Orders shipped to Guatemala

ORDERING ITEMS ON LINE TO BE SHIPPED TO ANTIGUA
    I have read all the posts on various websites about ordering items from the U.S. and having them shipped to Antigua.  When I went on the internet about six weeks ago I found many web stores that said they would ship directly to Guatemala and some will ship for free.  This post is about my experience on ordering from two different websites, one in the U.S. and one in China.
    The U.S. website was Vitacost (www.vitacost.com), a vitamin and supplement site because I could not find the items I wanted in Antigua (I don't have a car so I don't go to Guatemala City).  I placed an order and paid shipping of $9.95.  Four weeks later the order arrived through the post office.  No extra taxes or import fee we asked for.  I have now placed a larger order with Vitacost with the same $9.95 shipping fee.
    The second order I place was with Dealextreme (www.dx.com).  All of the items they carry say no shipping charge.  After I placed the order one item was back ordered so the order came in two packages.  The first package arrived in four weeks through the post office with no extra taxes or fees.  The second package arrive in five weeks after shipment through the post office with no extra taxes or fees.
    I than places two more orders with Dealextreme.  One I asked for expedited  shipping because it was a charger for my wife's tablet.  The shipping fee was not that much.  The shipping was done through DHL with extra taxes and import fees.  The taxes and fees were more than the item's cost.  I am still waiting for the second order as it has not been 4 to 6 weeks.
    I have now places an order through AliExpress (www.aliexpress.com).  They are a China company that is the middleman for many companies out of mainland China.  Some of the small companies charge no shipping fees and some charge extra large shipping fee.  Some items can be ordered one item at a time and some come in large lots.
    Other websites of interest for international shopping are as follows:
    www.myinternationalshopping.comwww.dhgate.comwww.bigboxsave.comwww.dinodirect.comwww.online-wholesale.net

    One or two of these websites require payment by Paypal only.  This makes it difficult for some.  Most will take credit cards.  DealExtreme required verification you are who you say you are and needed a picture of you passport and credit card.  They have instructions on their website on how to do this so your credit card it protected.
    I know there are many more websites that ship international but check the shipping charges and how each item is shipped.  My experience has been if a package comes through the post office (wait time four to six weeks) there are no extra charges.  If a item comes DHL (one to two weeks) you will probably pay extra fees.  I will post again when more orders arrive.
    The Antigua post office sent a postman to my house with a notice I had a package to be picked up.  I had to show my passport and sign the delivery paper.  I live in Antigua proper so I don't know how it will be for the other cities.