- Thread starter Teacher
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sending large packages from US To Santiago
You can send them by Business Mail.
`You Express Mail them to Miami, and Business Mail gets the box to Santiago. However, she will have to pay for the freight from Miami at about $3 and change per pound plus any charges the Customs people put on it.. For important stuff this is always cheaper than trying to being it in yourself by Air Freight. And one heck of a lot faster!!! (You can mail her a check to cover these charges by Business Mail, too. Safe and efficient.)
Have your daughter-in-law call Mr. Pascasio Toribio at 241 9625 for information on how to join Business Mail.
The office is located on Calle 7, near Texas Ave, in the Jardines Metropolitanos, just one block off of 27 de Febrero.
HB
`You Express Mail them to Miami, and Business Mail gets the box to Santiago. However, she will have to pay for the freight from Miami at about $3 and change per pound plus any charges the Customs people put on it.. For important stuff this is always cheaper than trying to being it in yourself by Air Freight. And one heck of a lot faster!!! (You can mail her a check to cover these charges by Business Mail, too. Safe and efficient.)
Have your daughter-in-law call Mr. Pascasio Toribio at 241 9625 for information on how to join Business Mail.
The office is located on Calle 7, near Texas Ave, in the Jardines Metropolitanos, just one block off of 27 de Febrero.
HB
Thank you. I am a little confused though. When I went to our post office here in Missouri they said I could ship 25 lbs for about $52 or air about 70.
Does that mean if you ship to a residence in Santiago that it still goes through customs etc? I must be missing something
Does that mean if you ship to a residence in Santiago that it still goes through customs etc? I must be missing something
The Dominican Republic postal service works only sporadically. Business Mail operates somewhat like a courier service, or private post box service. If you want to be sure that your package arrives, ship it at the best rates to Business Mail in Miami as Hillbilly suggests, and they will ship your box here, clear customs (yes, everything needs to clear customs) and take care of delivery. Before you ship, your daughter-in-law needs to open a 'post-office box' at Business Mail in Santiago, or city closest to her. She then gets an address at Business Mail in Miami, where you can send your box to.
Yes, everything must clear customs. When I moved to the DR in 1995, a large packet of papers I had intended to send with my move somehow escaped being packed with the rest of the items. I didn't have any room to take it with me when I flew down (my baggage was already well over weight limit), so I naively decided to send it through regular mail rather than through Business Mail (we had set up an account with them in advance on the advice of a relative). Not only was it a miracle that the box got to Santo Domingo at all (especially since the USPS so "wisely" had decided that I meant "Dominica" instead of "Dominican Republic" as I labeled the box, and sent it there first!), it was not opened by Dominican authorities before I got it (which apparently rarely happens!). However, even though it contained only papers, I had to go down to Customs, claim it, declare it and open it for inpsection....Teacher said:
Hmmm, I thought we were discussing items sent in boxes on this thread... I did indeed receive some items in envelopes via regular mail during my four years living in Santo Domingo, and none of them looked opened or examined in any obtrusive manner. But I wouldn't recommend doing it for anything other than unimportant postcards. INPOSDOM (the Dominican PO) service was iffy back then in 1995-99, and I hear it has gotten much, much worse since then. Use one of the services such as Business Mail or EPS, or courier services such as DHL or Fed-Ex. Or, if the item is not too big and you know someone trustworthy, do it the Dominican way -- send it down with a friend or family member headed to the DR for "hand" delivery! 
Keith R said:Hmmm, I thought we were discussing items sent in boxes on this thread... I did indeed receive some items in envelopes via regular mail during my four years living in Santo Domingo, and none of them looked opened or examined in any obtrusive manner. But I wouldn't recommend doing it for anything other than unimportant postcards. INPOSDOM (the Dominican PO) service was iffy back then in 1995-99, and I hear it has gotten much, much worse since then. Use one of the services such as Business Mail or EPS, or courier services such as DHL or Fed-Ex. Or, if the item is not too big and you know someone trustworthy, do it the Dominican way -- send it down with a friend or family member headed to the DR for "hand" delivery!
Thanks Keith R. I did change the thread to envelopes. Sorry.
No problem, T. The essential message HB, Chris and I are trying to convey is: don't use regular post! It may be cheapest, but is by far the least reliable. And given that Santiago is your intended destination, I would heed HB's advice, since he truly is the Sage of Santiago.Teacher said:
Teacher said:I am wanting to send my daughter-in-law some things in a large box to Santiago. She says in major cities here that there are cheaper ways to send large boxes to Santiago? Do any of you know what kind of service that would be?
Teacher:
I think what your daughter-in-law means is that in cities with a sizeable Dominican population there usually exists one or two individuals/companies that specialize in shipping to the D.R.
By way of example, the shipper that I use is/was recently running a Christmas special. A fairly large box not to exceed 125 lbs was $100.00 USD.
This box could even contain a small appliance or two
Generally, I have found this method to be cheaper than either Business Mail or EPS, but it is slower. Normally takes about three weeks to arrive, but they deliver right to the house/apartment/condo.
If you are not near to a sizeable Dominican population center, I would concur with the advice already posted above and use either Business Mail or EPS.
Respectfully,
playacaribe2
playacaribe2 said:Teacher said:I am wanting to send my daughter-in-law some things in a large box to Santiago. She says in major cities here that there are cheaper ways to send large boxes to Santiago? Do any of you know what kind of service that would be?
Teacher:
I think what your daughter-in-law means is that in cities with a sizeable Dominican population there usually exists one or two individuals/companies that specialize in shipping to the D.R.
