Move to Bogota: Shipping Stuff

Mr. Hollywood says on Jan 9, 2005, 18:13:

ideas You could ship an entire 40 foot container for less than $11,000.

10 boxes at 20 pounds each is only 200 pounds. Your baggage allowance on international plane flights is 2 bags at 71 pounds each. Extra bags usually cost an extra $100. So you could probably just pay a couple hundred bucks for a few extra large duffle bags full of stuff.

Also, look at these shipping services like tranexco and jetbox. They provide you a mailing address in Miami and forward mail/packages to Colombia for you. I'm sure their bulk rates are better than Fedex.

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Lionheart says on Jan 9, 2005, 18:48:

container prices I shipped my household in a 20 foot container from Munich Germany to Nevada USA for $3000 about 10 years ago, a lot fits in there. It took 6 weeks from door to door.

I can't imagine USA to Colombia to be that expensive, but be sure about problems to happen when the container arrives in Colombia.

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arthur brode (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jan 9, 2005, 18:52:

Gator says on Jan 9, 2005, 20:10:

Do like most.. buy a duffel bag, stuff it full, and pay the extra on the the airlines-most Colombian do it that way. Otherwise, ship by surfice.

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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Lionheart says on Jan 9, 2005, 20:55:

containers I forgot to mention how I found out about them ... I called up the major container shiping companies. Hapag Lloyd was the company that made me the best offer,

Many container companies also offer sub-space within a container. You pack everything in special crates that fit well into the container, then they wait till the container is full, then they ship it. It takes longer but is cheaper.

I am sure there will be problems at the port in Colombia on arrival, be sure to be there then. I even had to be there in Oakland CA to get customs to clear it. Plus there will be other problems, I am sure you can find out more details from the container company. If they offer door to door, they will clear the port of entry for you.

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mely says on Jan 10, 2005, 10:22:

moving to Colombia Hi Lisa,
I have a close friend who has her small business doing exactly what you are needing. She is a native Colombian from Cali and she currently lives in the washington DC area. I don't know where you live but I can give you further information, so if you want to contact me offline please feel free to do so.

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Mr. Hollywood says on Jan 10, 2005, 14:34:

He has a good point There is very little you might need that you can't buy here, and usually pretty cheaply.

I moved a whole family here with what we could carry on the airplane with a couple extra checked bags and we're doing fine.

Leaving will be a different story. I suspect our Colombian friends are going to get a LOT of nice presents.

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dwmte says on Jan 10, 2005, 17:37:

you better call around, or..... follow the advise above. there aint nothin that you have with the exception of momentos that you can't get in colombia. get rid of the excess baggage, or, as said above, just bring it as excess baggage and you have it when you arrive. period.

i can give lectures on shipping containers back and forth from colombia to both miami and to los angeles. a 40 foot container costs under $5,000.00 u.s. and a 20 ft about $3,500.00. BUT, these come into either cartagena or buena ventura. that's where your heartache begins. it's like a freestore for the dock workers and police in the ports. they steal you blind. even when you're right there watching them. if they're not stealing from you while there 'examining' your stuff, they're stealing from the container right next to yours. all i can say is 'been there, done that'. and this comes from way to much experience. i've shipped many containers, both 20's and 40's.

so, follow the above advise and buy the things you want in colombia, and you'll have a fun time shopping. or, ship all that crap and you'll have the biggest headache you've ever had.

if you're gonna ship, use shenker.

dw

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Lionheart says on Jan 10, 2005, 17:48:

dwmte a question about you shipping with containers: How did you avoid getting robbed blind everytime? Or did you simply give up after loosing all too often?

I could imagine that a nice present to a police chief and/or to a leader of the dock workers would help you protect your container. Or did you show up with a truck load of thugs? What was your trick?

I have heard some stories about these import/export problems, plus the corruption involved getting your shipment cleared to leave the dock.

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dwmte says on Jan 11, 2005, 17:52:

lionheart........... i'm sorry i didn't reply yesterday, but being (probably) the oldest poster on the site, i turn to a pumpkin early and have to retire. too, yesterday was long, tiring and about as eventful as a day in daytona can be so going to bed was the sweetest thought imaginable.

some times i read posts about greasing palms in colombia and that's the way to get things done. well, i couldn't agree with that. first, because it's not true. you don't just slip a guy a twenty and that gets anything done. too, not all colombians are on the take. and most importantly, if one's style is to 'pay as they go', so to speak, they better damn well know who it is to pay. because, if they don't, all hell's gonna break loose and there's gonna be hell to pay. you don't just pay some guy on the dock, he'll just take your money, and you'll still get ripped off, probably by him. you'ld have to pay the 'boss', the port boss. and paying off him is not a matter of a twenty....hardly. this person is like a cabinet minister and pay off isn't money, it's influence. he's your friend, you socially move together, you eat together, your families mingle, etc. get the picture? in other words, forget that idea.

