Martin Grosz
07/14/2021 6:01 AM
Clarín.com
Services
Updated 7/14/2021 6:01 AM
Searching for products on
foreign websites
, paying for them with a card and waiting for them to arrive by mail from countries such as the United States and China can be complex.
But many choose this way of buying, known as "
door to door
", because in several cases it allows access to prices much lower than the local ones.
Despite all the taxes, with the modality it is possible to find values that are 20%, 40%,
even 60% cheaper
. And this convenience is on the rise due to the "
ironed dollar effect
".
It happens that the costs of this type of operation are tied to the value of
the official dollar
, which in turn determines the value of the so-called card or "solidarity" dollar (equivalent to the official dollar plus a
65% surcharge
).
And so far this year the Government has been "stepping on" the price.
It let it rise only
12.5%
in the first semester, practically
half
that of the average of prices in the country (general inflation).
If the official dollar had moved in step with inflation, instead of being at $ 101 it would already be worth $ 112. And for
every dollar
spent abroad with the card, it would be necessary to pay
$ 184
, instead of the
current $ 167
.
This year the price of the dollar increased much less than inflation.
Photo: Marcelo Carroll.
Economists speculate that this
relative delay
could continue until the elections, and could then be reversed: a classic of
election years
.
In this scenario, attentive consumers are beginning to
take advantage of
the opportunities they find, for example, to buy door to door or to book cheap flights to Brazil for the summer, before they
become more expensive
.
Three great alternatives to buy door to door, their costs and requirements
Door-to-door is often used in the country to buy on
e
-commerce
mega platforms
such as eBay, Amazon, AliExpress, DealExtreme and many others.
And also in the official stores of
top global brands such
as Apple, GAP, H&M or Victoria's Secret, whose products are very expensive or difficult to find in Argentina.
Some international stores offer shipments to Argentina.
In other cases, the products make a "stopover" in Miami.
Photo Mario Quinteros.
Today, the regime has
three main modalities
, each one with possibilities and requirements that it is necessary to know before embarking on the purchase.
1) Door to door by official mail
When sellers inform that they will dispatch the package using the
official mail
of their country, offering cheap or
free shipping
("
free shipping
"), that usually means that when it arrives in Argentina it will enter this circuit.
The system is run by the Correo Argentino and handles general
terms
of delivery
extensive
, from the least to 2 or 3 weeks and sometimes
a couple of months
.
Thus, it is allowed to bring packages of up to
US $ 3,000
that do not weigh more than
20 kilos
, paying with a card to the "solidarity dollar" (now at
$ 167
).
But when the shipment arrives, there will also be a fee of
$ 190 to
be paid to the Post Office
.
And if the purchase is worth more than the
exemption of US $ 50
tax-free, a customs duty of
50% of the surplus
applies
, which is charged at the official exchange rate (today at $ 101).
In Customs, they check the packages with a computer tomography equipment.
Photo: Archive.
That is to say, for example, in a purchase for US $ 80 the AFIP will charge US $ 15 of tax, since the excess of US $ 50 was
exceeded by US $ 30
and the tariff is equivalent to half of that surplus.
All the management, which includes the need to make a
purchase notice
and a
sworn statement
, is done through a specific portal of the Argentine Mail, as detailed in this note.
2) Door to door by private mail ("couriers")
In this case, everything is in charge of international private logistics companies, among which
FedEx
,
UPS
,
DHL and
TNT stand out
.
The modality is distinguished by
not requiring procedures
on the part of the buyer and by making deliveries in general less than
2 or 3 weeks
, and even in a few days.
With this system, when paying in the online store, there is no excess and all
taxes
- which vary greatly depending on the type of product purchased - are already included in the price, which is paid to the "
solidarity dollar
".
In this regime it is allowed to receive up to
five shipments per year
.
Each one of those packages, in addition, can weigh up to
50 kilos
and contain up to
US $ 3,000
in merchandise.
The couriers bring the products by air and in a few days they can reach the home.
Photo: Emmanuel Fernández / Archive.
3) Door to door "renting mailboxes" in Miami
The third alternative is actually a way to
take better advantage
of
the previous two, facilitated by companies that act as intermediaries.
It consists of "
renting mailboxes
", post boxes, in Miami to
collect one or more purchases
in them before directing them to Argentina.
How does it work?
The buyer gets a
postal address
in Miami to which they can send the packages they buy from
any
online
store in
the world
that ships to the United States.
Once the different products reached that "
locker
", the contracted company repacks them in
a single box
and sends it to Argentina with the "door to door" regime, either via courier or official mail.
Some operators also offer mailboxes in cities in
China
and the
United Kingdom
.
For all this, they charge commissions that are usually between
US $ 10 and US $ 55 per kilo
, depending on the provider, the type of merchandise and the amounts involved.
