Shipping Container

Gator says on May 26, 2004, 18:06:

From where in Colombia? How large, by air, very expensive; or by ship, cheap but slow? Embarking from???

"Bene, cum Latine nescias, nolo manus meas in te maculare" .

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john says on May 27, 2004, 08:37:

Sealand. My family did it the opposite way. From U.S. To Colombia.
Good luck with U.S. customs!! (It took them a month to search everything inside the container.)
Also read any small font in the contract cus we ended up paying extra fees for stupid delays and taxes.
The whole process was supposed to take 2 mo. but it really took more than that.
Would we ever do it again? NO.
BTW - it was from: NYC to Buenaventura via Cali.

John

John

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greg says on May 27, 2004, 14:19:

by sea a 20 ft container from Cartagena to NY by sea

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Metatron says on May 28, 2004, 16:59:

Shipping Container It may or may not be easy. Containers leaving CTG are subject to narcotics police search by lottery. If they decide to search the container, they will remove everything and check very thoroughly in CTG. I would reccomend being present during the search as you can insure the container is repacked properly. You can arrange this thru your broker. Security at CTG terminal is very good so there should be little chance of theft.

The search could be a problem depending on what you are shipping. If the goods are suitable for concealing drugs, they may be dissasembled by the police during the search. I have seen furniture more or less ripped apart during a search.

I reccomend packing the container in such a way that it can be easily searched.

As I recall, the cost of the container shipment is $2000 or so.

You may also be searched on entry to USA.

Let us know how you make out.

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dwmte says on Jun 8, 2004, 12:25:

shipping containers to us from colombia well i've shipped a number of 40 ft containers from buenaventura to los angeles and 20 ft from cartegena to miami. all shipments were done by professional forwarders and properly handled.

i noted a person said that there is good security in cartegena and that theft is not a problem. i have shipped containers from miami to cartegena and cartegena to miami, and to say that theft is not a problem is as far from the truth as we can get.

i know personally, the director of the port in cartegena, hector merlano and the director of the d.i.a.n., fanny kurtzman. did this help? absolutely not. i have had so much stuff stolen that one could do a book about the problem. i have been in the mulle (port) during entry and exit and they just put stuff in their pocket, assisted by the guards. it is truly unbelieveable. ESPECIALLY when there are personal goods involved. commercial shippments have better luck. i've shipped both and the commercial shippments survive far, far better than personal belongings. i've complained and i might just as well have talked to a rock.

then, upon entering the u.s. your property has NO CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS until it has passed through and cleared customs. they steal here in the states as well. the same holds true...much more so with personal goods than with commercial shipments.

my advice. pack your things well, have very detailed lists of contents, prepare yourself for problems. and only use licensed, bonded forwarders to ship your goods to their final destination from the port. insist that the containers be locked and seals put on at the port; to be opened only at destination. the drivers will happily join the band of thieves. insist that the containers/truck be banded and sealed. go to the port office if necessary. insist on this.

all i can say--although the above is not exactly positive--is good luck, prepare for loss and after all is said and done, just lick your wounds and be glad it's done.

when i complained about losses at customs in miami...one of the inspectors asked me if i had my t.s.** card with me; he'd stamp it a couple of times.

again, good luck,

d w martin

** t.s. : tough shit

p.s. i forgot. you must have your goods in the port 5-7 days prior to the shipping date (you will know the exact date from your shipping company) it takes about 7 days from cartegena to reach miami, maybe ten-twelve to nyc. you will know the exact dates from the shpg co. i personally prefer a swiss company, 'schenker'. again, good luck

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greg says on Jun 8, 2004, 15:18:

How Much How much did it cost to ship the 40 ft containers

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dwmte says on Jun 9, 2004, 03:48:

costs it's been a while since i shipped a 40 footer, but then, it was a little under $4,000.00 from buenaventura to long beach (LA). the 20 footers from cartegena to miami were around $2,000.00 it's been 4 years since i shipped the last 20 footer.

hope that helps.

dw

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jjochum says on Jun 10, 2004, 14:50:

How much business? DW,

I work for a NVOCC freight forwarder here in LA. What kind of product are you importing? Are you getting a lot of traffic from Colombia? I would like to speak with you about this if you have a minute. Let me know: j_jochum at yahoo.com

Thanks,

Jonathan

Can't Wait to Be There!

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dwmte says on Jun 13, 2004, 14:45:

containers thanks for the request, jonathan, but unfortunately i'm not shipping freight from colombia. this was a number of years back--before the rodney king riots--we had a store in west hollywood on melrose and melrose place. we manufactured custom ranch furnishings for the design trade. we shut the store about six months after the riots...just not enough business to support the high overhead of the area after the riots.

we manufactured our own furnishings in the medellin area.

good luck with what ever you're doing.

dwmte

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