Parcels to Dom Rep. Cheapest?

HappyHols

New member
Jul 13, 2009
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Hi all,

My wife and i have just come back from our second holiday to the Dom. Rep. to the Iberostar Costa Dorada and i wanted to send some stuff to one of the animation team there who was superb.

Does anyone know of a cheap way to send parcels or packages over from the U.K. I wanted to send either a medium jiffy-bag type package or a parcel of around 4kg depending on the cost. I emphasise the word 'cheap' as i did a search on here for similar questions and some bright spark had suggested "Post Office", which obviously i've already tried and found to be very expensive, as are the majority of the major parcel companies.

Sometimes there are specific little companies that ship stuff and don't advertise very well, which i'd never find but you guys may know about.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks,

Karl.
 

alicious

Bronze
Oct 2, 2007
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I'm not sure about sending from the UK, but sending from Canada, there is no "cheap" way to send something and ensure it will get there.

Regular post does not arrive at it's destination 95% of the time.

To send something and be sure it will get there, the options are UPS, FedEx and DHL.

(As per my own personal experiences.)

I just had to send some legalized documents to my employer down there from Canada, about 5 pieces of paper. My cheapest options with UPS was $60cdn (somewhere around 15 GPB) for an envelope. It will get there within 2 days, however I didn't care how fast it go there, but I just know to send it regular post it will never arrive, and that was the only shipping option they had for an envelope.

To be completely honest, your cheapest and safest bet is to send it down with someone already traveling down there. Try posting on here to see if anyone from your area is traveling to that hotel in the near future, or try posting on the tripadvisor forums as well (not sure what your success rate there will be though, but it's another option).

Maybe someone else will have more info on shipping from the UK, but that is my experience shipping from Canada.

Good luck!
 

london777

Bronze
Dec 22, 2005
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By the time you have paid a substantial courier charge from the UK it would have been far more cost effective (and vastly more appreciated) to have given the guy a wad of cash while you were there.

I would be interested to know what you could buy cheaper in the UK than in the DR that the guy would actually want.
 

HappyHols

New member
Jul 13, 2009
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I would be interested to know what you could buy cheaper in the UK than in the DR that the guy would actually want.

I own a fitness equipment and nutritional supplement company and he and one of his colleagues said they really liked the logo'd workout shirt i had on in the hotel's gym and joked that i should bring them one when i come back again. I wanted to surprise them by sending two shirts i've had made with their names embroidered on.

The other thing they said they had difficulty getting (or it was very expensive) was protein drinks like the ones they see in Flex and Muscle&Fitness magazines. Hence the wish to send them at least the shirts, but also a couple of tubs of our protein if possible. (about 4kg in total)

I've read a few posts on here about not posting stuff to personal addresses because it can ermmm 'not arrive' shall we say, but does this apply to parcel carriers also?
I'd planned on sending my package directly to the hotel anyway and address it for their attention. I presume this would be a reasonably safe way to do it?

Thanks for all the comments.

Karl.
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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Balls....
they are experts at "getting" stuff from people.
There is plenty of protein here, and embroidered stuff is a dime a dozen...

However, since yours is obviously very personalized, you only real option is to find some good soul that will
1) all you to sent it by regular-cheap-post to an address in Florida that will then take it to the DR (at a cost of about $3 a pound.)
2) deliver the items to the guys.

Unless you send it FedEx, I can almost guarantee that any other way it will not arrive.

HB
 

london777

Bronze
Dec 22, 2005
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Dominicans will typically ask for anything and everything from tourists if they think they can get it free. If they manage to get it they will work out what to do with it afterwards. You are evidently a kind and thoughtful person but I would not waste your time with something they will have forgotten about the second you were out of the door.

If you really want to help a Dominican and he/she merits help then give/send money.
 

Yachtmaster

Member
Jul 2, 2007
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www.genesisbvi.com
Dominicans will typically ask for anything and everything from tourists if they think they can get it free. If they manage to get it they will work out what to do with it afterwards. You are evidently a kind and thoughtful person but I would not waste your time with something they will have forgotten about the second you were out of the door.
This is one of the very reasons you see so many "compraventas" (pawn shops) in the DR........
 

HappyHols

New member
Jul 13, 2009
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I'm fully aware of the culture of the DR and i'm not some wet-behind-the-ears tourist who falls for every scam going. I'm not convinced that ALL Dominicans are out to rip you off and i'm a little disappointed that some people can't see past that. I know a tactic when i see one and i just treat them as such.
The time spent in the gym with this guy (in his down time) built what i would like to think was slightly more than just a customer service relationship. I've had people try to 'make friends' with me before just because of who i am and what i've done, and this was different. This was genuine interest.
Even IF this chap has mastered the ability to fake sincerity (which in 20 years i've never seen anyone do effectively face-to-face) he still made a valuable contribution to our enjoyment of both our times there and that's all the reason i need.
If i'm wrong then it's cost me the postage which i'd probably have given him anyway. If i see my stuff on E-bay then i know i was wrong, but i don't think i am.

Thanks for your comments though.