Shipping a small box to Santiago -- TransExpress?

seg527

New member
Feb 27, 2010
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I was hoping to get any experiences or insight into this matter. I posted a few months about something similar, but now I have more information and more knowledge.

I have a box, approximately 19 inches by 14 inches by 7 inches and weighs 22 pounds. I need to get it to Santiago. It contains school supplies and children's books. Through USPS, it will cost about $90 USD.

I was just wondering if there was a better way? I was put in touch with a shipping service, but he no longer ships boxes. I have read about Transexpress, and used their calculator to figure out how much it would be for my size box, and it is $56. However, does anyone know if I can send a personal box though TransExpress or does it have to be from a retail store?

Thanks!
 

bachata

Aprendiz de todo profesional de nada
Aug 18, 2007
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What make this service expensive is the area of the US where you lives. I'm pretty sure that from NY City you will find shipping company for half of the price you get here in Raleigh.
There is a Hispanic super market at the corner of New Hope Church Rd. and Atlantic Av. go there and ask for info about someone who comes from NY to deliver Hispanic produces and at the same time pick up boxes to be send to DR.
I was told about this service...

JJ
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
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US$90 isn't that bad.

You can send it Business Mail if you have a membership for around $21 or so...
 

jrhartley

Gold
Sep 10, 2008
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I think you would need to send them an email....I received something that had no invoice and they charged an extra dollar, but it was from a shop, they just forgot the invoice, Im not sure what they do for items not bought new
 

SantiagoDR

The "REAL" SantiagoDR
Jan 12, 2006
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US$90 isn't that bad.

You can send it Business Mail if you have a membership for around $21 or so...
Are you sure about that price, I find their charges to be rather high.

Carmen Cargo Express charges $80 for a box 19x19x28, to your door in the DR.
Our last box weighted about 110 lbs.

I am thinking about changing to Trans Express.
WindyGuy here on DR1 has lots of experience with Trans Express I believe.

t9d26v.gif

SantiagoDR
 

anng3

Bronze
Jan 12, 2007
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I like Transexpress alot too. I use them in Sosua. I order from retailers and haven't had anyone send me a box but I have a friend who has boxes sent to her no problem
via Transexpress.
If you are getting school supplies for a charity or something maybe you can get an airline to bring it down.
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
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Are you sure about that price, I find their charges to be rather high.
Yes.
I needed to ship a small one pound box to CA.

EPS: $1655
Mailbox, Etc.: $1750 or $1625

Chip suggested Business mail. Their flyer states their regular service from Miami: US$2.25lb. Their "5-7 day" service: starts @ US.99lb for the first 30lbs. and drops from there.

I joined and shipped that box to CA via Miami USPS for around RD$940.
 

anng3

Bronze
Jan 12, 2007
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I just got a large 6.6lb box shipped transexpress to Sosua and it was 899 pesos.
 

SantiagoDR

The "REAL" SantiagoDR
Jan 12, 2006
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Yes.
I needed to ship a small one pound box to CA.

EPS: $1655
Mailbox, Etc.: $1750 or $1625

Chip suggested Business mail. Their flyer states their regular service from Miami: US$2.25lb. Their "5-7 day" service: starts @ US.99lb for the first 30lbs. and drops from there.

I joined and shipped that box to CA via Miami USPS for around RD$940.
I can't find the paper work to back up my statement.
But let me say the following:

I purchased an "EarthQuake Alarm" from the States. it weighs mere ounces.
It was shipped to Miami Business Mail via USPS by the seller.
The box was marked 3 lbs, it weighed less than a pound probably and perhaps 3 lbs was a price range for the USPS service.
Business Mail charged me for 3 lbs of weight.

And sent it in 4 days from the day they received it, thus they charged me the higher rate as you stated above. To me Business Mail used that loop hole to overcharge me the higher rate both for shipping time and weight. I asked why they shipped it "Express", their answer was something like, because it was SMALL and did not weigh much. So in other words, they chose the method that was more profitable to them. IE: $2.25 lb vs $.99 lb

Because of the excess transportation fees, the total cost was more than I could have bought the thing for in OchoA here in Santiago.

My friend Mike bought an FTA receiver, same model that I had bought.
I used Business Mail, he used Trans Express.
He paid a lot less than I did for the Miami to DR service.
Again they hit me for the higher transportation fees.
(PS: He got his in less time then it took me to get mine)

Business Mail seems to always deliver my stuff in 4 days after they receive it, thus always charging the higher shipping rates because of 1 day.......
I complained once about it being late and that I had confirmation of when they received it. They claimed that was wrong, the date I gave was the date it got to the zip code, not to them. DUH!

t9d26v.gif

SantiagoDR
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
40,964
936
113
I can't find the paper work to back up my statement.
But let me say the following:

I purchased an "EarthQuake Alarm" from the States. it weighs mere ounces.
It was shipped to Miami Business Mail via USPS by the seller.
The box was marked 3 lbs, it weighed less than a pound probably and perhaps 3 lbs was a price range for the USPS service.
Business Mail charged me for 3 lbs of weight.

And sent it in 4 days from the day they received it, thus they charged me the higher rate as you stated above. To me Business Mail used that loop hole to overcharge me the higher rate both for shipping time and weight. I asked why they shipped it "Express", their answer was something like, because it was SMALL and did not weigh much. So in other words, they chose the method that was more profitable to them. IE: $2.25 lb vs $.99 lb

Because of the excess transportation fees, the total cost was more than I could have bought the thing for in OchoA here in Santiago.

