Sending and receiving packages in Costa Rica

Priscilla wrote:

Hello,

As an expat, there are inevitably certain items you might want or need from back home, and around the holiday period, many people like to send gift packages.

How easy is it to send and receive packages in Costa Rica?

Not too hard to send depending on how efficient the correos is in your area.
Receiving can be easy or at times difficult or impossible. Depends on luck and what it is, as to whether it gets right to the correos or is held for customs taxes. If it's held for customs taxes then it's going to be a huge pain in the behind.

Priscilla wrote:

Is the public postal system efficient?

Again it depends. Some areas have hardly any lines at the correos and are run well. Others not so much. Kinda like in the USA as far as visiting an office. Some are more efficient than others. Generally speaking where I go, there is often a big line, other times no line or a short line. I go look and if it's a big line I come back again.

Priscilla wrote:

Do people tend to prefer using private shipping services? Which ones?

They use aero-casillas or whatever it's called now to get stuff from Amazon BUT it's quite expensive. I never used it because of the cost. But it's really the only game in town.
You can order some stuff on Amazon but it's the same as above, from what i hear. Some stuff gets right through to the post office (correos) while other stuff is flagged and sent to Aduanis for taxes, which is a huge pain and can be expensive.

Priscilla wrote:

How do the costs of the private shipping services compare?

They're all expensive; about the same from one to another I think.

Priscilla wrote:

How long does it take generally to receive packages from abroad in Costa Rica?

This may vary from town to town but my experience is it takes 3-4 weeks to get something from the USA, and if you order stuff from China such as AliExpress, it takes about 2 months. But Ali Express does not generally get sent to customs which is an advantage.

Priscilla wrote:

Do you have to pay taxes on items received by mail from abroad?

Yes, sometimes. See above.

Priscilla wrote:

Are packages delivered right to your doorstep, or do you usually have to go collect them somewhere?

Thank you for sharing your experience,

Priscilla

You have to collect them at the post office or customs depending on what it is and whether you were lucky or unlucky.

Most people I know seldom order online to be shipped here except for AliExpress which is slow but seems to get stuff direct without Customs holding it for taxes.

Most people I know wait for a visitor to come from the U.S. or Canada and then ask them to bring stuff for them via the airline. However some people really seem to not like bringing an extra bag, so ... YMMV.

I've been here 13 years and do almost no ordering online due to the cost of shipping. I usually keep a list of things I want which I can't get here, or they are 2-3 times the cost.  Then I ask friends to bring them or pick them up when I am in the states.  I agree with all those above, shipping is horrendously expensive and for me usually isn't worth the price.