shipping items to Colombia

[Pete E]

I just had a discussion with my wife and she thinks she can just mail stuff to her relatives in Colombia and not have to worry about paying duty.Can you just send items to Colombia without paying duty or does customs open everything and charge a duty?I would presume if they have a duty they would not simply let you mail stuff without paying.She mailed a tennis raquet a week ago($10,US mail).I told her she should wait and find out if it makes it before she sends anything else.She has a 14 lb. box of goodies she wants to send.She doesn't seem to get the whole idea of a duty and the guy at the post office told her no problem.
I had money taken out of a UPS envelope I sent.UPS told me Colombian customs opens everything.My wife then thought she could just mail money in an envelope if she hid it between pictures.Wrong,taken again.
I guess we will find out if the raquet gets there in a couple of weeks but I am trying to get her to not send more stuff untill we know.
Does somebody out there must know the answer?

Pete

[El Diablo]

... in response to shipping items to Colombia, posted by Pete E on Sep 25, 2001

Hey Pete,

I got hit with duty a couple of times in cigars a friend of mine was shipping to me while I was in Cali.  He bought cubans with his credit card in a foreign country and had them shipped to me in Cali.  The value of the cigars was well over a thousand dollars but the key was that the value written on the shipping document was much less. (-: I don't think the duty was more than a few dollars but I don't remember for sure.

I'm leaving for Cali in a couple of weeks, if Rocio doesn't have too much stuff I'll carry it for her in my bag.

El Diablo

[Cali vet]

... in response to shipping items to Colombia, posted by Pete E on Sep 25, 2001

Yes the reciever in Colombia will have to pay duty on anything of value.

[elabogado]

... in response to Re: shipping items to Colombia, posted by Cali vet on Sep 25, 2001

I have sent several packages to Apartado, Colombia, to my wife's family and they have been full of new items.  They have not had to pay any duty at all, even for computer items.

el abogado