Electronics and Shipping from US to Rio

Hi Mickey34,

Unless your employer is paying the costs of shipping your household belongings to Brazil, or they consist of heirlooms and precious antiques I'd suggest you don't even try for various reasons; the cost is astronomical being one of them.

The Playstation would best be brought as extra baggage paked in a large suitcase among clothing, etc., which will protect it from bumps, bangs and potential theft in transit.

While the TV will probably work here just fine, the risk of damage in transit is high. Then too there is the fact that any electrical appliance you bring from North America is not type approved here by INMETRO (our equivalent to CSA and Energy Star, UL, etc.) and could present significant civil liablities to you should one short out and cause a fire later on.

Most people coming to Brazil simply start all over from scratch with buying all new household items and furniture, it ends up being the cheapest and quickest alternative. Small items such as notebooks, game consoles, etc., are best brought as excess baggage.

Cheers,
James       Expat-blog Experts Team

Hi James,

Thanks for your response!
I have an outlet that I shop in (wholesale prices)  I order clothing from them all the time and they ship it to me. Once I'm in Rio will I still be able to receive my orders from them?  I've been told that items will never reach me, as they might be stolen in transit because it will have to sit in customs for months. Could you provide some insight.  I never shop in person, I do everything online.  My clothing is a bargain when I do it this way.

Well, first of all there is a 60% import tax on anything you're going to have sent to Brazil from abroad and the tax is calculated on the price including cost of shipping, so you really will have to do the math to see if after that you'll actually be saving anything. Sorry, but that's just the way that the protectionist laws in this blessed country are. On top of the import tax you may also have to pay other taxes such as ICMS.

Regarding the reliability of shipping, that will depend on the means of shipment. If it's coming via FedEx, UPS or DHL then you should be able to receive the goods without too many problems. If it comes by regular mail then your chances of actually getting anything that is of value are probably less than 50%. Just to show you how unreliable the Correios is here, in the past year no less than SIX of my monthly pension checks from Canada have simply vanished from the face of the earth, never to be seen again.

I have absolutely no idea whatsoever how long things get held up in Customs or if they're subject to loss, since I've never ordered anything from abroad.

Cheers,
James    Expat-blog Experts Team

Thanks James!

Do you know if the Playstation will work in Rio? My son is freaking because he has read that they don't. I don't play with Playstations because of my age.  This is like air and water to this kid.  I'd hate to get all the way over there and not have any type of resolution for him. For him, not being able to play with that thing is a deal breaker.  I'm leaving my car behind and I'm not crying. Any insight would be appreciated.

My wife is a Brazilian national as are my 2 stepsons. Often times I send packages to them from things they order from the US. Believe me when I tell you that things can get held up in customs for months. On packages I have sent, they take anywhere from 2 weeks to 8-9 months and then you pay all types of custom duties. My wife usually just takes several suitcases from the US and carries articles in them with her by plane. You are allowed 2 suitcases free and I believe it cost $275 for 3 extra suitcases as you can have up to 5 going to Brazil at 70 pounds each.
  Next, your son will be disappointed as I am afraid he will not be able to use his playstation unless he can buy a conversion system for the new television system that Brazil instituted in the last 2 years. They converted to digital and it is  a PAL system developed in conjunction with the Japanese company Samsung. The US uses NTSC system which is not compatable with this new system. 5 years ago your son would have been okay with his playstation as the old analog system was compatible but as I said before, the new digital system is not compatible unless he can find a conversion system. I am not sure if the converter has been developed yet though. Hope this helps you.