Shipping

We use EPS. Us companies (Amazon, Walmart, etc). send to an EPS office in Miami and then it gets sent to the EPS office in DR (all over - ours is in Sosua). Works great for small packages.

Yes, EPS is vwey reliable. Have an account with them since 2002. Also in Sosua office, they have a couple of people who speak English, I use them to send & receive mail & packages. Quick, simple & free to sign up.

Thanks jgolak and Tinker! I'll check them out

I use BM Cargo and find them excellent.

One thing to be clear on is the charge per pound or partial! I left CPS because they were rounding up to the next pound. So a package of .25 pounds was a pound.

BM cargo doesnt do that. To be clear not sure if Cps still does that but they lost me over this.

CPS Shipping great for shipping.

Has anyone used Areopost?

When you guys say small packages, do you mean in dimension or weight?

Both although you can send bigger packages too.  Some carriers have surcharges for size.

Remember under US 200 including taxes and shipping to Miami or you will be paying 18% Itbis plus duty!

For mail and a street address in the US been looking at: https://www.usglobalmail.com/mail-services-for/expats/
anyone have feedback on them?

My question(s) - Since we're planning a move to the DR from the US to rent a condo for at least a year to see if we love it -- and before we decide if/when to buy - When we fly down we're bringing our 3 little dogs, our clothes and would love to bring my pillows and some small "stuff". How do you handle that?  Just stuff a lot of suitcases and pay the extra baggage, or - - - I know that you can't ship your belongings down until you have your residency so you don't have to pay duty on it - but that could take a while and there are some things that we need - i.e., pillows, etc.  Any suggestions?  Can we bring suitcases and like the olden days, a trunk?  Do we have to ship it down through one of the shippers mentioned above?

CPS gives you a Miami address to ship things to...taking advantage of free US shipping options...then they ship it to their Sosua office and let you know what the price is.  If you know the dimensions they can give you an estimate (but, depending on what's being shipped they can't know what the port customs people will charge...so it's really an estimate)  The maritime shipping is based on volume, not weight and volume like air freight.  The delivery charge is pretty cheap...and Santiago is closer than Cabrera.  We're working on our 10th shipment right now.

You can ship via CPS or BM Cargo.  YOu need to attach a list of what is in your box and its value.  Do not ship more than US 200 at a time or you face tax and duty. Make the values realistic. For example don't ship a TV and way underestimate  the value it will be caught.

Pillows and personal items should be fine!  Do an online estimate of the cost of shipping.  We have pillows here......LOL  I am kidding,  I know people get attached to certain kinds of pillows. Personally I use Ikea pillows.

Sobakowa pillows!

Look into "blue" barrel shipping containers. They are big, blue platic barrels about the size of an oil drum. The weight doesn't count as it is not air freight. I shipped to here from Florida. Bought them for$30 each. Packed them full of clothes, food, tools,personal stuff. Cost to ship over two hundred pounds, door to door was almost $200 usd. no duty was assed me?  There are many companies that will ship for you. I used Lucianos' Brothers in Miami. For smaller lighter items I use EPS in Sosua for outgoing & incoming mail & packages. Your pillows will be fine. PS, sold barrels here for $35 @.

Curiosity: when did you last receive a barrel here Tinker?

January 2017       I know things change, you don't, you're always scrumptious !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can bring a lot in suitcases. We got an airline credit card. With the card, the first suitcase for each of us was complimentary. 2nd for each was either $25 or $50. Then you still have your carry on. And, you can take another suitcase, just costs more. We got a ton of stuff there that way. We are doing it again, this time but just carry on bags/small stuff. We also did an IKEA run. PM me if you want details on that.

Thanks Tinker.      so looks like the barrel is still an option.

Yes to suitcases but that is getting expensive too.

THAT sounds like a great option! I'll check that out today. Door-to-door is the thing I'm looking for!  Much appreciated.

Wanted to say thanx so much for this forum and the time you spend with all of us. Repeating yourself over and over and over - but always being so pleasant, honey!  Really. For those of us who are putting our toes in the water and terrified at the thought, this has been a Godsend! You rock.  And, thanx to EVERYONE who contributes.  Looking forward to being in Las Terranas by December/January. Maybe meeting some of you.

