What newcomers need to bring to lakeside

[Cortland]

Has anyone been able to buy something off Amazon US with a Canadian credit card and have it sent to Mexico? Thanks.

Yes. I have used my Canadian credit card in the Amazon US store. Before doing so you have to register your credit card with Amazon. The tricky part may be using a Canadian billing address. As I've not done it for a while I don't remember the details but you may find that they will only accept a US billing address. In our case the Canadian credit card address is our Laredo Texas mail box. Amazon will not ship several items to Mexico - particularly electronics. But now you also have an option to use Amazon Mexico which seems to be adding more items each week, including electronics.

[Serenity6]

Yes. I have used my Canadian credit card in the Amazon US store. Before doing so you have to register your credit card with Amazon. The tricky part may be using a Canadian billing address. As I've not done it for a while I don't remember the details but you may find that they will only accept a US billing address. In our case the Canadian credit card address is our Laredo Texas mail box. Amazon will not ship several items to Mexico - particularly electronics. But now you also have an option to use Amazon Mexico which seems to be adding more items each week, including electronics.

Actually, I've had electronics shipped from Amazon US to Mexico. Unless we define "electronics" as something else.

Do your initial search for products on amazon and it will pull up the first page of products. On the left you will see an option to refine the list to products that "ship to mexico". Click on that box, hit return, and it will narrow your search to results that do ship to Mexico. You could ship a flat screen TV if you liked.

Refine by

International Shipping

• Clear
•  Ship to Mexico

Looks like that above.

[Cortland]

Actually, I've had electronics shipped from Amazon US to Mexico. Unless we define "electronics" as something else.

Do your initial search for products on amazon and it will pull up the first page of products. On the left you will see an option to refine the list to products that "ship to mexico". Click on that box, hit return, and it will narrow your search to results that do ship to Mexico. You could ship a flat screen TV if you liked.

Refine by

International Shipping

• Clear
•  Ship to Mexico

Looks like that above.

I agree, it depends on the item. And it's not just electronics such as cell phones or android tablets ( I just tried to order one of the latter and they wouldn't ship it here) but also other things such as a dog bed. However, as I said, the list of things available in the Mexico store is growing rapidly.

[LakeViews]

The Amazon ship to mexico box is NOT accurate. I have now had 3 orders held up at customs and returned to Amazon US. All said they "shipped to mexico" on Amazon but did not make it through customs. Some orders got through some did not.

Actually, I've had electronics shipped from Amazon US to Mexico. Unless we define "electronics" as something else.

Do your initial search for products on amazon and it will pull up the first page of products. On the left you will see an option to refine the list to products that "ship to mexico". Click on that box, hit return, and it will narrow your search to results that do ship to Mexico. You could ship a flat screen TV if you liked.

Refine by

International Shipping

• Clear
•  Ship to Mexico

Looks like that above.

[Serenity6]

Lakeviews, I'm sorry you are having such bad luck with amazon. Did your items come from private vendors on amazon? I thnk so far my stuff has all come from "amazon" (whatever that is) and maybe they use a different shipping service.

[LakeViews]

Lakeviews, I'm sorry you are having such bad luck with amazon. Did your items come from private vendors on amazon? I thnk so far my stuff has all come from "amazon" (whatever that is) and maybe they use a different shipping service.

Nope, that's not it.

I've had things that Amazon sells exclusively, sent by DHL, with "ship to mexico" clearly labeled REJECTED by customs/DHL.

The ship to mexico filter on Amazon is simply not accurate. Sometimes it works sometimes it does not.

Amazon US always refunds the credit card charges without much hassle.

The latest was an Amazon collection of meguiars car cleaning products. Some were fluids and DHL said I needed an importers license. Ship to Mexico is clearly labeled on the website. Seller is "Amazon export sales llc"

My experience with the other site, the new Amazon.com.mx is that they have not YET had the items that I wish to order. Many items marked unavailable.

[sunnyvmx]

I have ordered and received many, many things from Amazon. I use the "ship to Mexico" feature and find it works very well. I'm careful that what I order is filled by Amazon as another supplier will charge exorbitant shipping fees. I especially like shopping online because of the reviews that I pay particular attention too when making my choices. Amazon verifies that the reviewer has actually purchased the item. The only problem I've had with customs rejecting my order was with two Paint by Number kits out of five. Three were delivered and two were sent back. The ones rejected were held up in Guadalajara, but the ones delivered to my door bypassed Guadalajara so I am giving it another try and I'm hoping to receive them. I believe that paint is not accepted, but since these are in very small amounts in specialized kits that it may make a difference depending on the customs agents. Lately my purchases have arrived several days before the expected delivery date which has been a nice surprise.

