Only 1 Cargo Container Allowed to be Shipped Every 5 years to Colombia from the US??

dwmte7 says on Oct 15, 2007, 10:04:

miguel...e me at dwmte7 at yahoo.com and we'll go over this. i don't know who gave you this info.

i've had the, shall we say misfortune, of shipping many containers both ways and never heard of anything like that. you can get a lot of stuff in a 20' container. you're allowed 44,000 #. anyway, i have direct numbers to dian in bogota, mr merlano at the muelle in cartegena as well brokers, in miami and cartegena. if any of this will help, feel free to e me and we'll go from there.

dw

dwmte

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dwmte7 says on Oct 15, 2007, 10:06:

MC another point, to consolidate, there are what they call 'high-cube' containers that are 8 X 9 1/2 X 20. they don't tell you about these, but there's a good possibility that you can get everything in one high-cube.

dwmte

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Brians says on Oct 15, 2007, 10:10:

dwm do you remeber how much it costs to ship a "high cube" from Miami to Colombia? How's the health going? Good I hope.

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Miguel_Clavo says on Oct 15, 2007, 11:41:

I will do just that, dwmte7......email you this afternoon.....btw, great post "a very serious, concerned, query"....you are a honorable man, Charlie Brown! =)..havent had a chance to comment on it but will shortly! =)

"I would rather die living life, than to live a dying life."........ Oh, and my PM is always ON. Great Bumper Sticker: "Home of the Free, Because of the Brave"

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elmodefoque says on Oct 15, 2007, 11:52:

HEY MC and DWMTE, is there a site to check for more info?

over 5 million colombianos in USA and only 27 barranquilleros, i'm one. CURRAMBA, EL MEJOR VIVIDERO DEL MUNDO!

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Miguel_Clavo says on Oct 15, 2007, 11:52:

Doug, that info was from the Transpak website who ships from California to Colombia as well....it was included in the section which lists prohibited shipping items ....which means i will cant ship my ex's remains i found out...jajajaj....just kidding..she, unfortunately, is still alive and kickin....me! jajajajja.....

"I would rather die living life, than to live a dying life."........ Oh, and my PM is always ON. Great Bumper Sticker: "Home of the Free, Because of the Brave"

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dwmte7 says on Oct 15, 2007, 12:04:

thanks, miguel...i don't know about all that honorable stuff....if i am, GOD knows...if i'm not, HE knows that to. that being said..............

on that post, i have no solutions, as stated, i just feel that if any part of the body of humanity is sick, the whole body of humanity is sick. these perverse abuses of innocents, need serious attention by all of us...no matter what country we're from. somewhere, there's a root cause and it needs, like cancer, a cure. i'm not busying myself with fault finding, as the fault lies within the body of man. because of that, all of us need to busy ourselves with the cure.

again about shipping, it's been so many years since i used our brokers there in the los angeles area--offices near the airport--i don't think i could be helpful there. but i have taken as much as 8 1/2 tons of personal effects to and from colombia, way too many times. and they never told me i couldn't bring in this or that...they only stole what they wanted and billed me for the rest. by the way, a direct call to DIAN in bogota will clear the air. they make the rules. just bring what you want and if they don't want you to have it, they'll steal it. i promise.

dwmte

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Miguel_Clavo says on Oct 15, 2007, 12:08:

Elmo, when i get a free moment, i will email you what i have learned....but keep in mind the ones i researched were West Coast to Colombia shippers....i would imagine that NYC, with its huge Colombian population, would have several companies shipping to Colombia. I think you were talking earlier about relocating to Barranquilla, and they have their own port so you dont have to worry about transferring the items inland at all.

MC

"I would rather die living life, than to live a dying life."........ Oh, and my PM is always ON. Great Bumper Sticker: "Home of the Free, Because of the Brave"

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dwmte7 says on Oct 15, 2007, 12:11:

sorry, elmo, i missed the question, e me at dwmte7 at yahoo.com and i can give you direct private numbers at DIAN and at the port that will certainly be of help. the consulate is a waste of time and money...they said if we'ld been out of the country for more than a year, we didn't have to pay to repatriate our personal effects...MY ACHING ASS... the last time with hang ups and demurrage, it cost me about seven grand! plus the personal appropriations made by the inspectors/military/trabajadors etc....that being theft.

brians...prices change all the time, call shenker international and get an up to date quote. or use the e address above and i'll look up my brokers number in miami and she'll be glad to help.

dwmte

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elmodefoque says on Oct 15, 2007, 12:11:

thanks, send what ever info to malpariohp at yahoo.com
i should take my ass to queens to see what kind of info i get.

over 5 million colombianos in USA and only 27 barranquilleros, i'm one. CURRAMBA, EL MEJOR VIVIDERO DEL MUNDO!

