to 2kg which came very handy when I bought an expensive camera. So for anything of value, like expensive watches, optical or medical instruments, computer parts or note books, a light laptop, you can't beat the service. Amazon always lists the total shipping weight of their individual items, you've got to pay attention to that. I understand the government no longer allows cell phones into the country tax free, but haven't checked with 4/72 on that. Negatives: Tracking service stops once the item enters Colombia. Boxes sit in their warehouse in Miami for up to a week before being flown to Colombia and an other week or two goes by before they deliver to outlying cities and your home from Bogotá where everything seems to go to first. Typical slow Third World service once the item reaches Colombia. One item was delayed for a couple of months but not lost and it was my fault for failing to notify my supplier with the new address in Miami when 4/72 moved the warehouse. You will always be notified by mail when the item arrives in their Miami warehouse and on the shipping cost which will be taken out of your debit card information you gave them. I will definitively keep using 4/72, especially for anything costly under 2 kg.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2016 9:56:43 GMT -5
thanks CG! You nailed what I saw as the main 4-72 benefit down: tax free service. We're talking about 28% of the end value here. What bothers me is the lack of tracking service. I am a parcel tracking freak! And parcels sitting up to one week in Transexpress wharehouse... hmmm.. I also read on some Colombian forums that if the parcels are delivered after 4pm at the wharehouse, the delivery is rescheduled for the next day. Also don't accept parcels on week ends. I opened a 4-72 account yesterday, to give a try. They didn't charge me 15 dollars subscription fee, and I already have my Miami (well, Doral) address. I just ordered a small thing on Amazon to give it a try. We'll see.
As for cellphones, no, you can't legally import cellphones anymore. Well you can bring a few back from a trip (maximum of 3 cellphones with you), but you can't import phones anymore.
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Post by flynnflanagan on Aug 3, 2016 11:45:49 GMT -5
If someone brings you a phone, you can go ahead and put your SIM card in it and start using it. At some point at some point you will receive a text message telling you that you have to register the phone or be blocked. You can register it at EXITO and other places I would suspect. No charge. Be happy.
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Post by saltador on Aug 3, 2016 19:34:15 GMT -5
That 4-72 can avoid paying the tax on small items like cameras or laptops is amazing. I wonder how they arranged that with the Colombian government? I use a service out of Florida to send me my items, it usually takes 5 business days to have the item in my hands in Colombia, and the rate is very reasonable. But we pay taxes on the value of the items.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2016 20:04:17 GMT -5
I suspect 4/72 is part of the Colombian Government and they use the tax free service to attract clients and minimize competition.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2016 0:43:26 GMT -5
Yes 4-72 is the commercial brand of Servicios Postales Nacionales, a State-owned company.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2016 23:40:12 GMT -5
Ok so I used 4-72 casillero virtual for the first time. I bought a beard trimmer on Amazon (I couldn't find what I wanted in Bogota), around 30 bucks. It cost me 12 dollars from Miami to colombia, all included. It arrived in Miami Thursday, and left the warehouse the same day en route to Bogota, and got it delivered Saturday. 2 days delivery from Miami for 12 bucks, I liked it. I used SrPack service (these are automated lockers available in different points of Bogota), which is excellent. I received an email and a sms telling me the parcel was ready to pick up on saturday morning. They joined a QR code that I could scan at the locker and which opened the locker door. Time to pick up the parcel: 18 seconds. As CG mentioned, no functional tracking number to track the parcel in Colombia. Well I got a tracking number, but it didn't work, and the one on the parcel was never communicated, which is bad because I could track back my parcel online with this tracking code.
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Post by bickmed on Aug 15, 2016 9:35:40 GMT -5
Has anyone tried Caribbean Shipper? Their rates are 1.80 usd per pound. They state that tax is 12% on goods less than 200 usd. That seems a lot cheaper than 4-72 .
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2016 15:07:55 GMT -5
I meanwhile received 3 more packages through 4-72 casillero virtual. All 4 packages have been despatched from Miami to Bogota the same day, and were delivered within 2 days in Bogota. I don't have an Amazon prime account so that's actually the US part that may take more time. I paid 3 packages 12 dollars each, and the forth one, that was a bit heavier (3.5 lbs), cost me $23.29 ($22 of shipping + $1.29 insurance). No additional taxes for any of the 4 packages, but it's always been less than $200 purchases.
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Post by scott on Sept 16, 2016 6:06:22 GMT -5
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Post by saltador on Sept 17, 2016 17:00:40 GMT -5
Giro Express is who I use, very good service and costs less than you would think.
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