[stuartx13]

Is there a cheap way to ship package to the PI Fed-Ex is high and UPS is kind of high And the USPS i would never use what are my choices.

[Bill B]

Is there a cheap way to ship package to the PI Fed-Ex is high and UPS is kind of high And the USPS i would never use what are my choices.

I have used regular USPS mail several times and have no confidence once it gets to the PI. Many even have to bribe the mailman to get it. If it is important, then I have used FEDEX and they have even called my fiancee before delivery and even went as far as delivering it to her work place because she was not home. The choices are listed below. Ref for these is: http://filipinawives...Philippines.htm

Sending Mail And Packages To The Philippines From The United States

Sending documents and packages to the Philippines is inevitable for any American pursuing a relationship with a Filipina. During the courtship phase, he will send her letters and photographs. During the immigration phase, he will send her important forms and documents necessary for her to obtain a visa. And long after that, when he and his wife are happily married and settled, there’s a fair chance that he’ll be loading up “Balikbayanâ€� boxes to ship to his in-laws in the Philippines.

Of course, there are plenty of shipping options available to him, each with its own pros and cons. Here then is a short list of the most commonly used carriers, along with certain pertinent considerations.

Unites States Postal Service

Pros: Inexpensive and very convenient.

Cons: The U.S. Postal Service only carries your letter or package half way to its destination before the Philippine Postal Service takes over. The Philippine Postal Service is not nearly as reliable as its American counterpart. Mail is frequently lost or opened before reaching the recipient. It’s not unusual for the Philippine delivery person to require the recipient to open a letter or package for inspection, requiring a fee be paid (around 20 Pesos). Money, cashiers checks, money orders, etc., are frequently stolen from letters.

Delivery Time:

2 to 6 weeks for Air Mail Parcel Post

1 to 2 weeks for Global Priority Mail

Cost: Around $15 for Air Mail Parcel Post; around $20 for Global Priority Mail.

Ideal for: Unhurried love letters, postcards, photographs. Lightweight items of little or no monetary value that do not demand urgent delivery.



Federal Express (“FedEx�) (http://www.fedex.com/us/)

Pros: Very quick delivery. FedEx has a large facility in Subic and its own delivery team in the Philippines, which means your package never leaves FedEx’s custody until it reaches its recipient. Your package can be tracked via computer.

Cons: Expensive and inconvenient (you have to use FedEx labels and/or packaging and get it to a FedEx pick-up point).

Delivery Time:

2-3 days by Overnight Express (to Manila)

Cost: About $50 for a one-pound package from a major American city to Manila. You can call 1-800-Go-FedEx for more information.

Ideal for: Important documents such as immigration forms that require immediate delivery. DHL offers a similar value.



DHL (http://www.dhl-usa.com)

Pros: Very quick delivery, and DHL maintains control of the package until it reaches its recipient. Your package can be tracked via computer. DHL will normally pick up your shipment as part of its service, though you’ll need a laser printer to print out the required shipping paperwork (accessed online).

Cons: Expensive.

Delivery Time: 3 days standard delivery (to Manila).

Cost: About $50 for a one-pound package from a major American city to Manila. You can call DHL Customer Service (1-800-CALL-DHL) for an exact rate quote.

Ideal for: Important documents such as immigration forms that require immediate delivery. Federal Express offers a similar value.




UPS (http://www.ups.com)

Pros: Quick service at fair rates. Relatively good rates for larger packages, too.

Cons: Not as expensive as DHL or FedEx, but much more expensive that the U.S. Postal Service.

Delivery Time: 3-4 days using UPS WorldWide Express (to Manila).

Cost: About $35 for a one-pound package from a major American city to Manila via “UPS WorldWide Express�. You can determine the rate for your particular need at: http://www.ups.com/u.../xpd-guide.html .

Ideal for: The budget conscious fella who needs faster service than the post office can offer, though not necessarily the lightning speed of DHL or FedEx.