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goin_south says on Oct 15, 2007, 23:01:

why don't you just sale or give away most of what you have here, and buy new, when you get there??? wondering.... because... that's what I'm tellin her... for plans in a few more months.

Colombia es

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Aaron21 says on Oct 15, 2007, 23:45:

GS, people in Colombia said I will definitely miss what I have here in New York. They recommend I bring all furniture and electronics as the comparable things in Colombia are much more expensive. That being said, most of my stuff is new since I was recently married. And, of course, we need all things relating to our family and other unique items.

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goin_south says on Oct 16, 2007, 00:10:

the electronic items... I can relate to (in going THAT DIRECTION: TO COLOMBIA)
But, as others here have said,.... and I know (about the cost of shipping)... it costs as much to ship as it does to buy new, once you're there.... I guess each individual has to make those decisions for themselves..... again... everyone has somewhat unique circumstances.

Colombia es

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tomtom33 says on Oct 16, 2007, 05:12:

I didn't ship anything here. Of course I still have a condo in the US to house all my shit. There are some things that I have in the US that could be used here. I sold my big house in the US and bought a much smaller condo there. However I now have both of my places in Colombia fully furnished. Shipping stuff here just never seemed to be worth the hassle.

I just bought a new router so my VOIP would work. I paid 330K for it. In the US I bought a new router for VOIP in June. It cost about US$80. Of course the router I bought in Colombia has a 2-line VOIP adapter built into it.

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Brians says on Oct 16, 2007, 06:48:

TomTom how is that working for you? I was thinking about putting in one as well but was unsure how well they work.

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dwmte7 says on Oct 16, 2007, 06:53:

shippers....if you're in quandary as to whether to ship or not. listen to some of the advice above. we've shipped an entire household down and back three times, so we know, well whereof we speak. all our furnishings are antiques so they go where we go. many colombian (antioquian) antiques. it represents about 8 1/2 tons...a 20 ft container full, including my shop and tools, etc. it's not cheap. but we can't replace what we have. however, if you have simple contemporary furnishings, sell them and buyin colombia, as the furnishings in colombia are fantastic. as good as they produce in milan. leather, wood, what ever. i used to manufacture furniture in colombia and know the industry inside and out. so just remember that shopping can be fun...all over again...especially in medellin. most of the better tallers are in antioquia. and for sure, the finest--world class--ebanistas are in medellin. good luck.

dwmte

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tomtom33 says on Oct 16, 2007, 07:03:

The VOIP phone is nifty. It costs me about US$12.50 per month. It has a Madison, WI, number. So anyone in Madison can call me as if I was still in the US. I get 500 minutes a month to anywhere in the lower 48. Over 500 minutes is about $0.035 per minute. You can buy unlimited service, but I don't like telephones. Voicemail and caller ID are free.

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Miguel_Clavo says on Oct 16, 2007, 09:23:

Brians...i use Vonage VOIP in my office in CTG, and it works until the internet access/electricity goes down, which is not infrequent in the walled city. i have a Vonage business acccount and a Vonage box at my place in Calif. I call my manager a couple times per day and the cost built in to the monthly charge, so no unexpected huge bills. I dread the day when the manager learns that calls to the US from the CTG Vonage phone are built in as well.....then everyone in the office will be trying the "free" calls to the US....=(...

With regards to selling everything here and buying in Colombia, you will find that many, and i say MANY, things available in the US are very hard to find in Colombia. For me, it is easier and makes better use of my time, to pay to ship what i have and what i have purchased in the US (better options, quality, availability, state of the art, etc) versus spending the rest of my life shopping for what i want in Colombia or traveling to other cities to get it. For example, i spent almost 2 weeks looking for a upper-end Canon printer in both BAQ and CTG to no avail. all i could find was the low end ones which cost about $69 in the US. So on my next trip i brought one as checked luggage. Most everything could be available in Bogota, perhaps, but then you pay the higher cost and then have to ship it to where you live. So, for me its spend a HUGE amount of time looking for the "just buy it there" items, or pay a shippper to ship exactly what i need and and keep the nice things that i already have. For me, thats a no brainer....but others may have a different opinion.....also, if you sell your US stuff, you will be lucky to get a dime on the dollar......many times. ..

