Hello all,
I'm not an ex-pat or planning to be one, but I hope you won't mind me tapping into your local knowledge to help me organise for a replacement camera for my daughter, who is currently in Argentina.
The problem is that she is not living in Mendoza (or anywhere else), but travelling, with a partner, around the world on horseback (www.thegreathorsetrip.com). They managed to lose both of their rugged/waterproof cameras somewhere south of Malargue and badly need to get a replacement. Their next destination of any size is Mendoza, which they will reach in probably about 8-12 days.
There are two options that I can think of.
One is that she simply buys a replacement in Mendoza, but I don't know how likely they are to find the right one. I haven't been able to locate a dealer on the internet. If anyone knows, or could suggest, a possible source, that would be great. The particular camera is a Panasonic (Lumix) DMC-FT3 (or DMC-TS3. Same thing, just the US version).
The second option is for me to send one from the UK, but obviously my daughter doesn't have a delivery address. Can anyone tell me if there is anything like a post office or similar to which I can send it for collection when they arrive in thee town?
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Barry
Getting a camera to Mendoza
NEVER NEVER NEVER send a package to Argentina. If you cannot bring it with you in the plane, forget it. Even if you send it by courier, it will be blocked and detained by Customs in Buenos Aires, and she will have to go there to pay a huge import fee, and probably a huge bribe. Expats never have things sent to Argentina.
Imported items like this are very expensive, Argentina has the highest import taxes in the world.
Best to buy or to send to nearby Santiago, Chile.
Hi Mendozanow,
Thanks for the quick reply, even if it is pretty depressing. I was thinking of sending a well-used one out, described as her own personal property rather than an import, in the hope that this would avoid the customs problem. Is this likely to help at all?
Barry
No, the rule is that is has to have value less than $25 to escape import duty, but when they open it up and see they will say it is more.
People assume the same basic rules apply to all countries, the hard lesson is that they do not. Try to make your daughter see this, as it is tough to change mindsets.
They should bite the bullet, and buy replacements, perhaps cheap ones.
Hi Mendozanow,
It's not a question of biting the bullet; just how best to solve a problem at the least possible cost. My daughter normally works as a project coordinator for an aid agancy in countries like The Congo, Somalia, Haiti, etc, so she is used to dealing with awkward and even very corrupt bureacracies and very difficult logistics.
But I take your point, and sending one from here doesn't seem like an option. I have managed to locate the thing she needs on something called MercadoLibre; next thing is to work out how to buy it and get it to someone who is living in a tent 
Thanks again
Barry
mendozanow wrote:NEVER NEVER NEVER send a package to Argentina. If you cannot bring it with you in the plane, forget it. Even if you send it by courier, it will be blocked and detained by Customs in Buenos Aires, and she will have to go there to pay a huge import fee, and probably a huge bribe. Expats never have things sent to Argentina.
Imported items like this are very expensive, Argentina has the highest import taxes in the world.
Best to buy or to send to nearby Santiago, Chile.
Horribly true.
BarryH wrote:Hi Mendozanow,
It's not a question of biting the bullet; just how best to solve a problem at the least possible cost. My daughter normally works as a project coordinator for an aid agancy in countries like The Congo, Somalia, Haiti, etc, so she is used to dealing with awkward and even very corrupt bureacracies and very difficult logistics.
But I take your point, and sending one from here doesn't seem like an option. I have managed to locate the thing she needs on something called MercadoLibre; next thing is to work out how to buy it and get it to someone who is living in a tent
Thanks again
Barry
Try Western Union, yes massive percentage they take but like you say about haiti, congo etc, I got a package in the middle of borneo so they do work AND we do have them here. Mercadolibre is like a chilean ebay, good and kinda reliable ... let me know how things go ... pm me if you need to ..... hope you get this resolved .... ps don't use correo argentina, try fedex, ups etc ...
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