Ditto to the bringing lots of luggage.

Hahaha...We have a big roller suitcase we call affectionately Big Brown.  He's brought us end tables, a dehumidifier, more tables, drawer inserts...and so much vacuum bagged bedding!  He's losing a wheel and I'm sooooo sad this might be his final run! (We liken him to our own drug mule...only instead of drugs, it's housing stuff!) ...out of Detroit we get told no and no and questioned forever about weird shaped items. Out of Canada no one blinks and eyelash. We brought our TV this way...and this last trip we brought a giant hood vent (ChristE will appreciate this) from IKEA that we found in the return section for $299 (normally $800 at that time) and we just saw it for 55.000 pesos in SD IKEA! Even with the $70 oversize charge we saved over $800 and go exactly what we wanted!...of course, I would NEVER pay $1,200 for a hood vent...but, still...

Having trouble finding blue barrel shipping from the Philadelphia area. Seems like no problem from Miami or NY. Will make more calls tomorrow - today being the 4th of July - no one's working in their offices.

Happy 4th of July kids!   

And thank you for the kind words.  I really enjoy  98% of doing this!  LOL there is always that 2% .......... 

We have another date with IKEA Santiago tomorrow!

This will sound silly, I know. But.... Can I pack a box myself, leave price tags on, make sure it is under $200 US and mail to the Sosua address (a friend's shipper account) I have. Or, do items have to be shipped directly from the vendor? Just small stuff that I need there and  can get easier here. Nothing $$$.

Also guessing I should UPS from Indy to the FLA address and they take it from there?

We are bringing friends next visit and the car will be too full for yet another IKEA visit!

Yes you can BUT you need to make sure you have a "packing slip" that includes all items and values.  Who ever takes delivery here will also need that info digitally including receipts. Just scan and have ready.

Ok, makes sense. Kind of like what IKEA does when you pick up at the store.  Thanks!

Using the Blue Barrels . . . thinking of packing one or two and sending down so it arrives when we do in SDQ.  So we can pick up our luggage and our blue barrel - stuff them all in a van and head to our new home.

Haven't heard anyone talking about shipping to LT - only Sosua and the bigger cities.   Your EPS - are they anywhere out near LT as well as Sosua? That's a pretty long ride from LT - like 3 hours, no?  That's some schlep!

Blue barrels -  no guarantee of arrival when you do.  Pretty sure it wont be that easy honey.

LT  may or may not have a freight forwarder office.  I would expect there is at least one of the companies there but I am not positive which ones. There are more than enough expats to justify having an office.

Thanx again.  Will try to network to find out.

Call the various shippers & inquire as to their locations.    Blue barrels are usually a door to door service.  Can take up to 6 weeks to arrive.  No weight restrictions.  Make an itemized list of contents, have shipper sign your copy. Helps in case of sticky fingers.  The cost should be all inclusive, no added charges sneaking in.

Great. That was my understanding, but having issues finding any around Philly and any that do door-to-door.

hello.. so when do you declare things you are bringing in your suitcase??? value?? product?? when for your own personal use.. thanks

We never have. But we haven't had anything of great value either. Regular household see stuff, as long as TSA approved, no one has ever asked about. They have looked through bags, but no ramifications.

What kinds of stuff are you talking about?

You declare anything  outside of what your "visa" status allows. For example if you arrive on a tourist card or visa its normal to bring a camera, phone etc. Its not normal to bring a Tv, two cameras and  3 phones plus  electronics for your new house.

Its a crap shoot, I have and others I know bring into (POP)  a suit case full of stuff for our villas and have never had an issue. They only seem to be concerned with large boxes they think are TV's. I brought two beach chairs in a box this past Jan and they scanned it but not my suitcases that had about 1000 $ of stuff mixed in with my clothes.

And if you get caught its expensive.  Simple

good info, who do I use to ship some crated pictures down.

Hi everyone- I have used EPS for awhile now, and Amazon or UPS always works. Walmart and target seem to not be “allowed”. Does anyone else have this problem with EPS?