What is the problem with exporting electronics to Brazil? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: peter-h
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2025, 06:59:39 am
content: I've been making electronic gizmos since 1978 and exported them everywhere. Well, not places like Iran, but everybody knows about that.In Jan this year we sent some stuff to Brazil, by airmail. The customer selected airmail (£15) in the online shop and we failed to warn him that (in polite terms) airmail to the 3rd World tends to get stolen and that he should select a courier (£50)He's just contacted us saying he never got the goods. Tracking (airmail tracking is pretty basic) shows the goods were stuck at Customs there but are prohibited and were returned! It is some cables (yes, RS232 cables!) and some 232-422 converters; 1980s tech really. The customer claims the goods were returned to us and the Brazilian post office says they were delivered, but we never got them back.Anyway, going through the "wizard" on the UK PO site for export to Brazil, it does indeed say that electronics to Brazil is prohibited! Might be prohibited for airmail?Googling around I find stuff like thishttps://shippingbrazil.co.uk/brazil-shipping-blog/how-to-ship-to-brazil-electronic-goodsIs this real?Is there any way to get around it?Brazil isn't the People's Republic of Upper Volta, it has loads of rich people, so how do they get the usual consumer electrical and electronic items?

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 15, 2025, 07:05:10 am
content: Quote from: peter-h on May 15, 2025, 06:59:39 amYes it's real. I had to stop shipping to Brazil a long time ago as most of them were "lost". I think one or two did make it through.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 15, 2025, 07:06:58 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on May 15, 2025, 07:05:10 amQuoteProbably through local dealers or brokers that have the necessary approvals.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2025, 07:16:38 am
content: Well that is interesting, I just check my POS system, I've shipped automotive electronics to lots of places around the world but looks like no one from Brazil has ever placed an order with me.This is useful info, thanks.I suspect it might get through being an automotive part.The HS code it falls under is more of an automotive parts category than something exclusively electronic, but yeah, it's useful to be aware of that.I only ship DHL because, yeah, things go missing using using EMS to a lot of places. EMS to France or Russia was the worst, though I'm not sure if that was customer theft or packages legitimately going missing. In any case all fixed after switching to DHL.Once you have a DHL account and ship packages regularly it's not hugely more expensive than EMS, so if you can get customers to pay the higher shipping costs it's well worth it for piece of mind. things going missing is annoying especially when you don't know who's at fault.Just don't pay their insurance it's not worth it for small stuff. You are almost always better off absorbing the cost if stuff does go missing than paying their insurance prices on every package. Unless its something really big.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 15, 2025, 07:23:03 am
content: Quote from: Psi on May 15, 2025, 07:16:38 amConcur.I shipped a few items via EMS today because DHL wanted a $33 "remote area surcharge" which is not possible to factor into my Shopify pricing system.

author: peter-h
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2025, 07:26:25 am
content: My stuff is 8471. HS code. Actually the duty free category for US imports right now tooIndeed; here in the UK, DHL and Fedex are administering the coup de grâce to the Post Office (which is as inept as all post offices around the world) by doing a special deal around £15 to mainland Europe, which takes a few days so similar to airmail on a good daySo we use them even if airmail was selected in the shop. But Brazil would be nearer to £40.So you are shipping to Brazil via DHL?We have a Magento shop which somebody set up years ago and which runs an incredibly complicated shipping cost calculation. We could treat Brazil separately, but not if the actual goods are prohibited.

author: peter-h
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2025, 10:32:07 am
content: This must be recent because we have been selling this Brazilian customer since 2018, by airmail, and the last shipment was August 2024.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2025, 11:50:06 pm
content: One option could be to list on Ebay at a 20%+ inflated price, and let GSP deal with it:https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/posting-items/setting-postage-options/global-shipping-programme?id=4646

author: peter-h
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2025, 05:36:29 am
content: I emailed the customer with those links but in his reply he avoided making any comment on any import policy...

