Shipping to colombia (I know, it's been discussed...)

Saltador says on Jun 3, 2008, 14:43:

Anyone?

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Lchiwawa says on Jun 3, 2008, 15:01:

careful with shipping over lcd tvs. my dad had bought 2 tvs to send over to bogota. one made it just fine while the other had a smashed screen and whoever he got to deliver it wouldnt respond for the damage. that was almost two thousand dollars lost right there.

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Catfish35 says on Jun 3, 2008, 15:02:

Now you see why they are double in price! I am sorta of in the same boat. I am gathering some equipment and looks like I will go container or piggyback container. I have seen a few people go in and split the costs.
Good Luck!

"So many guns, and so few brains". sam spade

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rocinante says on Jun 3, 2008, 15:10:

Sorry to hear this. JJ might ship to Medellín but I know they ship to Cali. Perhaps you can make a trip to another city and the have JJ ship to someone in Cali or Medellín?

I have spent the extra money and purchased a LCD and home theater here in Colombia. I didn't have to worry about damage during shipping, stuff getting lost and filing claims, taxes and what not. There is decent quality here but at the time of my purchase I spent about 30% more than I would have in the US. The exchange rate at that time was 6 pesos shy of 2100.

Sorry I know you are trying to save a few bucks but maybe consider all possibilities, pay the extra money and have peace of mind?

Quick story - I muled an X-BOX 360 for someone here end of 2006. They saved about $50 USD. The thing stopped working - no warranty, no nothing. They saved about $50 USD.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

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gringoloid says on Jun 3, 2008, 15:14:

i would have to go with lchiwawa on this one............

salt......you can't believe how badly my boxes from the states have been banged up, and these were good, strong packing crates. Totally destroyed and then some of the contents stolen.

is there someone here that can verifiy that once you ship one of these tv's in, that they can be serviced here? I'm just wondering because i bought a large tv that was missing the stand from al kosto. they directed me to the local LG store where i had to go through hoops before receiving my stand. They wanted copies of all kinds of documentation plus certified copy of my cedula that I actually bought the tv at al kosto.

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expatriate says on Jun 3, 2008, 15:26:

In Cali, the downtown area is like a mini San Andres Island, which is tax free. They call the area San Andresito. There may be such a zone in Cartagena to shop for a TV locally. You will probably get the best price if the TV has been a demo.

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rocinante says on Jun 3, 2008, 15:30:

Good advice here. But why screw around? Pay the money buy from a reputable dealer and be done with it. Sometimes you end up spending a great deal more $ in the long run trying to save a few bucks. JMHO

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

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sloopskipper says on Jun 3, 2008, 15:36:

I have seen this discussed several times. For me, I can not imagine the hassle of schlepping big TVs on airplanes, through customs, or even trying to ship/receive one.

If it’s damaged, you must try to collect from the carrier. If it simply quits working, without a warranty, you not only lose the savings, as Roci says, but the total investment.

I understand the cost of electronics in Colombia has gone down, and I’d still pay a bit more, or settle for a smaller screen.

Another thing, which is probably not an issue now. I bought a new, current model 29‿ RCA CRT-TV in Puerto Rico in 2003, which I shipped here to Panamá in a container. The cable system is different and the TV's tuner could not access the higher channel numbers (I don’t remember the details). Anyway, the TV was somewhat useless until I bought a home theater system with an integral TV tuner.

Who would move to Colombia to watch TV, anyway?

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Saltador says on Jun 3, 2008, 15:52:

Well, actually, I'm not much of a TV watcher at all. But I'm going to be renting out my apartment in cartagena, mostly to tourists. The apartment is brand new and I feel like I need to have the TV's for this purpose.
But it sounds like I'd be better off just buy local. Makes sense after you hear everybody elses experiences. That's what makes this forum so useful (sometimes! LOL )

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sloopskipper says on Jun 3, 2008, 16:11:

Of course that makes sense, and a big TV is impressive.

Tell us about your apartment, and post some fotos, when you can?

Something neat I saw in Lima in an upscale B&B(?), was an LG TV that you could insert the memory-stick into, from your camera and view a slide show, and that was almost three years ago. But that was probably the DVD player.

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Titofijo says on Jun 3, 2008, 17:14:

What about shipping the other way. Has anyone shipped full boxes or suitcases back to say, Miami. Costs per pound?

Thanks

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arthur brode says on Jun 3, 2008, 21:51:

why dont you call J.J.Logistics and ask them what they would suggest.if you ship the TV to Medellin maybey J.J. can forward it to Cartagena using a courier service like Deprisa/Servientrega?

http://www.calirentals.net/

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Saltador says on Jun 4, 2008, 07:30:

Arthur,
I spoke to Rafael yesterday, very helpful guy. I think the problem is he does not trust anyone to get the TV's from Medellin or Cali to Cartagena safely, undamaged and without chance of theft. I seems like he could not guarantee anything like that and was not comfortable with it, makes sense to me.

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Privatebd says on Jun 4, 2008, 15:22:

I really need someone's help please. I have sent a package to Medellin Colombia using Usps. I tracked it, it has said that there was an attempted delivery May 30th, but nobody was there to receive it. Basically my question is where in Medellin is the Post office? Because all the Usps will say is "At Foreign Delivery Unit, May 30, 2008, 1:23 pm, COLOMBIA". And, "Attempted Delivery Abroad, May 30, 2008, 1:34 pm, COLOMBIA". I asked them of the name or number of who is delivering the package, they do not know. I googled to try and locate the post office to no evail. I would appreciate any and all help. Thank you in advance.

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Privatebd says on Jun 5, 2008, 14:45:

Ok, new problem. The package is located, but now the company that has it wants $247 dollars to release it. The shipping cost me $153 here in Florida. USPS told me they will investigate this. They said I would get a response in 1-5 business days, but could take up to 30 days. The guy at the store with the package said, I only paid to have it shipped, but They must get paid to releae the package. Sounds very shady to me, but maybe I am wrong. USPS told me I do not need to pay anything. Any help would be appreciated!!!

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