Bought a home in Salinas

I think it is best to sell almost everything there and re-purchase here. Best to bring your own sheets, towels, electronics and cameras. Those are the expensive/quality issue things here. You can find most things here and shipping is tremendously high. Bring a cell phone each and at least one extra .. cell phones should be unlocked and use a chip. (SIM card). good luck. Double check prices of things before you decide to buy or ship, for instance... The copier/fax/printer was about the same price here as in the States, so better to get that here.. flash drives and cameras are a  LOT more here, so better to get them there..

Hello,

Shipping goods and belongings to Ecuador is expensive so if you have the chance to go back and forth to US you can bring some belongings in your luggage.
Home in Salinas is right about the stuff you should bring from the States. Also you're allowed to bring with you in the plane a flat TV no big than 22", a photo camera, 1 computer, 1 printer even some non electrical kitchenware.

I think moving furniture and belongings by ship is a good decision if you have very special items and you live close to an important harbour, the inland transport of a container is expensive.

Vinny

My wife and I are just now starting to research retiring to Salinas in about a yr. Any information regarding rent vs buying also wanting to visit for about 2wks this summer. Anyone that is in Salinas that would be willing to do some back and forth emails would be greatly appreciated. Thnaks in advance  Zennbubba

I will tell you what I know.. sometimes it's not much. we bought a condo a few months ago, on the malecon and love it. We rented for 6 months while we were getting our visas, finding the condo, closing and making repairs. I love the condo, great neighbors and awesome view. Buying was the best option for us because we planned to stay here for the rest of our lives. If you intend to purchase something as primarily a rental and live in it a few weeks a year then it might be better just to rent. Just a personal opinion. Salinas is a beautiful town and I am hoping to spend a long time here.

Here's Ecuador's official customs page on what may be brought in by air (and the other tab is by land):

http://www.aduana.gob.ec/pro/border_entry.action

The items are per "grupo familiar" so it should be per each adult person as implied by this explanation that the limits for two adults with children would be considered as two groups, one adult with the children and the other adult as an individual traveler, for purposes of bringing in goods:

¿Cómo esta conformado un grupo familiar?

Grupo familiar: Se considerará como tal a la unidad conformada por los menores de edad en conjunto con uno de sus padres o de la persona a cuyo cuidado hayan sido confiados. En caso de presentarse ambos padres con sus hijos, el grupo familiar estará conformado únicamente por éstos y uno solo de sus padres, siendo el otro progenitor un viajero individual.

They make a distinction between a TV (24" allowed without tax) and a computer monitor (only up to 22" allowed without tax).  The example is given that if 2 24" TVs are brought, one is considered as the traveler's effects and is not taxed, but the second one will be taxed.  For a TV that is taxed they list sizes between only 20" to 32" and they will incur a total tax of 62.5% of the value plus another USD 73.11.  Smaller and larger TVs are not mentioned!

However I suggest getting it straight from the horse's mouth via contacting them by email:

mesadeservicios@aduana.gob.ec

There's even a phone number here so you can call them, but everything will be in Spanish:

http://www.aduana.gob.ec/ate/canales.action