By way of example, the shipper that I use is/was recently running a Christmas special. A fairly large box not to exceed 125 lbs was $100.00 USD.
This box could even contain a small appliance or two
Generally, I have found this method to be cheaper than either Business Mail or EPS, but it is slower. Normally takes about three weeks to arrive, but they deliver right to the house/apartment/condo.
If you are not near to a sizeable Dominican population center, I would concur with the advice already posted above and use either Business Mail or EPS.
Respectfully,
playacaribe2
Thank you Playacaribe2. The largest city near me is St. Louis but I am not certain about the Dominican population. I would love to have done the 125 lbs for $100. They need several things and I would love to have sent to them for that rate.
Could I find out your large box shipper's location?
playacaribe2, Would you mind sharing your shipper's location? I live 2 hours from St. Louis, MO? Do you think there might be a large Population of Dominicans there who might have a shipper?
thanks
Teacher
playacaribe2, Would you mind sharing your shipper's location? I live 2 hours from St. Louis, MO? Do you think there might be a large Population of Dominicans there who might have a shipper?
thanks
Teacher
playacaribe2 said:Teacher said:I am wanting to send my daughter-in-law some things in a large box to Santiago. She says in major cities here that there are cheaper ways to send large boxes to Santiago? Do any of you know what kind of service that would be?
Teacher:
I think what your daughter-in-law means is that in cities with a sizeable Dominican population there usually exists one or two individuals/companies that specialize in shipping to the D.R.
By way of example, the shipper that I use is/was recently running a Christmas special. A fairly large box not to exceed 125 lbs was $100.00 USD.
This box could even contain a small appliance or two
Generally, I have found this method to be cheaper than either Business Mail or EPS, but it is slower. Normally takes about three weeks to arrive, but they deliver right to the house/apartment/condo.
If you are not near to a sizeable Dominican population center, I would concur with the advice already posted above and use either Business Mail or EPS.
Respectfully,
playacaribe2
Teacher said:
Teacher:
Sorry about the tardiness of this reply, but I was in the DR for 12 days and could not remember my darn DR1 password to reply to your question.
Anyway, I am not aware of a large Dominican population located in the St Louis area. Perhaps others on the board can shed some light on this.
My shipper is: Cargo Express Corporation/Mandi's Travel
685 Main Street
Worcester, MA 01610
Office (508) 797-5595
Fax (508) 363-3052
The agent's first name is Jose' and his English level is sufficient for basic questions. If you choose to contact him tell him the Abogado sent you. This will insure you get the proper pricing.
I believe they are an agent of/for Express Shipping out of Lawrence, MA. As stated earlier their prices are extremely reasonable and the service is reliable, albeit a bit slower than Business Mail out of Miami. The prices quoted include taxes and as far as I know they deliver all over the DR (for sure to Santo Domingo and Santiago).
Just this evening I was quoted $250 for a very very large box (2/3 the size of an average refrigerator) with a maximum weight of 200-220 lbs. and could include one or two small aplliances. A new 27" TV brought in by another person was $250.00 which included all taxes and delivery. I am not sure if the item could be purchased new in the D.R. for less than the purchase price here ($249.99) plus $250.00 for shipping, but it may be worth a comparison. Again perhaps another poster could shed light on that.
Respectfully,
playacaribe2
Few More questions about the Shipper
Playacaribe2 I talked with Jose yesterday and was quoted that fair price of 125 lbs for $100. I assume that means that would pay for it to be taken to the door of a person in Santiago? Am I right? Also, I would have to ship the box from Missouri to MA by Fed Ex and then have the inside wrapped for the DR. He suggested cash for the payment? Do you think a Money Order would work? Also, I was thinking of sending a 5 Day Coleman Cooler with the items inside. He said without electronics like CD's that would be the price. Should I send the list of items I do have in there. I think I had so many questions that I confused him. He thought I lived near him there.
Thank you. I want to get this on the way as soon as I can.
playacaribe2 said:
Playacaribe2 I talked with Jose yesterday and was quoted that fair price of 125 lbs for $100. I assume that means that would pay for it to be taken to the door of a person in Santiago? Am I right? Also, I would have to ship the box from Missouri to MA by Fed Ex and then have the inside wrapped for the DR. He suggested cash for the payment? Do you think a Money Order would work? Also, I was thinking of sending a 5 Day Coleman Cooler with the items inside. He said without electronics like CD's that would be the price. Should I send the list of items I do have in there. I think I had so many questions that I confused him. He thought I lived near him there.
Thank you. I want to get this on the way as soon as I can.
Teacher said:
Teacher:
I spoke with Jose' this afternoon and he confirmed your phone call. Shipping would be to Santiago provided you give him a valid name, address and phone number in the D.R. You can ship to him Fedex, UPS or whomever you prefer. He will accept a bank check or money order as payment. No need to provide him with a list of contents, but I would keep a copy for your records.
He has a shipment leaving this saturday and the next one would not be until the following saturday, I believe.
Hope this information has been helpful.
Respectfully,
playacaribe2
sending large packages from US to Santiago
Playacaribe2 Thank you so much. I will try to get to him by this Saturday. You have been such help. Thanks again. I believe they will enjoy some of the items they have not had for a while.
Teacher
playacaribe2 said:
Playacaribe2 Thank you so much. I will try to get to him by this Saturday. You have been such help. Thanks again. I believe they will enjoy some of the items they have not had for a while.
Teacher