MAILING THINGS TO Costa Rica via the Correo • Post Office

WHAT YOU CAN • CAN NOT SHIP TO COSTA RICA VIA MAIL OR CONTAINER 

It seems to be getting harder and harder to get things shipped•mailed into Costa Rica so before you have something sent to you, KNOW if it's ok - otherwise - chances are good you can kiss it goodbye (I know one gal that's been waiting OVER 10 months to get her seeds and things)

BoxCorreos.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=167

Unlike many it seems, MY experience (in the days I had a stationary home) with MAILING THINGS TO Costa Rica from the U.S. has been VERY POSITIVE!!! 

So far, I've ALWAYS received my Voter forms and solicitations, tax info, people's Christmas Newsletters and even a few packages, etc. - EVEN when it had the WHOLE "Tico Address" thing on it - and most things seemed to come within 7-9 days of it being mailed from the U.S.!!

SHIPPING THINGS FROM Costa Rica

Many people mail things FROM Costa Rica and have no issues.  SOMETIMES postcards do not make it there so if that's crucial, you might want to buy the postcard in Costa Rica and ship it from your home country!!!

ONE time when I first moved to Costa Rica, I mailed my Tax Returns via regular mail to the IRS and to the state.  The State received theirs - BUT - the IRS claims it was NOT!!

So if it were ME - for something THIS important - I'd send it Registered or better yet - invest the $$ and send it Federal Express or the like where YOU can track it!!!!


I don't have experience with Certificado•Certified from Costa Rica so can't say if I'd use that for something THIS important (since if you do NOT "file" AND are late on your taxes - the fines are HUGE!! [I learned the hard way!!]).
Or if you know someone you can trust that's going back to the states and can mail it for you.



Now maybe it helped that every time my postal carrier would come by I'd give him some fruit and water or juice - but hey - being nice to people (especially if you genuinely like people) isn't really that hard and it makes YOU feel good when they give back to you eh?!?!?!!!!

Others have NOT been so lucky - so YOU get to figure out which way works for YOU (but trust me, chances are REALLY GOOD that if you don't believe it can happen, if you have ANY doubt - you'll surely create that as the Universe LOVES to prove you right!!!!).

I've also had MANY people share that things RARELY get stopped when going through the regular mail either to a home address or a Post Office box.  This can be a great thing as it can be a NIGHTMARE if something gets stopped in the Aduana (Customs) as it can take HOURS to retrieve it and LOTS of $$ - EVEN when it's your used laptop power cord you forgot (that happened to a friend that to get it out of the Aduana was going to cost around $120 in taxis, fees+++ - WAYYYY more than the price of the USED power cord he forgot at home for his USED laptop!!)

EXAMPLE:
Calle xwy - 50 meters este Calle abc - enfrente Cafe McDs - 100 meters Norte - Casa Naranja
Escazu, San Jose, COSTA RICA 


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OMGODDESS!!
DID YOU KNOW THAT COSTA RICA OFFICIAL POST OFFICE • CORREOS HAS A
MIAMI ADDRESS SHIPPING SERVICE TO COSTA RICA (similar to JetBox, etc. but their site says with BETTER SHIPPING RATES to Costa Rica??


Hmmm - it looks like they ("Correos de Costa Rica") has a shipping division - they refer to it as an "Internet Shopping Service" where you get a Miami address for FREE 
"Box Correo"
BoxCorreos.com
and it's then shipped to one of the Costa Rica post offices or your home!!
Their site says "Box Correos features a unique international freight rate, calculated by the actual weight of the item, in addition to the security system of payments (Certified Compliance PCI Data Security Standard), used by the most prestigious banks to safeguard data credit cards and debit cards.  In addition to these benefits, Mail Box, takes care of customs formalities and the respective permits for the delivery of the package at home."
And their site says they have THE BEST shipping rates from Miami to Costa Rica!!!!


