Although Free market came avoiding a definition in public, the decision has been made: from this Monday December 16 The possibility of make international purchases with door-to-door delivery in Argentina.
Thus, the ecommerce giant founded by Marcos Galperinwill compete on an equal footing with amazon through the courier regime that was made more flexible by the Government at the beginning of this month, with higher franchise amounts and fewer tariffs.
The changes that the government imposed on the restricted and expensive system that governed during the previous administration were added to another fact that accelerated Mercado Libre’s decision: the announcement that Amazon made last November of offer free shipping for Argentinian purchases of selected products that exceed $99 from its platform in the United States.
As reported Bloomberg Linethe possibility of making international purchases through Mercado Libre It will be available from this Monday, December 16, although the official announcement More will be done about Christmas and New Year’s dates in order to smooth out the operation of the new scheme and avoid negative experiences in deliveries due to the accumulation of orders due to the proximity of the holidays.
The formula to use it’s not new for Mercado Libre, since it is available in four markets: Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Brazil. This is the system known as Cross Border Tradethat is, cross-border trade.
What triggered the decision that was maturing in the company were the modifications introduced by the Ministry of Economy to the purchasing and delivery regime by courier. The purchase limit expanded from $1,000 to $3,000 per shipment. It was also established a tariff exemption for imports of products for personal use for up to $400. These purchases will only be taxed at 21% VAT and will not pay tariffs..
The cross-border purchasing scheme is complemented by a tool that allows sellers from anywhere in the world to offer their products through the platform in Argentina. Is called Global Selling and allows sellers manage from a single account the offer of its products in the markets that Mercado Libre has available in Latin America for this operation.
This system is promoted within the same Mercado Libre page: “With Global Selling you can manage your business in four different Latin American markets, all from a single account. Once you have registered, You can publish your products for free, receive payments in dollars and communicate with your Latin American buyers using our automatic translation tool.”
Galperín, in a publication he made last November on X (exTwitter) referred to this issue: “15% of what is sold in Mercado Libre México is of international origin (mainly from China). This is what the posts look like. We have competed with everyone for a long time throughout Latam. In Peronia we competed with Correo Compras.”
Galperín’s statements, beyond the political chicane, have a practical basis: the growing volume of international operations in countries in the region outside of Argentina. In Texas, United States, they have a distribution center opened in the middle of this year from where they manage the distribution of shipments to Mexico.
In the case of Argentina, sellers will have the possibility of offering shipments through Mercado Shipments Full, which arrive at a logistics center and are then redistributed locally, or through Mercados Shipments Direct, through which the product arrives directly to the buyer’s home.
Then, the buyer decides what type of shipping to contract based on the deadlines and costs.
The Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, said on the occasion of confirming the changes to encourage purchases abroad through the courier regime: “We want all Argentines to be able to access more competitive prices, not only those who have the opportunity to traveling and bringing clothes, toys and/or small appliances from abroad. With these measures, we are giving the opportunity for millions of citizens to choose what they want to buy and wherefacing the Holidays, receiving the products at the door of your house, and aiming to expand the offer for everyone.”
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
