Balakbayan boxes

[Imaginos]

I lived here years ago and regularly had BB boxes sent from the US, both self packed and by consolidators that allowed shipping from Amazon, etc to them and they would pack and send when the box is full. Anyone know what the current situation is and whether there are still consolidators? Links to the consolidators would be nice if you have them.

[OnMyWay]

9 hours ago, Imaginos said:

I lived here years ago and regularly had BB boxes sent from the US, both self packed and by consolidators that allowed shipping from Amazon, etc to them and they would pack and send when the box is full. Anyone know what the current situation is and whether there are still consolidators? Links to the consolidators would be nice if you have them.

I have only used ShippingCart.com which is owned by LBC.  They do not charge by box, but by pound.  I doubt that I will ever use them again.  They moved their warehouse from California to Oregon a year or more ago, and their business completely fell apart.  Shipments missing for months, pictures of overflowing warehouse, etc.

And, Amazon has free shipping to the Philippines for many things now, so no need for a consolidator.

[Possum]

On 5/8/2024 at 7:30 PM, OnMyWay said:

I have only used ShippingCart.com which is owned by LBC.  They do not charge by box, but by pound.  I doubt that I will ever use them again.  They moved their warehouse from California to Oregon a year or more ago, and their business completely fell apart.  Shipments missing for months, pictures of overflowing warehouse, etc.

My experience was similar. I don't even consider them now.

[Imaginos]

I've done a bit of investigation on this and it looks like the rules have been extremely tightened. There's a limit of 3 boxes a year, the total value of all 3 boxes can be no more than 150k pesos, and each item in the box needs to be listed on the manifest. Also only available to PI Filipinos. No wonder  no one uses them now.

The only company I found that still does the consolidation is pobox.ph. I may have the gf do one just to see how it goes.

[Joey G]

 

No limit on number of boxes. There a number of places that will ship the, but that varies on where you live. Google helps... there are few near us.

 

But like OMY said... pricing/convenience isn't what it was, and other options like Amazon make them a lot less advantageous. 

 

https://customs.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Balikbayan-Information-Sheet.pdf

[gbmmbg]

1 hour ago, Joey G said:

No limit on number of boxes

You are correct, however after 3 the import tax goes up. it's explained under the "type of availment" section in the middle of the  page and #14 on the 4'th page.

Edited May 10 by gbmmbg
typo

[MotorSarge]

On 5/7/2024 at 8:05 PM, Imaginos said:

I lived here years ago and regularly had BB boxes sent from the US, both self packed and by consolidators that allowed shipping from Amazon, etc to them and they would pack and send when the box is full. Anyone know what the current situation is and whether there are still consolidators? Links to the consolidators would be nice if you have them.

Welcome to the forum.

[OnMyWay]

I will go out on a limb and say that nothing has changed for shipping BB boxes from the U.S. to PH.  You may have to provide a "manifest" of items inside the box to the BB box provider, such as LBC or Forex, but that has always been true.  Part of your box fee goes to the included customs clearance, and it is rarely by boxes.  They clear by container.  Just don't ship things that might be picked on detection systems as suspected guns or drugs.

I have no proof, but customs changes the regulations every once in a while, but nothing really changes.  If anyone has recent experiences to share, please do.  I belong to a Filipino American FB group and I posted a question about this.

[MotorSarge]

7 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

I will go out on a limb and say that nothing has changed for shipping BB boxes from the U.S. to PH.  You may have to provide a "manifest" of items inside the box to the BB box provider, such as LBC or Forex, but that has always been true.  Part of your box fee goes to the included customs clearance, and it is rarely by boxes.  They clear by container.  Just don't ship things that might be picked on detection systems as suspected guns or drugs.

I have no proof, but customs changes the regulations every once in a while, but nothing really changes.  If anyone has recent experiences to share, please do.  I belong to a Filipino American FB group and I posted a question about this.

This all sounds correct, we have been sending a few boxes a year for over 20 years now. The only thing that maybe changed or should I say more stringent is the carrier ask that we are detailed about the contents as customs opens more boxes that contain minimal details.

[OnMyWay]

13 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

 

I have no proof, but customs changes the regulations every once in a while, but nothing really changes.  If anyone has recent experiences to share, please do.  I belong to a Filipino American FB group and I posted a question about this.

So I asked an LBC agent in San Antonio Texas.  The last boxes I shipped in 2012 were with LBC in California, and they were more strict than Forex.

I asked:

Hi, my family and I have not yet moved to San Antonio.  I was just wondering what the cost is these days.  Also, some friends were telling me that a lot of rules have changed.  When I shipped last time it was no problem for an American to ship.  Now some are saying that only Filipinos can ship.

Response:

Hi Don. Thank you for reaching out. You can ship as many boxes as you want no problem. We will take care of you. Please contact me in my cell phone txt or call 210-569-4060. We are open Monday to Saturday 10 am to 5pm. Thank you