My friend Mike bought an FTA receiver, same model that I had bought.
I used Business Mail, he used Trans Express.
He paid a lot less than I did for the Miami to DR service.
Again they hit me for the higher transportation fees.
(PS: He got his in less time then it took me to get mine)

Business Mail seems to always deliver my stuff in 4 days after they receive it, thus always charging the higher shipping rates because of 1 day.......
I complained once about it being late and that I had confirmation of when they received it. They claimed that was wrong, the date I gave was the date it got to the zip code, not to them. DUH!

t9d26v.gif

SantiagoDR
Ypou asked a question, I gave an answer. Their literature and customer service people quote two prices. Perhaps you have to request the lower cost service. I dunno.
 

SantiagoDR

The "REAL" SantiagoDR
Jan 12, 2006
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Ypou asked a question, I gave an answer. Their literature and customer service people quote two prices. Perhaps you have to request the lower cost service. I dunno.
No problem!
Thanks for the actual price information.
Now I see the actual overcharge amount

I already complained to them about it in the past.

Their answer is that under a certain weigh and size they send it express ALL the time.
My understanding is that I don't have a choice in the matter.

t9d26v.gif

SantiagoDR
 

J D Sauser

Silver
Nov 20, 2004
2,940
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www.hispanosuizainvest.com
As most mentioned, there are several MIA based forwarding services catering to the DR. There are many threads about which.
I currently use TransExpress thru Vimenpac/Vimenca-Western Union.
I am satisfied with them, although they keep on getting more and more expensive by adding small fees for this & that. BUT, they seem to do VERY WELL at customs... I rarely pay ANYTHING in duties and if at all... very little.
I seem to remember reading that some other forwarding companies seem to be less lucky in that sense.

Never lost anything with TransExpress... even thou ALL packages seem to have been opened and resealed.

...

I purchased an "EarthQuake Alarm" from the States. it weighs mere ounces....

t9d26v.gif

SantiagoDR

You should have asked... they were available at La Sirena a month after the Haiti quake! And oddly enough for about the same price they're being peddled all over the net in the US.


... J-D.
 

SantiagoDR

The "REAL" SantiagoDR
Jan 12, 2006
5,808
948
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........... You should have asked... they were available at La Sirena a month after the Haiti quake! And oddly enough for about the same price they're being peddled all over the net in the US.
... J-D.
I did not see them at La Sirena, but did see them at Ochoa unfortunately.

t9d26v.gif

SantiagoDR
 
Feb 7, 2007
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TransExpress thru Vimenpac/Vimenca-Western Union. I am satisfied with them, although they keep on getting more and more expensive by adding small fees for this & that. BUT, they seem to do VERY WELL at customs...

I use Transexpress/Vimenpaq if I need to get my stuff quick. They recently lowered prices but started to charge by the whole pound (before, they rounded up to half pound). recently they added 20 pesos-per-pound handling fee. They still come up at about 128 pesos per pound.

But I like Pick'n'send, the first pound costs me RD$150 and the second pound RD$110, that includes the fees. 7 pound package would cost me RD$810 at Picknsend vs. RD$900 with Vimenpaq I paid 2 days ago. But Picknsend takes 4 days to deliver compared to 2 days with Vimenpaq/Transexpress. Pick'n'send also does not charge any additional fees for perfumes, which EPS and Vimenpaq/transexpress do (RD$700 and up). While small packages are a bit cheaper with Pick'n'send, they take longer, the heavier packages e.g. 31+ pounds are cheaper with Vimenpaq, because the rate is just US$1.88 (RD$70) per pound + surcharges, but still comes to less than RD$100 per pound.

If you need to send hazardous materials (I just learned today that car struts are hazardous, so my package will be retained in Miami for about a week) Vimenpaq/Transexpress is the best option, they take "only" about a week to deliver hazardous materials from Miami, for a modest fee (US$35 surcharge in my case for 2 strut assemblies). This is compared to about RD$2000 with EPS and 2-3 weeks delay, and US$150 with Picknsend (no delay).

All in all, the best thing is to use various shipping companies from Miami, depending on what article you need to get. Plan ahead!
 
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J D Sauser

Silver
Nov 20, 2004
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www.hispanosuizainvest.com
...

But I like Pick'n'send, the first pound costs me RD$150 and the second pound RD$110, that includes the fees. 7 pound package would cost me RD$810 at Picknsend vs. RD$900 with Vimenpaq I paid 2 days ago. But Picknsend takes 4 days to deliver compared to 2 days with Vimenpaq/Transexpress. Pick'n'send also does not charge any additional fees for perfumes, which EPS and Vimenpaq/transexpress do (RD$700 and up). While small packages are a bit cheaper with Pick'n'send, they take longer, the heavier packages e.g. 31+ pounds are cheaper with Vimenpaq, because the rate is just US$1.88 (RD$70) per pound + surcharges, but still comes to less than RD$100 per pound.

If you need to send hazardous materials (I just learned today that car struts are hazardous, so my package will be retained in Miami for about a week) Vimenpaq/Transexpress is the best option, they take "only" about a week to deliver hazardous materials from Miami, for a modest fee (US$35 surcharge in my case for 2 strut assemblies). This is compared to about RD$2000 with EPS and 2-3 weeks delay, and US$150 with Picknsend (no delay).

All in all, the best thing is to use various shipping companies from Miami, depending on what article you need to get. Plan ahead!

Neat! Have a link? (I'm lazy today! :) )
... J-D.