If you are married to a Filipino or a Filipina then you will know the concept of balikbayan. Balikbayan means to go back to the country one comes from, basically it means repatriation. You will also be familiar with the concept of the balikbayan box and of its importance. Right now you may be trying to find the best way to send these boxes back home to the Philippines by finding the right forwarder.
A typical box is one that contains items that the sender, who is abroad and most likely in the United States, will send home to family and loved ones. These items are usually considered not financially accessible in the Philippines or not available, and will come in the form of household items, clothing, toiletries and non perishable goods. At times also electronics and toys are also included.
Prior to finding the best forwarder for these boxes, you must make a checklist to guide you. This checklist will contain important items for you to look over and investigate so as to give you the best possible informed decision. You should always use a checklist in any decision involving money.
First get a referral for a reliable referral from your Filipino colleagues at work or even from your neighborhood or social network. Sometimes a referral is much better than just blindly looking at adverts or cursory surfing via the internet. If there are a few candidates for this position, try to get as many referrals as possible.
Once you have a sizable list, then the next thing to focus on is price. Prices may differ somewhat especially in terms of the sizes of the boxes to be sent home. Usually you will have choices of small, medium or large boxes. At times there are prices for extra large boxes, and sometimes there is only one general size. On average, the base price will start at USD 60 per box and upwards.
Look at the relative services that each of these forwarders will provide, like whether they will pick up the item from your doorstep and deliver all the way to the house of the recipients for a seamless transport. Or maybe they will just receive items at their office with you doing the initial part of the delivery. In any case, be aware that not all forwarders will provide the same service through and through.
Check also if the providers have offices in the major cities of the major islands in the Philippines, meaning they have offices in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Most will only have an office on one of these islands, and if this is the case, then you may run into the problem of tracking your shipment when it is sent out. Better providers will have a presence on all the major islands.
These are thus the major considerations in the way of reaching a final decision of which forwarder to use in sending your balikbayan items home. It may not be a bad idea to also look into the possible history of theft and pilferage, if it exists, in the forwarder of your choice, so that you can have better peace of mind before deciding and availing of their services.
A typical box is one that contains items that the sender, who is abroad and most likely in the United States, will send home to family and loved ones. These items are usually considered not financially accessible in the Philippines or not available, and will come in the form of household items, clothing, toiletries and non perishable goods. At times also electronics and toys are also included.
Prior to finding the best forwarder for these boxes, you must make a checklist to guide you. This checklist will contain important items for you to look over and investigate so as to give you the best possible informed decision. You should always use a checklist in any decision involving money.
First get a referral for a reliable referral from your Filipino colleagues at work or even from your neighborhood or social network. Sometimes a referral is much better than just blindly looking at adverts or cursory surfing via the internet. If there are a few candidates for this position, try to get as many referrals as possible.
Once you have a sizable list, then the next thing to focus on is price. Prices may differ somewhat especially in terms of the sizes of the boxes to be sent home. Usually you will have choices of small, medium or large boxes. At times there are prices for extra large boxes, and sometimes there is only one general size. On average, the base price will start at USD 60 per box and upwards.
Look at the relative services that each of these forwarders will provide, like whether they will pick up the item from your doorstep and deliver all the way to the house of the recipients for a seamless transport. Or maybe they will just receive items at their office with you doing the initial part of the delivery. In any case, be aware that not all forwarders will provide the same service through and through.
Check also if the providers have offices in the major cities of the major islands in the Philippines, meaning they have offices in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Most will only have an office on one of these islands, and if this is the case, then you may run into the problem of tracking your shipment when it is sent out. Better providers will have a presence on all the major islands.
These are thus the major considerations in the way of reaching a final decision of which forwarder to use in sending your balikbayan items home. It may not be a bad idea to also look into the possible history of theft and pilferage, if it exists, in the forwarder of your choice, so that you can have better peace of mind before deciding and availing of their services.
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Find an overview of the advantages of using balikbayan box shipping services and more info about a reputable freight company at http://www.solomonexpresscargo.com right now.
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