Mike S Posted September 27, 2008 Posted September 27, 2008 When I moved here this year I only packed my stuff in 3 jumbo balik-bayan boxes ..... consisting of mostly lots and lots of computer equipment .... tools .... clothing and bunches of odds and ends ...... the cost from Florida to Cebu was $90 per box ..... looking back now I wish I had sent several more ...... some things like my 220 ac/dc welder would have been nice to bring and even though I am retired and not looking for work it would have been nice to piddle with ....... The man that shipped my stuff was very friendly and helpful and recommended that I wrap the entire boxes in clear shipping tape ... not only to protect from water them but also to add strength to the box ....... I came up with the idea of cutting a piece of 1/4 in. plywood to fit in the bottom of the box so nothing would fall through ....... now these boxes were about from 175 to 200 lbs and took two guys to carry them ..... I was concerned about the weight but the shipper assured me that the weight was OK ........ Off went my boxes with ALL my worldly belongings into the great unknown ....... and many anxious moments occurred before they arrived 4 months later ...... why so long ...... well first off they didn't get shipped when they were supposed to as there was not enough to fill the container so 3 weeks were lost ....... then in Hong Kong there was a weeks delay because the port was refusing container vessels due to dock over crowding so another week was lost ........ now the sad part of all this is that I didn't know any of this until the boxes arrived in Manila and I could get hold of the shipper to find out what had happened ......... and just to make matters worst this was during the time of the typhoon that sank the passenger boat so I had visions of all my worldly possessions laying at the bottom of the sea ..... Anyway all boxes arrived and in super shape ... the only item damaged was the glass in my printer-scanner and that was easily replaced by me the same week ..... but I don't mind telling you I spent some sleepless nights wondering where all my junk was ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerosick Posted September 27, 2008 Posted September 27, 2008 ...... some things like my 220 ac/dc welder would have been nice to bring and even though I am retired and not looking for work it would have been nice to piddle with ....... Piddle? PIDDLE??? You give new meaning to "spot" welding, di ba! :3_8_14[1]: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimellie Posted September 27, 2008 Posted September 27, 2008 4 months from Florida ????????? My stuff usually arrive in about 2 months from Connecticut,USA.What is the name of the company that ship your stuff ? I'll make sure I won't use them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike S Posted September 28, 2008 Author Posted September 28, 2008 Yes Billie for those that can't puddle ... they have to piddle ..... di ba ....... (for those that don't know .. that word really turns Billie on )Chi ...... it was by Southeast Atlantic Cargo ....... but as I said 3 weeks because container not full and 1 week shipping delay in Hong Kong ....... I wanted to use Umac but they didn't have an agent near me and I would have had to drive to the coast or ship it UPS to Jacksonville ....... and you know what that would cost ....... guess I am just happy it all arrived safely ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul Posted September 28, 2008 Posted September 28, 2008 Use Manila Forwarders (or possibly Forwarding?) for Balikbayan Box shipping. They have proven to be quite reliable, over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Lee Posted September 28, 2008 Posted September 28, 2008 (edited) We have found forex to be one of the most reliable and you can track the box online.http://www.forexworld.us/Kahon/ Edited April 7, 2009 by Mr. Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike S Posted September 28, 2008 Author Posted September 28, 2008 I have found that regardless of which shipper you want to use you are limited to the ones in your area ....... although there are many listed on the internet many are on the other side of the Mississippi River or the northern part of the states ...... if you have to send your boxes to them you will pay through the nose to ship by UPS or other shipper .... in my case it would have cost a fortune as all boxes weighed over 175 lbs. and UPS doesn't give discounts ....... I know I checked ...... Calif. offers the best and cheapest deals to ship from plus the fastest shipping time ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimellie Posted September 28, 2008 Posted September 28, 2008 We have found forex to be one of the most reliable and you can track the box online.http://v2.forexworld.us/Default.aspx?alias...xworld.us/forex Thanks Lee........We are ready to send 10 boxes to my new house. We bought a lot stuff for the house. Seems like the stuff here are cheaper if you can get them on sale, and better quality....surprised ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Lee Posted September 28, 2008 Posted September 28, 2008 I found shopping in Cebu very frustrating because a lot of home furnishings are actually more expensive and many things are either hard to find or not available at all, so we had to settle for things instead of getting the things we would have actually wanted. Cebu really needs a big real furniture store as well as something like a Super Walmart IMO. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twostrokes Posted September 29, 2008 Posted September 29, 2008 This all still makes me wonder if it is not worth the cost to go ahead and ship a 20ft or 40ft container over with everything you want or need and get it over with...Balikbayan Boxes can really start to add up over time plus, y ou are limited in the size of what you send over...I mean 10 boxes which actually are quite small considering what you would need for most household stuff, already gonna be over $1,000. and you still only get your small stuff.....I still havn't decided what I want to do, what I want to have with me and what I would be willing to just buy there. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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