AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Belize Life Living in Belize Mail Boxes Etc / DHL agent let me down

I have my office in the States Fed-Ex my forwarded mail and other stuff down here every week. Dianne of Quicksilver picks them up and delivers to the door. No problem. Another nice thing is that you can track the package via the internet. The only problem I ever had was a package held up for ransom by Customs.

Yea ,I use Diane also shes so helpful it feels like having an extra employee.
...and we use one of her mailboxes for drop and deliver, it makes things run smoother.

In the past I have dealt only with documents using FedEx and everything I shipped I shipped via ship with broker in Belize City. If I want to ship something fairly small, say a shower head and flexible arm, what would be the best way to go about that. I mean of course from the US to San Pedro. Where do you pay customs? How is that handled? Thanks, for your help.

Right at the post office. You can send the package via regular mail or USPS express mail (3 days usually) and the post master is authorized to assess and collect the duty right at the post office. If you include the invoice - no problem with the assessment - if you don't include the invoice then there could be some discussion about the value - the post office and customs department tend to go by the book value - what they find on the internet. Regardless of what you may have paid for an item, sometimes the book value is the factor that will be taken into account. This is where the broker typically helps smooth out discrepancies. And you won't have the advantage of a broker if you send your package via the post office.

Sometimes a value is written on a gift package and you are assessed based on the gift value - you can sometime negotiate the values if you open the package in front of the post master and prove that items are maybe home made or obviously 2nd hand etc.

Amanda please forgive me if I am being thick but the post office that collects the duty is the US post office or the post office on AC when I pick the parcel up? I assume it must be in Belize where this happens and I suppose that I would address the parcel to myself at the San Pedro post office?
Thanks, Martin

It's a Belize tax, so clearly it's charged in Belize. The postmaster at the office here in San Pedro assesses it and makes the charge. IMO generally he's more generous than the people who assess incoming courier packages,

I agree, the Brokers ,of course get a fee and their assessment is generally higher.
IMHO Customs Brokers are a racket.

But you try to bring in goods in commercial quantities via either the international airport or the sea port without using a broker. They make it well nigh impossible, and require that you use a broker - who are of course their personal friends.

That's right gentlemen. It is at the San Pedro post office that the duty will be assessed and typically I have found them to be a little less expensive than the customs officers at the entry ports. However there are some shipments the post office can't receive - I don't know what they are but certain items that require permits will be held at the border to be cleared by a customs broker.

The initial question regarded a small plumbing fitting which I believe should be easily received at the San Pedro Post office.

Also any thing that comes in that is valued at 500 Bze or more is taken to Customs to pay duty then bring paperwork back to PO and they will release the item.