REGISTER FOR YOUR FREE MIAMI ADDRESS:
Correos.go.cr/servicios/casilleros/BoxCorreos.html
https://secure.boxcorreos.com/index.php?option=com_registration&view=register&Itemid=150


LIVE HELP
BoxChat.correos.go.cr/webim/client.php
(during working hours [I'll get those hours soon])
(unfortunately their website is only in Español so not so easy to figure out if your Spanish is limited)


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WHAT YOU CAN • CAN NOT SHIP TO COSTA RICA VIA MAIL OR CONTAINER
 It seems to be getting harder and harder to get things shipped•mailed into Costa Rica so before you have something sent to you, KNOW if it's ok - otherwise - chances are good you can kiss it goodbye (I know one gal that's been waiting OVER 10 months to get her seeds and things)
BoxCorreos.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=167

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WARNING ABOUT HAVING SOMETHING SHIPPED TO YOU IN COSTA RICA FROM ABROAD!!!!
Before you have something shipped to you, make sure you check AHEAD of time on how much the
DUTY•TAXES ARE ON THINGS SHIPPED INTO COSTA RICA
as it could range from a few % to 100% plus a LOT of hassle to get it out of the
Aduana•Customs (the tax man!)
DutyCalculator.com/new-import-duty-and-tax-calculation


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CALCULATING DUTY•TAXES SHIPPING THINGS TO COSTA RICA
DutyCalculator.com/new-import-duty-and-tax-calculation


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Here are some GOOD articles on IMPORTATION FEES and what you can/can NOT bring into to Costa Rica
TheRealCostaRica.com/moving_to_costa_rica/importing_household_costa_rica.html
InternationalMoving.com/moving-to-costarica.html



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I did a story on PO Boxes, Zip Codes and all things Post Office•Correos related in Costa Rica at
LivingLifeInCostaRica.blogspot.com/2014/04/PostOfficesCorreosInCR.htm



Do - don't do what you want with this information - as EVERYONE seems to have a different experience from the next person.  I'm just sharing what MY experience has been!!!


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MAILING•SHIPPING THINGS TO COSTA RICA
 You know finding things in Costa Rica isn't always so easy to say nothing about it not being very cheap, so what you can do it have things sent from a U.S. address (most are located in Miami, Florida) to Costa Rica.
Check what I've found on that at:
LivingLifeInCostaRica.blogspot.com/2014/01/MailShippingToCR.html

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HAVING THINGS BROUGHT TO YOU  •  FINDING SOMEONE TO BRING SOMETHING FOR YOU
to avoid that nightmare you might want to have someone coming to visit Costa Rica to bring whatever for you BUT - BE CAREFUL who does that (ESPECIALLY if YOU'RE bringing something for someone)!!  Leave the package COMPLETELY OPEN so the person can dissect it THOROUGHLY so they're not bringing anything illegal!!


HAVING THINGS BROUGHT TO YOU
There's a new facebook group where people are posting what they'd like to have brought or what they're offering to bring.
facebook.com/CostaRicaCourierFriends


I'm NOT sharing this to suggest you trying to get out of paying the taxes on it - just sharing information so you have a way to make it easier for you to get things to you since if something gets flagged by the Aduana it can take HOURS, numerous office visits and LOTS of $$$ to get it out. 

MANY people I've known (myself included trying to help others) have said "To hell with it" after going through the hassle just wasn't worth it (I had someone ship me his laptop powercord that he'd forgotten and had shipped to his name at my home since he was traveling around and for me to pick it up would have meant him paying $20-$50 for a letter from a lawyer giving me authorization to get it, then I would have had to pay for a taxi both ways ($20 each direction) and the tax was $80-something!!!  To get a USED powercord that had NO VALUE since it came WITH the computer!!  A new one would have been like $75!!
(I wonder what happens to ALL these items that the Aduana confiscates?????  Does anyone know??)



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LivingLifeInCostaRica.blogspot.com/2013/11/MailingThingsFromUS2CR.html
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