Some sites allow you to browse the catalogs of foreign stores, seeing the final prices in pesos.
Photo: Archive.
Among the greatest
advantages
of the system, it stands out that:
It allows
access to offers
that are not usually available for direct shipping to Argentina (but to Miami or China).
It allows bringing numerous products to the country using only
one of the five
annual imports allowed per courier, and paying
a single international shipment
, which can significantly lower the purchase price.
Some of the intermediaries allow you to pay
in pesos, in installments
without interest and even
in cash
(via Easy Payment or Rapipago).
Among the firms that charge to lend their mailboxes abroad, receive purchases there and
forward them
to the country are Tiendamia, Pickabox, DHL Latam eShop, Aerobox, Puerta Box, Mia-Cargo, Glic, Atucasa and Tododeusa.
What are the products that are most brought door to door today and how much can be saved
From now on, not everything is convenient to buy door to door.
Sometimes the difference can be negligible and does not justify the waiting or the
lack of guarantee
in the country.
But in other cases, saving can be very
tempting
.
In
Tiendamia, a firm
that works with Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Macy's, they affirm that today they allow
thousands of products
to be brought to Argentina
with prices that are "between
20% and 50% cheaper
than in the local market."
Among them, as explained to
Clarín
, there are from different
technological
devices
to tools and
toys
.
Apple notebooks
, for example, are available "up to
20% cheaper
than the local market, which implies a lot of money in high-value products, and everything can be paid in pesos and in
interest-free installments,
" they highlighted.
Some intermediaries allow you to pay with credit cards, debit cards and even cash.
Photo: Pickabox.
Juan Pedro Cereigido, Product Lead of
Pickabox
, remarked that lately the purchases of
toys
and
action figures
, for adults and children
, have stood out among his customers
.
"However, there are products that have been a success for a long time due to the large price difference from local vendors, such as
Stanley thermos
," he said.
"Another very popular type of product - added Cereigido - is
clothing
, mainly from brands such as
H&M
or
Forever 21
, since they are not available in the country."
Some door-to-door offers, item by item
This Tuesday, through "mailbox rental" websites, products could be obtained up to
63% cheaper
than those available in the country, according to
Clarín
.
In
clothing,
no very attractive differences were found, comparing the same products from the same brands.
Neither in perfumes.
But in technology, toys, thermos and tools more than tempting offers were detected.
1) Opportunities in TECHNOLOGY
With the door to door you can get Apple notebooks and cell phones at a lower price than in the country.
Photo: EFE.
-Notebook
Macbook
Pro M1 13 -
inch 512GB.
Price in Argentina:
$ 315,000
.
Door to door price:
$ 261,100
(
-19%
less or
$ 53,900
savings).
-Cellular
iPhone 12
Pro Max with 256 GB.
Price in Argentina:
$ 315,000
.
Door-to-door price:
$ 258,700
(
18%
less or
$ 56,300
savings).
Chromecast 4K
.
Price in Argentina:
$ 14,000
.
Door-to-door price:
$ 9,750
(
30%
less or
$ 4,250
savings).
2) Opportunities in TOYS
At brands like LEGO and Playmobil, shopping door-to-door can save a lot of money.
Image: Capture.
-Ladrillitos
LEGO
Classic, Box 790 pieces.
Price in Argentina:
$ 26,000
.
Door-to-door price:
$ 16,100
(
38%
less or
$ 9,900
savings).
-
Playmobil
DeLorean from Back to the Future.
Price in Argentina:
$ 22,000
.
Door to door price:
$ 10,100
(
54%
less or
$ 11,900
savings).
-Auto
LEGO
Speed Champions Ferrari F8.
Price in Argentina:
$ 12,000
.
Door-to-door price:
$ 5,300
(
56%
less or
$ 6,700
savings).
3) Opportunities in BAZAR and TOOLS
The thermos of international brands, among the most requested with the door to door.
Image: Capture.
-
1 liter classic
Stanley
thermos.
Price in Argentina:
$ 10,800
.
Door-to-door price:
$ 4,700
(
56%
less or
$ 6,100
savings).
-
Thermos
Thermos
King Food 473 ml, with folding spoon.
Price in Argentina:
$ 17,500
.
Door-to-door price:
$ 6,500
(63% less or
$ 11,000
in savings).
-
Bits
screwdriver
Dewalt
, set 40 pieces.
Price in Argentina:
$ 10,100
.
Door-to-door price:
$ 7,600
(
25%
less or
$ 2,500
savings).
MG
Look also
The 4 ways to bring bargains from abroad without traveling, taking advantage of the "ironed" dollar
They offer “free” flights to Brazil for the summer: take advantage or wait?