Is sending merchandise to Mexico a disaster? Hard experience has led some to think so.
Tales abound of Christmas gifts sent via U.S. Mail (and Correos de Mexico, the national postal service) that arrive in February — or never show up. Likewise, even privately shipped (FedEx, DHL, UPS) packages from abroad may be impeded by Mexican Customs or other snafus. Private mailboxes, though expensive and not very fast, are another possible solution. Sometimes foreign residents resort to shipping goods they want to friends from their home countries planning a visit.
But recent improvements in some sectors may have changed all this.
“Surprising” is how one foreign resident of Guadalajara describes his purchase in January 2015, of a laptop from the U.S. website of e-commerce giant Amazon.com.
“I ordered it on a Saturday,” said Richard Ashby. “I kept checking online and saw it was sent on Monday. It arrived on Tuesday.”
Ashby recalls that he paid around US$50 for expedited delivery, which was provided by Amazon via their contract with a shipping company such as FedEx.
“Amazing” is how Chicagoan Susan Draftz describes her experience at Christmas with books from Amazon.com. “I ordered four books and a DVD and I got two of the books three days later. The shipping was free,” she added, “because my order was over US$65.”
The rest of the order “wasn’t so amazing,” Draftz admits. “That part took three weeks, but I could track it the whole time. I got messages saying, ‘Your order will arrive a little late. The shipment is tied up in Customs in Monterrey.’ They’re bending over backwards on international shipping. It’s very dependable.”
To be sure, ordering from Amazon is still not flawless – many vitamins and health care products cannot be shipped to Mexico. “I tried to order vitamins from Amazon and I couldn’t,” Ashby said, “because apparently there are so many regulations.”
Such products are also unavailable at Amazon Mexico, which kicked off in June 2015.
Amazon Mexico states that the company aims to offer Mexicans their vaunted “world class” shopping experience and that they provide independent sellers here the usual opportunity to list products on the website for free, and only incur storage and shipping fees if they choose.
Some customers have positive reports about Amazon Mexico, saying it has good prices and reliable shipping that takes into account local necessities.
“I would expect delivery from Amazon Mexico to be okay,” says Patrick Oden, who resides here as well as in the United States, where he worked at the huge Amazon distribution facility in Tennessee.
Oden prices some tools on Amazon Mexico and compared them with a Home Depot in the United States where he was planning to go and shop. “The price was almost the same from Amazon Mexico and that even included shipping.
“Another nice thing about Amazon Mexico,” he continues, “is they’ve contracted with DHL stores, so if somebody doesn’t have a mailbox to take normal delivery, they can go pick it up at the store. They were really thinking ahead about the reality of delivering a package in Mexico.” Reports are that Amazon also allows customers in Mexico, six out of ten of whom do not have a credit card, to use the widest variety of debit cards.
As for delivery from Amazon U.S. to Mexico, Oden explains why it works so well. “Their distribution process is impressive. They developed it and I think it’s the best. They were the first, but they won’t be the last.
“Amazon maintains control through the whole process. Their carriers, such as FedEx or whoever, are contracted and the contract specifies what service is expected. When Amazon packs merchandise in the U.S., say, in a FedEx truck, it crosses the border in the truck with all Amazon merchandise. It’s not one package at a time like it would be with another company. When a company is only sending one or two packages in a truck, it’s not that interested in that package. If it gets held up at Customs, it’s no big deal. But Amazon will ensure that the whole truck crosses the border. No one lets a truck full of product just sit in Customs.”
However, Amazon doesn’t always handle shipping itself via its contracted shippers. As the web site shows, it also uses other shippers – sometimes those chosen by independent sellers who list their products on the Amazon site.
“An order where Amazon does not handle shipping itself can suffer from Customs delays just like any other product ordered from the U.S.,” Oden points out.
There may be other problems too. Draftz emphasizes that delivery by the other shippers Amazon uses is not as good.
“When shipping to Mexico is not handled directly by Amazon, but instead by one of their affiliated shippers, it can get expensive,” she says. “A book I wanted was only US$7 from a used book seller on Amazon – less than directly from Amazon. But the used book company's shipping would have been US$20 – much higher than Amazon's.”
Good shipping from Amazon to Mexico is not just recent news. Guadalajara resident Omar Magaña reports that he ordered a camera and iPod from Amazon U.S. about two years ago, got a good price and received the merchandise as expected in 1 1/2 to two weeks.
Valerie Montañez, a 13-year-old student at the American School in Guadalajara, ordered clothes and books from Amazon U.S. in September, didn’t pay much for delivery, and received the merchandise two or three weeks later.
Chapala-area resident Linda Buckthorp took more than one book and DVD delivery from Amazon U.S., the most recent 18 months ago. “There was never a problem,” she said, adding that she doesn’t think she paid a charge for duty.
But Amazon brags that it has been constantly improving delivery and now offers same-day delivery or delivery in a few hours in some cities.
“In Nashville they now have one-hour delivery to certain areas,” Oden says.
At least one other seller besides Amazon gets a gold star from Draftz due to their reliable deliveries to Guadalajara: ebay.
“They’re renowned for their complaint system, where buyers can complain if they’re not happy with shipping or something. So a while back, I ordered a camera from them. I paid a huge shipping fee, around US$100, but it arrived very fast.”
Even though Oden praises Amazon's distribution system, he is critical of their treatment of employees.
"With transportation and logistics, they’re top in their field. But they have one of the highest turnover rates of any company in the U.S. Their employees are held to unrealistic standards as to the amount of product you’re supposed to pick and pack per hour. In every detail you can imagine you are supposed to be fast. Your supervisor talks fast. To get around, you need to walk what they call 'the Amazon Walk,' which is a power walk. It's as fast as you can possibly walk without running, because running would be a safety hazard. Almost everyone in this part of Tennessee says they've worked at Amazon and wouldn’t go back. I try not to even shop there any more."