I am trying to send a wedding ring to my fiance in the Philippines and I am worried about theft and whatnot. The major companies, fed ex, UPS, will only insure 500 dollars. DHL wont do it all. Is there another alternitive? If I was to hide it in a teddy bear or something, what are the chances of it being found by customs? Any help or past experinces will be greatly appriecated, thank you

hi there,it's not safe to send jewelry here in manila .People in postal office are not honest.you already know that even fedex,UPS,DHL.doesn't what to insured it.why you want to take the risk.Better bring it with you when you see your fiancee.better safe than sorry.

Ok look here is what I did for my wife while we were still dating. I purchase a manazine for about 3 dollars, cut a hole somewhere in the middle of it, and placed her engagement ring inside it. I shipped it and got to her safely with not trouble. I believe another reason why she got it with my problem is because it was shipped to her job which is a University there in Pampanga. You can try that but always remember your risking that your mail is going to be lost when mailing to the Philippines. Gud luck!

i sent a teddy bear to my husband in saudi arabia once and he never got it...so i wouldnt try it to the phillepeans either expecially with a ring inside.

i wouldnt think twice of doing that.

private carrier like fed-ex or ups are ok since they value their credibility... although if you declare the true value then its gona be more expensive, more difficult and causing more issues with the custom or letting your girl payed with extra tax or something (whatever crap they wana charge you and her)... we often use fed-ex whenever my husband send me something valuable or important back then... he sent a medium box cost like $1500 worth but he only declared $200 more or less just so he can save and that no more issues with the custom or surcharge... its a risk but its the only way also for us lol... he sent me my plane ticket plus $200 cash for my pocket money heading to the US yet of course you cant really put cash on it so he never declared the cash (not allowed) he inserted it in the magazine and letters so it wont be that obvious and i got it safely too... good luck and im sure if ou think its too risky, then go with your guts!
God bless!!!

I sent Riza's engagement ring in a box of other items that I was sending to her and her friends. It was folded in some paper and then tucked into a photo envelope. Of course it took 6 weeks to arrive, so I found it quite nervewracking.

6 weeks? wow i bet ur using usps? coz i know phil postal service is not as reliable as they should have been... plus very very slow... coz every time we use fed-ex, i often got it w/ in 4 days (working days) unless if the plane cant land in our area due to bad weather...

I had a ring and currency stolen in the mail!!! Sent again by UPS had no problems.

Up until that point, it had taken a much shorter time to get to her through USPS, but that was the last time I decided to trust Philippines postal service. I will look into using Fed Ex to send an anniversary and birthday present when the time is closer. Since she will not be coming here until after that date.

-Ryan

I'm guessing that's how you stash your cash around the house except you use hard cover books...

Hey whatever works brother!! And for me it did just that..thank you very much!

My then fiance (now husband) sent me jewelries by putting it inside the pockets of a bag. Got them just fine. He even sent me money many times by putting them in between pages of a magazine. Got them just fine. Whenever he would do that, he'd tell me ahead of time what he sent and where he tucked them in so I can easily look for them first hand. It's risky and at the back of his mind, he knew all the consequences. Thank goodness, we were always lucky. FedEx has been accurate and efficient. They are the only courier we trusted ever since our not-so-good experience with USPS. They are quite pricey but worth it.

--Mae

I sent Leejoy a Macbook over a month ago through FEDEX. I insured it for the whole amount and it was received in 5 days(I live on the East Cost of the US). Of course they charged her about 18% tax on it (hiway robbery). But it arrived safely.

When I sent her a copy of the I-129 packet, the clerk at the delivery place made a mistake and actually mailed it regular mail through the post office instead of FEDEX. My fiancee had moved earlier than I thought from Las Pinas to Mutinlupa. I was prepared to send another copy of everything, but surprisingly the Philippine post office actually forwarded it to her new address.

I have had zero problems in mailing multiple packages and letters to her. I guess I am one of the lucky ones.

(some)People in postal office are not honest...my husband sent me envelop before my interview last year and never see anything even a piece of paper or the color of the envelop.....

I wouldn't do it. Wait for the next personal visit. Risk of theft is just way to high in this country.

Warm Regards,
Samby

I sent my fiancée a new ring last month, because when I was there in Oct 07 one of the cleaning ppl stole it right out of our room. So when I was sending paperwork to her I used DHL they have their own customs agents, and she rcved it in about 4 days no problems but I also knew it could not make it, but felt safer using a know carrier and tracked it all the way to her LOL. SO can it be done yes are you just willing to life with the choice if it does not make it. Hope it all works out the way you need it to, Take care