when i moved back to colombia this last time, i was separated from my wife, in fact, we were divorced. but i decided that since we're catholics, we weren't really divorced, just eye ball deep in problems that were unresolved. and since we have alovely daughter, i figured that if we couldn't live together, i'd live down the street, as our daughter needs both of us.

i decided to move our antique business back to colombia as a means of income there. i couldn't work there, so i might as well just sell some to the stuff i had bought there. i shipped (on that occassion) 8 1/2 tons of antiques back to colombia along with all the checheri i had collected over the years and, of course, household items, the essentials as i wasn't into shopping for what i already had and that was very fine. i filled a 20 foot container and shipped it from miami to cartegena.

even with the courteous help of dr. fanny kurtzman, the director of dian, and her influence over the director of atlantic (carribbean) ports, hector merlano, the a holes in the ports robbed me blind, even in front of me, these poor workers just stuffed stuff in their pockets and not just my container, the containers being examined next to mine. it's just a process of , 'heh, thats pretty cool, i think i'll take that.' period.

nothing can change it except a personal private army standing over it 24 seven. these baffoons even climed on cartons of crystal, and pottery, breaking so many pieces. it was sad. then, to add insult to injury, the truck driver from cartegena to medellin took his share. after all was said and done i was just thankful that i got what i got.

the other shipments which i shipped out of colombia were custom furnishings we used to manufacture there. these are not items you can put in your pocket or easily obscound. so with these shipments, all 40 foot containers, there were no problems. it's just the personal stuff that's a nightmare.

if any one has a better experience, let me know. i'll be doing it again in another year and even with my considerable experience, i'd like some advise on reducing the lossses.

i will use my own container next time, that way it can be shipped 'in bond' from cartegena to medellin, under lock and seal. i know the who's who in the ports from the top to the bottom and that helps some, but thieves are thieves. they learn well in colombia, from an early age. the government rips them off, why shouldn't they rip off others. it's a way of life there. your best friend will steal from you and i'm not kidding. i had one friend who took something from my antique store and when i busted him on it, he said, 'shit man, you have two of em.' just a way of life.

so, lion heart, if any of this helps, i'm glad. if not, i apologize.

douglas

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Lionheart says on Jan 11, 2005, 19:27:

thanks dwmte no rush on replies ...

It is as I assumed ... there is no easy way to protect your container. I have heard about the same from Mediteranean ports. Bribing the Master of the Port isn't very easy normally, he is more spoiled by his big "clients" ... we are small frys not able to match his income short to marrying his daughter.

I will look into some ideas Hapag LLoyd mentioned when I leased their container .. they seem to offer special safe containers within a container. I will let you know what I find. I recall seeing the smaller containers being transported by train in Germany.

What do you mean by "bonded"? How would it prevent a container being broken open?

Thanks Douglas,
Dave

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dwmte says on Jan 12, 2005, 03:53:

moving in bond means the container is sealed at the port and is not permitted to be opened by anyone but the consignee at destination. anything other than that puts the loss liability on the shipper. even police don't open them until they are at destination.

when we moved back to the states and all that 'stuff' was returned--for the third time--i photographed everything and paid exhorbitant insurance, using shenker, and they still pillaged the stuff before it got on board. i really don't think you're immune unless you're in the diplomatic corp.

there really isn't any protective measure that i can think of. the bosses are really above petty larceny on these shipments. i wouldn't even think that mister merlano would have any part of this nonsense. it's beyond belief. these people are to high up the responsibility pole to have any part in this. it's the poor workers who are paid so little and when they see the personal belongings of foreigners, the temptation is just to great.

dw

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LaloG says on Jan 12, 2005, 16:33:

We shipped via container, and it took two months to get the 7 boxes of personal stuff, but not one thing was stolen, although it had been obviously gone over pretty extensively, we assumed by customs here in Buenaventura, then just dumped back into the boxes helter skelter. Through it all only one item was broken, a small ceramic watercolor palette. We paid about $3.000 USD to ship 1,700 lbs, but had to pay about $55. USD in customs fines for importing my small kitchen appliances. Glad I did though since I´ve seen nothing like mine here. Other than that, we paid about $500. USD in customs fees, and shipping costs to Bogotá from Buenaventura. The worst of the "ordeal", was the waiting, and having people who suposedly knew what was going on not telling us the truth about arrival dates and times.
We bought beautiful mostly custom made furniture here in nice woods, and leather coverings for less than what we would have paid to ship even one bedroom set. We now have a house full of beter quality furniture for less money.
Good luck in your move.
LoloG

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