author: 1xrtt
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2025, 05:52:50 pm
content: Quote from: peter-h on May 15, 2025, 06:59:39 amWell, I can't comment on your case, eletronics in general are not prohibited but, AFAIK, there are a few scenarios where Brazilian customs gets suspicious and may deny the import:1) If the customs declaration is not filled properly, missing information from the buyer or inaccurately describing the contents of the parcel2) If the value is too low, considering the description of the goods3) If you are selling to an individual, the quantity is too high that may indicate an intention to resell (10 sdcards may be ok, 10 smartwatches may be not)4) If the goods are in a few categories that effective have restrictions (cell phones are one example)The site you linked is accurate, but it only applies if you plan to export large quantities to some reseller, if you are selling to an individual it falls under simplified import rules, this is more relevant:https://www.gov.br/receitafederal/pt-br/assuntos/aduana-e-comercio-exterior/manuais/remessas-postal-e-expressa/problemas-frequentes- there is no english version, use your favorite Google translator.My own experience is anedoctal, but I've beeing buying stuff from Ebay and Mouser from over a decade and had only two mishaps with customs, exactly one example of the 1) and 2) scenarios above. In the first, the seller was just too lazy and attached a customs declaration with zero description of the contents. I got lucky that I saw it was denied, was able to provide the documentation before it got returned. The other was an oscilloscope, bought on Ebay for USD 10 (actually it was USD 9.50, but the seller rounded it up). Customs thought is was a mistake and taxed it for USD 100, it caused a real headache to explain why the invoice was USD 9.50 and the customs declaration was USD 10. So, be specifically precise on the value.Quote from: thm_w on May 15, 2025, 11:50:06 pmThis is one reason that I use a ship forwarding service when buying from US.

author: peter-h
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2025, 04:16:10 pm
content: What is really weird is that the UK Post Office website says the goods are prohibited.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2025, 04:28:33 pm
content: Quote from: peter-h on May 20, 2025, 04:16:10 pmWhy would you use the UK post for sending stuff abroad? That sounds like a recipy for a dissaster to me.

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2025, 04:48:12 pm
content: Quotebecause we can,no doubt they have reciprocal agreements with other country's postal services to do the overseas bitQuotefor the small amount of stuff ive sent abroad the royal snail has had a 100% success rate

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2025, 05:15:55 pm
content: But it takes ages with UK post office. When I send something to the UK using the Dutch postal office, it arrives in two days. Vice versa is closer to two weeks.And postal services in general rely on many third parties which may or may not be the bottom of the barrel option. For commercial shipments I like to use one of the door-to-door courier services like DHL, Fedex or UPS. If something goes wrong, then you are not dealing with multiple (unknown) parties.

author: peter-h
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 20, 2025, 05:39:50 pm
content: QuoteAirmail is a worldwide service, probably 200-300 years old, and it generally worksFor sure it is not as reliable as say DHL when sending to countries where close too 100% of anything, that is not screwed down, is stolenLike e.g. Egypt. But Brazil should more or less work. I've been using airmail to Brazil for years.Post-brexit there is a lot of rearguard activity in some EU countries, notably BE, NL, DE, in Customs offices where UK packages "do funny things", but Brazil should not care about brexit.QuoteVery true, which is why DHL etc are in business, charging several times more than airmail, but offering total tracking (so a thief gets caught) and dealing with the 2kg international airmail weight limit. If you are a sizeable business user, you can get rates approaching airmail, and this is another nail in the airmail coffin, but in general it does work as well as the worldwide postal system works (or doesn't). The main issue with post is that the postal organisations are employment agencies for the most useless people, and nobody is responsible for anything. Packages (and letters) travel along all the time nobody is sticking a screwdriver into the gears, and have done so since the days of Isaac Newton, etc.QuoteYour package is still handled by theUKpost office when it arrives in the UK.The difference is that the UK is not operating under the table "brexit punishment" policies on EU packages, which a lot of EU countries are operating on UK packagesI still don't get why the UK post office is saying XYZ to Brazil is prohibited. They must have set up that database based on something...We have said to our customer that once the items are returned to us, we will ship them to him by courier free of charge.