Papirex
Aug 9, 2005, 12:34 PM
Post #28 of 42
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It seems that Handy Mail is the same service offered by Merkalink, which is a service for shipping packages, and letters to Mexico. Merkalink is based in Laredo, Texas; at least that is where their US address is. I have used Merkalink to ship packages and boxes to me here in Cuernavaca. My Merkalink address is also 413 Interamerica Blvd, Suite xxxxxxxxxx Laredo Texas, 78045-7926 and the first four digits of the zip code are the same as for Handy Mail. My suite number is my account number.
You might want to look at Merkalink, http://www.merkalink.com.mx/Ingles/Index.html be fluent in Spanish, or at least be able to read it very well, or have someone that is fluent in Spanish help you when dealing with them. There is no charge for becoming a member of Merkalink, you are only charged when you ship something with them. You will receive an Email from them in Spanish about once per month.
If you do sign up with Merkalink, you will be asked for your appellido, and to enter your RFC number. If you have no RFC number, you will be asked if you want them to generate one for you. Click on yes, your new RFC number will appear, enter that in their online form. Write it down in case you need it again. Your RFC number consists of four letters and six numbers. The four letters are the first and second leteters of you last name, the first letter of the last name of your appellido, snd the first letter of your first name. The six nimbers will be your date of birth in this format: yy/mm/dd. I was confused by this requirement, my wife explained it to me.
You can select English for their website, but after the home page everything is mostly in Spanish. They do have a Mexican 800 number for their customer service department, you can usually contact an English speaking person there. I recommend calling them to see if they will accept a shipment before having it sent to them. One of our daughters sent us a box containing canned and boxed food. They absolutely refused to send it to us, even though there was no prohibited food in the box. I had to have them ship the box back to my daughter at my expense.
Merkalink uses a customs broker to determine the amount of customs duty that is due, and they notify you in your online account how much it will be. They have a list of the percentage of import duty due and for what items. Since Mexico and China just recently signed a free trade agreement, I don’t think many sites have updated their import duties due on Chinese goods yet.
Any clothing is still taxed at 50%, computers at 27%, etc. They have a list of the import duties charged for various items. I have used them to import several computer parts, and a laptop computer is on the way here now, laptops are duty free if you carry it with you in to the country, they are taxed if they are shipped to you here. I have never been charged more than 27% import duty for computer related items, including the laptop that is on the way here now. They will not accept any item with a value of more than $1000 US Dlls.
Merkalink ships using Estafeta in Mexico. Estafeta is the best, and most reliable shipping company in Mexico. They have their own trucks and drivers, deliverymen are Estafeta employees and will know your town. All the other companies I have used just hire anyone it seems to deliver their packages, they almost always have to call us a couple of times to get directions to our house. they arrive in their private cars, one guy showed up in a taxi to make a delivery.
It is never cheap to ship anything to Mexico from The US, but Merkalinks rates are reasonable. The shipping charges vary with the value of the goods, ranging from $20 to $35 US Dlls for the first 2 kilos plus $1.20 US Dlls for each additional half kilo. Those are shipping weights, not net weights. They do ask for an invoice. I have Emailed them invoices, and one time I had to create one using Microsoft Office, and Email them a copy.
I have used FedEx, UPS, and Airborne Express to have things shipped to me here in Cuernavaca, their shipping rates are much higher than Merkalinks, and I do not trust them to collect the proper amount of import duty due. They collect the “taxes” due upon delivery, it is a take it or leave it situation. I was charged 90% import taxes by FedEx for computer related items, and 60% by Airborne. I was given a receipt for the taxes with the letterhead of Aduana on it, but it was just a page from a tablet, I doubt if all that money was sent to Aduana.
Maybe this info will help someone, Rex
"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo
(This post was edited by RexC on Aug 9, 2005, 1:23 PM)
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Nota: Las tasas aplicables para importación de artículos de origen chino son del 17% y aplican tasas compensatorias de hasta el 531% 
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