[Al Berca]

I have had the same experiences that LakeViews has had. Now, when I order I figure about a 65-35 chance of getting it and if I see it detained in customs, I know it is going back to Amazon sooner or later and I will never see it. The mismarkings of "ship to Mexico" items seems to be more frequent in recent months.

Also, Amazon has become aware that on some items many of the five star reviews are not from legitimate everyday consumers and is attempting to weed out and block those reviews. Much more accurate to skip the one star and five star reviews to get true consumer comments.

[natbug]

If you plan to have vonage or magic jack along with a local landline. I'd suggest a 2 line phone with multiple handsets. Makes life easier and less clutter and confusion when the phone is ringing.

[nothernewbie]

I disagree about linens. The beds here are sized slightly different. You can buy fine sheets at Costco and very nice towels there as well. There are two stores between Ajijic and Riberas that sell quality mattress pads.

Unless you live in sneakers bring shoes.

[babyface]

If you have FAVORITE cosmetics, deodorant, hair products, perfume, bath products, underwear, and shoes- and don't plan trips NOB often, bring extras! Also, a good heavy duty but flexible garden hose if you're a gardener and have the room to pack it. If you cook, paint, etc, bring all of your favorite equipment.

[jaykay]

I really second the "come with a sense of humor" recommendation. This ain't Kansas. Some of the comments from newbies would be funny if not so sad.

There is one other thing that nobody so far has mentioned. Come down with enough Spanish to at least be able to function. If you go on googlel and put in the search box "Basic Spanish", or even better "Survival Spanish", and print it out, you will have a big head start Then, don't worry about grammar. Just memorize it all. 500 to 700 words and phrases will take you a very long way. Most people who are serious can commit it all to memory in 60 days tops. Then find a Spanish speaker and work on the accent. If you can't pronounce it, you won't understand it when it comes at you. You will have the good fortune to be in a country where the locals are very kind to anyone trying to learn to communicate. A lot of people think that when they get here, they will learn Spanish. In my experience that doesn't work out in most cases. Too many locals have done the work to learn English, since they have learned how unlikely it is that the newbies will EVERY learn. Another way to get on top of Spanish before you arrive is to go to a good bookstore and get one of those CD/booklet packages for travelers. Everything you need to communicate is in there. Again, don't give any thought to grammar. Just memorize. A plus is you have the spoken phrase to help you . Navy families do this routinely. I have noticed that military people seem to have almost no problems fitting in. They've done it before. You can do it too. You just have to do a little work. Boy, does it pay off.

[lumieretoo]

Black liquorice and Bassetts' Liquorice Allsorts (or licorice if that is how you spell it)

[babyface]

Good advice to bring some espanol!!

[mudgirl]

I third the need for some basic Spanish. I know I'll likely get some flak for this, but I have traveled quite a bit over my lifetime, and Americans are the only group of people as a whole (of course there are exceptions) I have met who seem to find it totally acceptable to settle in a foreign country without attempting to learn the language. Not only do I find this rude and insular, but they miss most of what goes on around them, and need to hire a facilitator to deal with any official business. Although my Spanish is far from fluent ( I couldn't carry on an in depth political disussion with an educated Mexican, for instance), I am able to deal with Immigration, Hacienda, Motor Vehicles, etc., no problem, and guess what? You get a really helpful, patient and friendly reception when they are pleasantly surprised that you can speak the language.

[Serenity6]

Mudgirl, I gotta say I've experienced the same, traveling to Europe, Asia, South America and elsewhere. Everyone warned me especially about Paris, since at that time my French was minimal and my accent not too great. They warned me that as I would likely butcher their accent and grammar, I would just anger the Parisians even more. Not true at all! They so appreciated that I made the effort that they smiled, slowed down their speech and were extra helpful. I've noticed the same here. My Spanish has improved, but has a long way to go, and when locals see you are making an effort, they are very appreciative. I can't say how many times a local has apologized for not speaking English. I remind them we are in Mexico and its my responsibility to learn their language, not their duty to accommodate me.

I just go into panic mode because sometimes very bad words can sound (to my untrained ear) quite similar to perfectly normal words. Just like many years ago, when I tried to tell my French mother-in-law, a lovely lady, to "sleep well" (a common thing in France before giving four kisses on the cheek). Instead of saying "dors bien" (sleep well), I said "couches bien" (f*ck well).