Balikbayan Box (various companies) [ A “Balikbayanâ€� is a Filipino who no longer resides in the Philippines, but vacations there from time to time. A “Balikbayan Boxâ€� is a large box of goods that a Filipino expatriate - or a Filipina expatriate and her husband – sends to relatives in the Philippines. It’s essentially a large care package, and usually contains goods like clothes, canned foods, candy, dishes, tools, toys, or anything else the family may have expressed an interest in.]

Pros: Weight is irrelevant. The shipping rate is fixed and very inexpensive. The only limitation is how much stuff you can cram into the box the shipper provides you.

Cons: Sloooooow. A Balikbayan box usually makes its way to the Philippines as freight aboard a cargo ship, and it can take a month or even two months to reach its destination. Some shippers require you to buy your box from them for around $10. Because the box is freight, it’s not exactly treated with kid gloves, so don’t put anything fragile in it!

Delivery Time: 30-60 days.

Cost: Depends on the shipper, but most Balikbayan boxes are shipped for around $100. That’s a flat rate. It doesn’t matter how much the box weighs. That rate may or may not include free pickup. If you don’t know of a Balikbayan box shipper in your area, check with Filipinos in your community, or look for postings are your local Asian food stores.

Ideal for: Sending care-packages to your loved ones in the Philippines, especially during the holidays.

Edited by Bill B, 21 October 2007 - 08:13 PM.

[chas3121]

I have used the USPS numerous times and have had no problem they arrive in about 10 to 12 days and all is intact and unopened. But it does depend on where it is going the outer areas maybe different mine went to cavite.

Documents I sent USPS Global Priority and it took 6 days and you can tract it the whole way online.
USPS is cheaper then Fedex , DHL, or UPS.

[Jasman0717]

I have used the USPS numerous times and have had no problem they arrive in about 10 to 12 days and all is intact and unopened. But it does depend on where it is going the outer areas maybe different mine went to cavite.

Documents I sent USPS Global Priority and it took 6 days and you can tract it the whole way online.
USPS is cheaper then Fedex , DHL, or UPS.

I had great success with Global also.

[JSRF]

Is there a cheap way to ship package to the PI Fed-Ex is high and UPS is kind of high And the USPS i would never use what are my choices.

If you are sending a small package, the best way is U.S. Postal Service, Phoenix to Philippines 10 day delivery 4 lbs. or under is about $ 11.00, 10 day delivery 20 lbs.or under is about $ 40.00.
If you have a larger package I use Fore website is, http://www.forexworld.com/kahon/. You can go on the website and here the once nearest to you. I sent six very large packages from Phoenix again to Philippines it cost me $ 480.00 and took 24 day from date of pick-up until deliver there in the Philippines. You can also track the whole trip of the package.
Hope this will help a little.

[honeybear]

my fiance sent me documents via the USPS and it took 8 days to reach me and the mailman demanded that i pay them P35!!!
Shux, corruption in the Philippines!!!!

[Dan & Jovy]

If you live in CA or NJ (like me), you may be in luck. I highly recommend LBC if you live near any of their locations. Jovy told me to see about LBC when urgently needing to send her the I-134 and other documents etc. in beginning of January. Its a very successful courier service locally in the Philippines, but also they have about 60 locations in the USA, just for accepting shipment to The PI. I had a terrible experience with USPS before, they charged too much and took more than 1 month to deliver the I-129F copy and pictures, etc. before, so LBC was a God-send. LBC charged $25 (plus import tax $10) for a box with my documents, pictures, a gameboy, jewelry and miscellaneous stuff, and they got the package to their location nearest Jovy within about 2 weeks. Jovy lives in a rather remote town in South Cotabato, about 2 hours north of Gen-San and they called her cell when the package was there for pickup. I am sure they're even faster and door-to-door if sending to Manila or other higher population cities. Anyway, if you haven't heard about LBC, check it out, but there are many states with no locations, so don't get your hopes up too much. I will be gladly using them in the future, and together when we're sending some gifts home to the family.

