Sending parcel to Colombia

MacGringo says on Oct 9, 2006, 12:50:

Panda,
I sent a parcel Panda,
I sent a parcel recently from the UK. The dilemna you face is whether to send using a courier like DHL or use the UK Post Office.
All depends on the value of the parcel really. I sent some hand made babies clothes, only a small and light package, not of any great value currency wise and DHL wanted 110 quid to send it.
DHL is a guaranteed door to door service, which is good if you can justify the 110 quid or more depending on weight and package dimension, but for the size and weight of my package 110 quid was ridiculous.
So, weighing up the pros and cons, I took the gamble and sent it via the Post Office who use standard Air Mail, this cost 12 quid but has not arrived yet and I sent it 3 weeks ago. Like I said this is a gamble which I was willing to take due to the low value of the package, but if you really need the package to get there, guaranteed, use DHL or other courier.

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sandramoreno80 says on Oct 9, 2006, 15:06:

Panda,
We have recently been Panda,

We have recently been sending small packages to Colombia (Armenia), all of these packages have been in those biffy envelopes (bubblewrap ones) in different sizes. They have all arrived to my grans house, not one has got lost yet (touch wood). In the past 3 months we have sent over 20 packages.

They are all sent as a small package via the Post Office with "International Signed For", you just fill in the recipients details, they stamp it and give it to you as a reciept. For a declared value of over £32 you can pay for more compensation if it is lost. We do not send things of value though, just baby clothes.

You pay the airmail price plus a fee for the International Signed For, this depends on the weight of the item.

It takes aproximately 10-20 days for it to arrive.

We had a bad experience with FedEx a couple of years ago, we sent one of their boxes full of baby stuff when my little cousin was born, paid 80 quid here, then Pereira customs kept it until my family spent around another 80 quids worth in taxes.

So since then we don't send parcels in boxes, we use this system of envelopes and are happy. Another way is through Casas de Giros in London, don't know if you know of them. These places are where expats wire money home to Colombia, the have phone cabins with cheap calls and some also have Servicio de Paqueteria. Any of the spanish language free newspapers that you get in any Latino business will have their adverts. There should be a business in Elephant & Castle for sure. These are roughly about £7 per kilo sent. Can not tell you more because we have never used it.

Hope this helps.
SANDRA LILIANA

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Cerealkiller says on Oct 9, 2006, 15:45:

Hi, I sent a couple of HUGE parcels (like 25kg each) as I was moving to Colombia from the UK and found out parcelforce is the cheapest and best way to send them. Just take it to the post office and fill out the form, I got my stuff within 2 weeks and didnt have to pay any taxes or pick it up at any storage, they delivered everything right in front of my door. Good luck!
http://www.parcelforce.com/portal/pw

Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives -John Stuart Mill

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Panda says on Oct 10, 2006, 10:59:

Awesome! thanks everyone for this much valued information.

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