I was very lucky my father in law, husband, and grandmother in law, who were all standing right there and heard everything, had an excellent sense of humor. I guess they already got used to it when, during their very first time at a sushi restaurant, I was identifying the fish and told them the yellow tail was "yellow a$$".

Anyway, didn't mean to hijack, just for newcomers know that you don't need to come knowing the entire language. Just even a little bit goes a long way when you are starting to get to know your new community.

[bezerk]

Electronics of any kind that you must have. Sheets and towels. You can get them at Costco but not at price NOB. Clothes, summer and say light winter and after if you stay here a long time, I am 16 years you will need winter clothes. Electric blanket.

Any special skin care, cosmetics, etc that you must have.

I second the black licorice.

Pans, they have here but double price NOB.. dishes available here.

If you have a particular coffee maker then bring , only the usual less than up to date models are cheap here and the others are either expensive or not available.

You really have to live here to know what you can get and what you are willing to settle for doint without or paying much more for.

Tools much much cheaper NOB.

So much more available here but still not like NOB. Even Costco is an hour away so not exactly a true convenience.

Based on what has been said here, I would not rely as yet on Amazon, mind you I love Amazon but I have a husband who travels back and forth so I ship to states and he brings to me here. Until Amazon has it together, I have no time for playing thewaiting and asking for refund game.

Good luck..bring sandals, sneakers, anything of designer name as you are not getting it here. LOL.

[Teach]

Has anyone been able to buy something off Amazon US with a Canadian credit card and have it sent to Mexico? Thanks.

Just a little addition to the other comment about this. You can and should save yourself a lot of grief with using your Canadian credit cards Visa, Mastarcard etc. if you simply call them ahead of time and register with them an alternate shipping address anytime you ship to somewhere different than normal. Once the CC company receives the billing it checks the ship to address and sees that YOU the CC holder has already registered it with them and they authorise the payment without problems.

Back on topic; I'd say Blue Jeans are an item to bring with you. Especially if you are like me and maybe can only find one brand of jeans that don't ride up the crack of ur butt then you should stock up with enough pairs to tide you through till you can get back NOB and find replacements. You won't be finding GWG, Wrangler, or other NOB brand name jeans here......at least I havn't found any. Oh.......a good garden hose nozzle if you plan on having a yard. Quality ones here seem non existant.

[PULELEHUA]

Since you care about your cookware, be sure to also bring all your good knives. Whether you bring dinnerware and glassware and flatware really depends on how important they are to how you serve and present your meals. We had given attention over the years to everything related to food preparation and presentation and are happy every day since that we brought every one of those items with us because of the continued pleasure in using them and the near impossibility of finding the equivalent here, even at Andares Mall. We used a shipping company from Ajijic and had zero problems although preparing the menaje and visiting the consulate did involve time and effort.

The advice about clothing and shoes is excellent. Shoes/sandals need to be cobblestone and broken sidewalk friendly. Tevas & Keens remain my go-to choices -- I liken the walking here to scrambling over wet rocks along the north shore of Kauai`i. If you are comfortable in synthetic materials and do not have any difficulty finding clothing that fits your shape, clothing may not be as much of an issue for you as for others. If you prefer or need to wear 100% cotton or linen and/or have any special issues with "fit", bring as much of those items as possible with you..

Sentiment is just as important as practicality, in our book. If you would miss the item, bring it. If the cost of using a shipping company is daunting, consider bringing things down personally (not by fedex or DHL or UPS) in stages - by car or by plane. The large items - furniture, televisions, flloor lamps, etc. - are easy to find here. It is the "little" things that can be hard to replace.

Amazon Global is very useful when you want/need something that you cannot find here. I have learned, though, that items shipping from east of the Mississipi are likely to be shipped via the UPS new subsidiary, I-Parcel, which ships to Mexico City and, upon clearing aduana enters the Mexican postal system and may (permissively) take 15 to 20 business days to find its way to Ajijic, requires that you obtain a new tracking number from I-Parcel once the package enters the Mexican postal service and that you communicate this information to the post office in Ajijic to ensure that your package arrives.. To avoid this as much as possible, if I find something is going to ship from the eastern US (by inquiring) I pay for a slightly expedited additional shipping cost which seems to help avoid DF. On the other hand, items from the West Coast typically ship to GDL by DHL air or UPS ground @ standard rates, are easily tracked, and arrive quickly.