Exporting from Colombia

dwmte7 says on Jul 8, 2009, 05:02:

i've shipped a lot of commercial cargo out of colombia but to the u.s..........40' containers. i used ctg and buena ventura. my broker has always been shenker international, a swiss firm. no fees on export. possibly a bit of theft. shop around, learn about packing your furnishings and artisinias. first must be plastic, then carton. very important. or they'll be scuffed and damaged. starting, you'll probably not need more than a twenty footer. find some other things to fill your container, like hardwoods to cover the floor of the container (logs) then you can sell it in bulk to lumber dealers at a fair profit.

we mfg furniture for a number of years. we also exported restored antioquian antiques.

i and others have written fairly extensively on the subject, try the search feature upper rt corner of each page. if you have any specific questions, pm me and i'd be glad to help.

dw martin

patriarch

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CelticAce88 says on Jul 8, 2009, 05:04:

Thanks very much. I will research this and probably get back to you later on.

Martin.

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fill says on Jul 8, 2009, 05:44:

how about less than container load?

fill

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Aji1 says on Jul 8, 2009, 06:09:

Many freight forwarders also can provide container consolidation services. They load several clients goods on a container for same destination. It can cause scheduling to be more difficult at times. For small quantities FEDEX or UPS has all the forms etc. to get it there and through customs.

I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

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fill says on Jul 8, 2009, 07:05:

I've checked with ups & fedex, I'm ordering heavy brass castings, need to ship about 1000lbs per month. container shipping cheapest I'm sure, but I don't need anywhere near a container in volume.
I'm in Bogota now getting a few samples, I'll take those home with me as bagage. Next month I'll need to start shipping. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks Don

fill

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dwmte7 says on Jul 8, 2009, 08:32:

hi fill...........containers work on their volume and/or 44,000 lbs.which ever comes first. that's a 20' container. i always avoided consolidation as it was overly costly on a wt/volume ratio. but you have to weigh that out yourself. we also did a lot of brass castings, i.e. knobs, handles, pulls, etc. but no where near the weight you're talking about. i just threw the bags of maybe 100 of each style in drawers of the furnishings we sent. there are air freight services out of the medallo airport that work at about 1.00 u.s. a lb. if you can guarantee monthly shipments, you might be able to whittle that down to half, dunno.

it's always the story that money talks and bullshit walks.

patriarch

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scumbuster says on Jul 8, 2009, 09:09:

dwmte7. If they have this service at the medallo airport, can I assume at bogota they would also? Do you happen to have a name? 1.00 a lb sounds decent for what I have in mind. I am looking at between 100 and 200 lb every couple months.

Tomas Jefferson “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”

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dwmte7 says on Jul 8, 2009, 13:40:

i don't know squat about el dorado/bogota. but in medallo, if you're out at the medellin airport maria cordoba, and facing the terminal, if you look out back on the left, they're in that building back there. just ask around. sorry no numbers. i used to have the chaps name and number but it fell by the side of the road somewhere.

is that shenker or shneker? i know the one, not the other.
d

patriarch

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fill says on Jul 8, 2009, 15:48:

thanks for the info

fill

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viajero123 (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jul 8, 2009, 18:09:

Aji1 says on Jul 9, 2009, 06:21:

dwmte7, I assume you were required to fumigate the wood (logs and green or air dried lumber) to get through customs in the US? I thought Colombia had restriction on exportation of log because of the unprocessed nature of exporting logs as opposed to being a value added product in the form of lumber. Any thoughts anybody?

I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!

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Nate.J says on Jul 9, 2009, 08:57:

This is a good post, I have done some importing and exporting in the past few years and I have found http://www.MobileMini.com and http://www.mobilemini.co.uk to be a great help you might want to give them a call. They have locations all over the US and the UK.

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dwmte7 says on Jul 9, 2009, 11:28:

aji....you assumed wrong. if the wood bores eat your wood, that's your problem, not custom's. just bring your wood. as for our furnishings, you'll want to be in customs for your first examination and tell them to x ray your goods and that you'll pay for it. other wise, occassionally there's a mindless prick on duty that'll drill the legs, etc. you want to be on top of that.

when we brought in our first two 40' containers into long beach. before they arrived, i went to the port and met with the director and gave him the whole program. and that i would be present the day of inspection to show them i wasn't bringing in toot. so a month later i fly up and go to the port. there were all these guys from customs that had flown out from washington just to witness this. like one of the agents said, "right, furniture from medellin, gotta see this" then, after it was all over and we had settled into the luxory of the customs director's office and were drinking coffee, all these young agents picked my brains wanting to know the truth about medallo. was it really like all the stories they had heard? etc. it was funny and fun. nice bunch of guys. they didn't fuck up any of my goods and i never had problems after that. plan ahead.

patriarch

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Timba says on Jul 9, 2009, 16:50:

I was informed that if aduana wanted to be pickly, they could force you to have paperwork for the logs listing type, origin etc. Having the right broker was important.

I too thought logs and other untreated wood products were an issue, given the threat of infestation. I have not kept up with this issue but do have a friend in a company that manufactures 'plastic shipping slips' for this reason.

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dwmte7 says on Jul 10, 2009, 02:49:

well i can't speak for other exporters, but i exported a shit load of "rastras" with neery a question. every 40' container had the floor covered with logs (rastras are 3 mtrs long, by about 10" X 10") the only exception was the abarco which would be up to 6 mtrs in length and typical rafter sizes, about 4" X 6-8". one needs be careful in their stacking and storing of these as they have a tendency to twist while age-drying making them pretty much useless. stacking side by side and clamping for the first year is the best solution with other logs on top to keep them flat.
d

patriarch

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fill says on Jul 12, 2009, 14:22:

dwmte7
what kind of wood are you shipping? since I will never fill a container seems like a good idea to fill with something. what is it worth in the states? You said your shipping to Long Beach,I would like to go to Oakland. What port are you shipping from and what is your approx cost?
Thanks Don

fill

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