http://www.teamlbc.com/01prdcr.html

[patrick & relyn]

If you live in CA or NJ (like me), you may be in luck. I highly recommend LBC if you live near any of their locations. Jovy told me to see about LBC when urgently needing to send her the I-134 and other documents etc. in beginning of January. Its a very successful courier service locally in the Philippines, but also they have about 60 locations in the USA, just for accepting shipment to The PI. I had a terrible experience with USPS before, they charged too much and took more than 1 month to deliver the I-129F copy and pictures, etc. before, so LBC was a God-send. LBC charged $25 (plus import tax $10) for a box with my documents, pictures, a gameboy, jewelry and miscellaneous stuff, and they got the package to their location nearest Jovy within about 2 weeks. Jovy lives in a rather remote town in South Cotabato, about 2 hours north of Gen-San and they called her cell when the package was there for pickup. I am sure they're even faster and door-to-door if sending to Manila or other higher population cities. Anyway, if you haven't heard about LBC, check it out, but there are many states with no locations, so don't get your hopes up too much. I will be gladly using them in the future, and together when we're sending some gifts home to the family.

http://www.teamlbc.com/01prdcr.html

I also used LBC issued box to send to Relyn. it was a 24'x18"x18" box in which the flat rate was $65. Its really the cheapest way it seems to me....WHAT KILLED ME was i mentioned just by chatting with them that there was a cell phone in there the value of which i paid $100. They charged me and extra 40% for the value of the phone. I paid it because Relyn's current phone was not doing good. I have since been told not to declare electronic items to avoid this charge. The box arrived in 3 weeks. I was pleased with everything except being robbed with ridiculous fee.

I have also used USPS but the drawback is you cant send nearly the weight and size that you can with LBC. LBC currently has office here in Tacoma, Washington

Edited by patrick & relyn, 24 January 2008 - 04:35 PM.

[mcsexy]

Is there a cheap way to ship package to the PI Fed-Ex is high and UPS is kind of high And the USPS i would never use what are my choices.

try to check on ABS CBN Star kargo...

[LOSTGURL--SOPHIA]

Is there a cheap way to ship package to the PI Fed-Ex is high and UPS is kind of high And the USPS i would never use what are my choices.

try to check on ABS CBN Star kargo...

any shipping courier for balikbayan box here in Louisiana especially here in metairie, new orleans? any help is highly appreciated. (usps is not reliable while fedex and dhl are expensive)thanks

[Dean iWait]

Always had great luck using USPS sending numerous packages to Phils. For really large Balikbayan like Christmas gifts for all Sheryl's family we use ATLAS. Takes a long time but no weight limitations and used big box. You can also track with ATLAS.

http://www.atlasshippers.com/

[eros_EX_Plumber]

"
Unites States Postal Service

Pros: Inexpensive and very convenient.

Cons: The U.S. Postal Service only carries your letter or package half way to its destination before the Philippine Postal Service takes over. The Philippine Postal Service is not nearly as reliable as its American counterpart. Mail is frequently lost or opened before reaching the recipient. It’s not unusual for the Philippine delivery person to require the recipient to open a letter or package for inspection, requiring a fee be paid (around 20 Pesos). Money, cashiers checks, money orders, etc., are frequently stolen from letters.

Delivery Time:

2 to 6 weeks for Air Mail Parcel Post

1 to 2 weeks for Global Priority Mail

Cost: Around $15 for Air Mail Parcel Post; around $20 for Global Priority Mail.

Ideal for: Unhurried love letters, postcards, photographs. Lightweight items of little or no monetary value that do not demand urgent delivery.
"

I am not a great FAN of "The Philippine Postal Service" especially on the receiving end.....
Sent Global Priority....to the Provinces...that is....it took 4 weeks instead of 10 days.

She sent me same document back to me...from the province in Phil...it took 10 days...

So unless you want to deal with Filipino time ( not same as the rest of the world), don't use for anything important...