大咖福利影院

02/08/26 @Roddie Simmons.聽 That does sound frustrating.聽 But as you say, you live pretty far off the beaten track; Sky Postal is mediocre at best in my experience, but it sounds like they're the only game in town out your way.聽 If your disputes with Amazon BR and Mercado Livre are based on their insisting that they can't deliver to your door, then Amazon US isn't going to be able to do any better and will probably be a little worse.聽 聽If you can patch things up with Amazon BR and/or Mercado Livre, that might spare you some heartburn.聽 Since you have driver, you might send him by the PO two or three times a week to see whether there's anything to pick up when you're expecting a delivery, but that could cost you more in gas than the R$5 for the kid on the motorcycle.

@abthree Thanx, I currently have everything I want and back-ups (a working computer soundbar and an unboxed replacement). My wife has arranged my Man Friday to come work for me each Tuesday, so I may do that in the future.

The truth with Amazon BR is that I asked my wife's former 2nd in command to purchase an item from them. She used MY credit card on HER account. I did not mind (the idea was to help me create my own account). As a result, they think that any item ordered using that credit card it is stolen etc.聽 After an immensely long time, my YouTube channel should launch in the next few weeks. Money earned will go into a special Charles Schwab account with its own card. I may use that one for Amazon purchases.

Roddie in Retirement馃槑

I have tried Amazon Brazil as well.聽 They always seem to charge import tax as well (unless there is an unkept secret URL I don't know about).聽 The rates are ridiculous.聽 I decided to stick with Mercado Libre and Shoppee.聽 I can usually find things that are already in Brazil that won't charge an import fee.聽 Shoppee聽 has import fees as well but not as high as Amazon (IMO).聽 聽 I live in a small city in Para so online shopping is somewhat more convenient.聽 If I want major retailers or larger selections I need to go to Belem.聽

04/14/26 @CraigDeVigia.聽 The tariff ("II", "Imposto de Importa莽茫o") is what it is, whoever the seller.聽 The state VAT ("ICMS", "Imposto Sobre A Circula莽茫o de Mercadorias e Servi莽os de Transporte Interestadual e Intermunicipal e de Comunica莽茫o") is also required to be charged by the seller, and varies according to the end user's state and municipality.聽 Brazilian tariffs are high, and they're added into the base for calculating ICMS, which is never low, so it's not unusual for the tax burden on commercial items to add up to 100% of the purchase price or more.聽 Some items, like books and works of art, are exempt from II, or have a very low rate.

I use a Brazilian credit card to buy from Amazon BR, including imported items.聽 They pretty much always charge the estimated taxes and rebate any overcharges, although it usually takes a billing cycle or two for rebates to hit.聽 My luck with Mercado Livre has been more mixed, and I've often had to pay the taxes myself.聽 This is pretty easy if you open a free "Minhas Importa莽玫es" account on the Correios website.聽 If you're expecting a shipment and the shipper doesn't include your CPF, you can link it to your Minhas Importa莽玫es account yourself with the tracking number.

There's a running battle between the Alf芒ndega (Brazilian Customs) and the Chinese sellers like Shoppee over the so-called "taxa das blusinhas", Brazil's tax-free small purchases window, that the government claims is being abused by misclassifying the value of small packages, especially but not only clothing.聽 This has yet to be resolved, but is definitely not a closed issue.

It's true that we don't have to pay the II on goods already in Brazil, but somebody did, and they'll almost always try to find a way to pass it on.

Very insightful.聽 Thank you so much for the explanation!

04/15/26 Very insightful. Thank you so much for the explanation! - @CraigDeVigia

You're very welcome.

BTW, this tax regime applies to gifts as well, so it's a very good idea to ask friends and family abroad to NOT send you packages without clearing the contents with you first, so you can check it beforehand.

Not too long ago, a member of my family sent my husband a very nice and very expensive leather backpack to celebrate his getting his law degree.聽 As a surprise.聽 It was a lovely gift and a lovely thought, and the 120%+ of the original purchase price that we had to pay to get it released from Customs and forwarded to us was certainly a surprise, but not the one that was intended.

@abthree

this 100% my family sent a nice dress and gold jewellery for my daughters most recent birthday, well over 10 mil in taxes聽 juros - always ask for people to vet packages prior to sending