23 replies to this topic

[Jeanne B]

I was told today that used clothes will not pass customs. Is this true?

[lakeside101]

i've hearc to mark it as something else.... household items?

[solajijic]

Selling clothes is a big deal here. At the border there are warehouses full of new clothes for the tianguis markets and mom & pop clothes store. You can go there and purchase a huge bundle of any type of clothing and in all sizes. These are second, over runs, buy outs, etc... but still its a big business. City markets plazas are full of these clothes. The laws protect this livelihood. A kids charity looked into it a couple years ago. A church wanted to hold a coat drive. It was found you may bring in your own clothing, but shipping anything used here for charity is likely to cost more than the clothing is worth. Adults with kids clothes and a red light would not be good.

[manny]

i have been sending clothes here untill about 2yrs ago. i sent them to myself from the usa. i wrote on customs sticker "personal items" not for commerical purposes, then listed value. mine were new, but all tags & receipts were removed & no sales receipt. value should always be under $100 usd, & sent by u.s. postal internatonal priority mail. no large padded envelopes/small boxes were ever opened, only huge cartons w/quilts. i was never charged duty. (who gave me this idea? the head of international fedx in mexico city). for return address its always my name & a usa address, then addressed to myself. my friends sent me things exactly that way. never failed ever, but things change.

[solajijic]

Manny is right, I do that too for my own family clothing. And I am VERY careful to put a low value on it because I did once put the real value of $3500 on a wedding dress sent to Indonesia to a daughter who had the right to bring in her personal belongings. Damn customs saw it differently and set a duty tax of $1004 on that dress. So we were very careful when the charity was asking questions. It was just too expensive to send only one or two coats per box and a big box would be opened and duty paid. So be careful.

[otbdiane]

I have tried several times to have clothing (my own) sent here either by UPS or Fed-X. No go!! Stopped at customs each time stating I could not import used clothing! The only way I know of to get clothing from US down here is to go to US and pack a suitcase and mark it as personal items. DO NOT leave any price tags on anything you are bringing down. They also do not allow yarn of any kind. I had an afghan started and the rest of the yarn to finish it. NO WAY Apparently yarn is on the no-import list.

[manny]

pbdiane: never use fesx or ups!! they can charge more than 60% tax or what ever they want. read my comment: POSTAL ONLY!! & do exactly the way i stated. i have sent new/used (after i wore them) what ever. also quilts sheets. never paid a penny for duty. & who ever sends me things always puts my name on the return address. i have been doing this for over 10 yrs. the first time was when i sent a marbel pestal. i had forgotton to have the movers take it. so i went to the post office in sent it. after that i started sending towels & sheets back here while i was visiting, as not all would fit in the suitcase. then i would order clothes boots etc phone orders & have them sent to my friends. who used the postal method. before doing that i spoke to someone @ fedx who gave me these details, said postal is duty free under $100 usd. even 2 small stores would do this for me, & they didnt have mexico on their list. as for flying home w/many new clothes in suitcase: just remove tags & receipts. easy. i never ever had problems.

[bdmowers]

I have tried several times to have clothing (my own) sent here either by UPS or Fed-X. No go!! Stopped at customs each time stating I could not import used clothing! The only way I know of to get clothing from US down here is to go to US and pack a suitcase and mark it as personal items. DO NOT leave any price tags on anything you are bringing down. They also do not allow yarn of any kind. I had an afghan started and the rest of the yarn to finish it. NO WAY Apparently yarn is on the no-import list.

How were the yarns packed and labeled - box, suitcase?

[manny]

forgot to say, large cartons are opened by customs, but not padded envelopes or small boxes. they just look to see if it was really "sheets & towels". closed the bex & taped it up. (this is for postal). good idea to write the items in spanish/english to make it easy.

[barefootcontessa22]

OK, I'm wanting to go the other way - to send used clothing (my own) from here to the US. I don't want to carry everything I have as luggage and would like to send stuff I'm not using ahead before I leave Lakeside.

Does anyone know how long it takes for a box to go through Mexican postal service and be delivered in the US? Any kind of customs problems or potential problems? Is it cost-effective (compare to a quote given me at Mailboxes Etc. to send 14 pounds for over 1000pesos).

I'd love to offload some of the stuff I need to take back via mail and not have to juggle it myself while traveling.

[manny]

i have done this by postal here. check their prices by scale (kilo is 2.2 lbs), sometimes they are not so different then mailboxes. usually takes 10 business days. but it also has taken 3 1/2 weeks. customs is not a problem. its more work to send things here than the other way around.

[barefootcontessa22]

Thanks Manny - will check at post office.

[otbdiane]

Manny, thanks, will try again thru regular postal and see what happens. However, how do I describe yarn so that it will actually come thru?

[manny]

obtdiane, refresh my memory. are you sending yarn TO mexico. or FROM mexico to the usa?

[ajijicer]

Ok so back to the original post. I have some good, used clothes I want to send from the states to Mx, to someone other than myself (I still don't understand why sending them to oneself would make a difference but if someone can clarify the advantage, I could do that). I get that I should send it regular (or priority?) US mail and mark it "Personal Items". and insure it for $100 or less. It is probably a medium box. I plan to send it to a business so someone can sign for accepting delivery during the day. If anyone has any information I should know about, please let me know.

[ajijicer]

Spent mucho time on the phone with the PO and a special number for international shipping. Most economical way to send is using their international flat rate box for $39.95 although it isn't that big. Anything you send must be labeled with specific items inside so "household items" is not sufficient. And noone could tell me what happens with customs on the Mx side. They seemed to think used clothing should not be subject to paying customs. If anyone has had recent experience, please report.

[Stan]

Here is the bible for donations to Mexico organizations: http://www.icfdn.org/publications/inkind/inkinddonationguide.php

[ajijicer]

Very intersting. But I am trying to send to a person, not a charity.

[RVGRINGO]

The simple answer is that it will be very expensive. The only practical way is to bring your personal clothing in a suitcase or in your own vehicle.

[manny]

to send: just put your name as the top line then next line % (the persons you are sending too). the US postal has a websight & an international section, just recheck the rates. i mentioned the flat rate box. also you can pack your own box & do it by weight. personal items are YOUR things. they are not used for commercial purposes. so you are sending your things to your home in mexico. as for the "used" term, dont question stupidity of public employees. "used" in the 3rd world means "to sell". as i said, i did this over 10 yrs. list the items, like 3 shirts total 20 usd, etc etc total $80 usd. (or 4 plastic cups, 2 cleaning bruhes, etc etc, total $76.). english w/spanish in parenthesis). i know those boxes are small, & they keep rasing thr prices. forget donations to mexico, more stupid stuff. if the small package look like what the customs slip says, it goes right through. a bigger box may be opened, but that was always ok w/me.