"I would rather die living life, than to live a dying life."........ Oh, and my PM is always ON. Great Bumper Sticker: "Home of the Free, Because of the Brave"

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dwmte7 says on Oct 16, 2007, 09:44:

good points, it's just that--furnishings--not technology are plentiful and wonderful in colombia. every body decide. i too ship my own technology. all my freinds ask if they can buy my cameras, computers, etc. sometimes i'll sell them if i'm gonna be back on the gringo side before to long. but usually not. i had a nikon digital that i paid 300 for it at wal mart. in colombia it was over 500. so i sold it to my buddy when we came back over to get nena back in school.

dwmte

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Mr. Hollywood says on Oct 16, 2007, 10:46:

Bring technology, leave furniture. Like Doug said above, furniture made in Colombia is great and probably less expensive than shipping your US stuff down. IF anything, I'd ship Colombian furniture the other direction.

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tomtom33 says on Oct 16, 2007, 13:57:

MC, it is difficult to find stuff in CTG. In MDE it is quite easy. I bought a higher-end HP printer at Exito. You probably won't find them in the CTG Exito, but you could try http://www.virtualexito.com/. They will deliver to your door. And I'm sure that the CTG Exito people would be glad to order stuff for you.

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eywed says on Oct 16, 2007, 14:46:

No one has ever said a price to ship all ones belongings to Colombia. Has someone done so recently and if so how much did it cost for all the shiping cost including any taxes to bring said goods into Colombia.

Ay Hombe!!!!!

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Miguel_Clavo says on Oct 16, 2007, 18:26:

Tomtom33...thanks for the information..i didnt want to have to travel to MDE to locate things, but i will contact the CTG to see if they can obtain the items i locate on the website you posted. I intend to keep a place in Manizales as well, so MDE is not that far to go to find the things i need to get....

Eywed, i will be shipping a 20' metal cargo container (inside dimensions 19'x7'x7') from Oakland Californian to the Cartagena port. You pay for the volume of the container not the weight. So whatever you can stuff into that container they will ship (except for customs restrictions, of course, like ex-wives, etc...) They will drop off the cargo container at my storage place in the south bay, i load it, then they take it to the port at Oakland. Shipped by boat to CTG via Panama Canal. The shippers only get it to the port and that is it. Cost: Door to Port $3620.

I then have to arrange to get it removed and through Customs, and arrange for delivery to my office and apartment. Not sure exactly what that will cost, but i would imagine the moscas will take their bite as well!!!!

"I would rather die living life, than to live a dying life."........ Oh, and my PM is always ON. Great Bumper Sticker: "Home of the Free, Because of the Brave"

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Mr. Hollywood says on Oct 16, 2007, 19:05:

How long do they estimate door to door? Or port to port, rather.

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Miguel_Clavo says on Oct 16, 2007, 19:14:

Oakland CA to Ctg Colombia they estimate 30-35 days.......so its party time in Colombia while the container is in transit!! =)

"I would rather die living life, than to live a dying life."........ Oh, and my PM is always ON. Great Bumper Sticker: "Home of the Free, Because of the Brave"

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dwmte7 says on Oct 17, 2007, 05:31:

once your 'can' is in cartegena, be sure your broker deals with it directly. the last time i brought goods through--personal effects--i got in a rowe with customs as i had been told that since we had been out of the country for more than a year, we didn't have t pay any duties on our property. we'll like most colombian double speak, that was far from the truth. i ended up getting dra. fanny kurtzman (head of DIAN) involved. the way they got back at me, was to bill me almost $2,000.00 in demurrage. pricks. sooo, just make sure everything moves quickly. good luck

dwmte

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eywed says on Oct 17, 2007, 17:37:

Thanks for the info you all.

Ay Hombe!!!!!

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Miguel_Clavo says on Oct 17, 2007, 19:12:

I will know more once i go through the Customs/Port folks etc....if you need more info, contact me after Dec 15 or so......=)

"I would rather die living life, than to live a dying life."........ Oh, and my PM is always ON. Great Bumper Sticker: "Home of the Free, Because of the Brave"

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