Shipping Household items to Colombia by Ship

expatriate says on Apr 9, 2006, 09:08:

Kamino with a K We used Kamino in South San Francisco to ship all of our belongings to Buenaventura, and can recommend them highly. We then used an agent here to get things out of the port and trucked to Cali.

The number of pounds doesn't make a difference, it's the volume if you are shipping things. For us it worked out to about $7 a cubic foot.

We sold a bunch of stuff like TVs and furniture before we left California, but if I had to do it again, I would bring everything except the stuff I was about to throw out anyway.

In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile.

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Gator says on Apr 9, 2006, 11:24:

Consider... the cost of moving your goods from Buenaventura to Sant5a Marta-it's about 1500 Km and to Cartagena about 250/300 km less. Have you considered buying in Colombia? Except for electronic, by the time you consider freight, overland transportation, customs, insurance, etc., etc, I doubt you will save that much if anything. If you sell in the USA that might help you offset costs in Colombia.

Other opinions appreciated.

"Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscripti catapults habebunt."

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

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expatriate says on Apr 9, 2006, 11:58:

They also ship to the North coast Kamino also ships to the North coast. In fact, they ship anything anywhere in the world. The $7 a cubic foot included all expenses, from South San Francisco to our Cali apartment. Buying your household items in Colombia is not a good idea. They cost the same or more as back in the U.S., and the quality of things is usually lower. When in doubt, ship it!

In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile.

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Miguel_Clavo says on Apr 9, 2006, 12:59:

Was that using a full container or less than a full container? were there any problems with customs, or handlers pilfering your stuff, expatriate?

Just my opinion...

Miguel_Clavo

"Ignorance is a Weapon of Mass Destruction..."

"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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expatriate says on Apr 9, 2006, 14:20:

Problems There were no problems with missing items.

However, you will need to choose your Colombian contact carefully. Our first broker was apparently broke, and spent the money we gave him on getting his previous customer's shipment out. He was hoping for another customer to come along and give him some money so that he could get our shipment out of customs. After about a month of listening to his lies and excuses, we showed up at his office with the police and got our money back. We found another customs broker and got our stuff delivered to us the next day.

We had 60 boxes of belongings. It cost about $2700 to get the boxes from South San Francisco to Buenaventura. They were trucked to Ft. Lauderdale and then shipped through the Panama canal to Buenaventura. From Buenaventura to Cali was another $1000 or so as I recall. That included customs duties, bribes, trucking, palm greasing, the customs agent's profit, etc.

In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile.

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Gator says on Apr 9, 2006, 15:00:

Don't Goods... from San Francisco go direct to Buenaventura??? Going from California to Florida then back down around the Keys then thorough the Canal then along the coast to Buenaventura then to Cali seems rather roundabout. The $1.000 USD from Buenaventura to Cali is rather high.

"SIC FRIATUR CRUSTUM DULCE. OBESA CANTAVIT."

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

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expatriate says on Apr 9, 2006, 15:09:

Shipment The shipment goes however Kamino or your shipper best determines it, for whatever reason. Shipping routes, your destination port of choice, and timing. Ours just happened to follow the route mentioned above.

There's not much you can do about the relatively high cost of getting your things out of a Colombian port to your city. Shop around for a Colombian customs agent and maybe you can save a few bucks, but remember that he has expenses with the customs service.

In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile.

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Miguel_Clavo says on Apr 9, 2006, 15:39:

I was thinking of delivering my things to Houston myself, then . shipping them via boat from Houston directly to Cartagena. I will be in San Jose, CA until July/August and have been looking at various methods.....I will be keeping an apartment there , but plan on living in Manizales. From SF and Oakland, everyone has routed it south to panama then onto Cartagena....i though it might be cheaper to take it to Houston TX, the shipped to CTG.

expatriate, so your boxes were less than a full cargo container of 10x20x10?


Just my opinion...

Miguel_Clavo

"Ignorance is a Weapon of Mass Destruction..."

"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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Miguel_Clavo says on Apr 9, 2006, 15:41:

Expatriate, how did you find your broker? the second one? Just my opinion...

Miguel_Clavo

"Ignorance is a Weapon of Mass Destruction..."

"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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SteohenB says on Apr 9, 2006, 21:23:

Kamino with a K Thanks for the post.
Can you email me personally with a telephone number or a contact of this Shipper. Also on how to get a AGENT.
My email is: cartagena172003 at yahoo.com

My name is Stephen. Can I have my stuff HELD in Port until I get a apartment lined up? How do I measure a Cubic Foot? Sorry, I flunked Math in College..

How long doe it take to get to Cartagena. I want to live there rather than Cali. Yep. I have a Colombian wife as well.

I hope to hear from you Mate,

Muchas Gracias..
Stephen
cartagena172003 at yahoo.com

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AnnieCoyote says on Apr 9, 2006, 23:07:

Shipping to colombia Hey...what a coincidence...I am also trying to ship things from sf to colombia...live in bucaramanga...husband is colombian. i am back here right now in SF trying to get some things done. stephen, would you mind if i emailed you? maybe we can combine our shipments for savings...
My name is Annie...annie2fanny at hotmail.com

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Miguel_Clavo says on Apr 10, 2006, 22:24:

Heres the info on Kamino.... Kamino Intl. Transport Inc.
514 Eccles Ave
South San Francisco, CA 94080

(650) 873-2842

cubic foot is the length x width x height....its three dimensional. he stated that he shipped 60 boxes, just find out the size of each box and the total cubic area can be determined.....will give you a basic idea of what he brought over for $2700.....its cheaper if you use the shipping container, but if you dont have enough stuff you would have to use a less than full container LFC....it would be worthwhile to hook up with someone on a full container, assuming the shipping and destination ports are the same.....the rates for storage there in port are very very expensive.....wouldnt be worth it unless you are Bill Gates Jr.....

Just my opinion...

Miguel_Clavo

"Ignorance is a Weapon of Mass Destruction..."

"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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AnnieCoyote says on Apr 11, 2006, 18:29:

Kamino & shipping I just talked to Kamino and here are the costs: Ocean freight:$310 USD per 1000 kg or per 1 cubic meter; $95.00 Usd handling charge; Transfer charges of 10 cents (.10) per kilogram; Pickup (say from storage or domicile) 25 cents (.25) per kilogram. These apply from kamino to Cartagena port only and don't handle getting your items off the boat, the duties, customs clearing etc for which you will need a customs broker or agent. Also doesn't include packing & boxing. No insurance. And no transport from port to final destination.

There are a couple of international shipping specialists with whom I am talking. One is Stevens Int'l and the other is Ranier. They provide door to door service if you want. Yes, it will probably be expensive. I am in the process of getting quotes ... I previously contacted North American Van Lines. I'll keep you posted as I should be an expert by the end of the week LOL. I highly recommend a site I found about moving and shipping items. It's called "movingscam.com". Check it out, there's a posting board and lots of good info. Trying to piece everything together yourself can be difficult. Feel free to ask me any questions...

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SteohenB says on Apr 12, 2006, 19:53:

Annie Coyote Yes it is Ok to email me.

I live in Fairfield.

I think if we combine or stuff, it would be bebeficial to us. To use Kamino.

Awaiting your email.

Stephen
cartagena172003 at yahoo.com

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SteohenB says on May 24, 2006, 11:25:

Buenaventura, Colombia Shipping to Buenaventura, Colombia.
Need a company to handle this for me.
Is Kamino the best?

How much and how long does it take?

Tanks,

Stephen
cartagena172003 at yahoo.com

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