In looking back over my correspondence from '09, it was definitely Manila Forwarder - sorry for the typo (or brain fart). I was dealing primarily with their LA office. To say that I found their service unsatisfactory would be a gross understatement. I won't bore forum members with details, but I'd be glad to discuss my grievances with Manila Forwarder by PM or in person. John
Speaking of bb boxes, a couple recommendations based on experience: before sealing the box, be sure to put inside a complete manifest listing all items - make a copy for yourself. Also, when you receive the box, do not sign for it until you have opened it and verified that all items you packed are still there, even if the security tape is in place and the box appears not to have been tampered with.
the best way imo is find a local balikbayan company in the US, have them ship it, theres no weight limit, and for me it was $85 a jumbo box, takes a long @ss time to get here but it did
lol just noticed that once you posted the comment, i just followed everyone elses responses..haha nice
Sounds like a large migration back to the Motherland. Trust me, it's not gotten any better than when You left. :(
My response was to your mention of Manila Forwarder as a potential shipper to the US. Now I may be wrong, but I was thinking that if MF could botch a shipment from the US to here, possibly they could botch it going in the opposite direction as well. Just hoping others don’t have to go through the hassles I had to deal with. And again, I may be wrong, but I do think the advice of making two lists of items, one for the box and one for you to keep, just might work in either direction.
I think ALL BB shippers have botched an order or two coming into the Philippines. Some are better then others I am certain. Even 2GO was on the blacklist of shippers. Most of those problems occurred after the box was in the Philippines, and some of them were not the fault of the shipper at all, but of customs, for instance they may find one box that has something illegal or improper in it, so they confiscate the entire container. One may liken it to a letter using Philpost. If someone sends me something from the US using USPS, it usually takes 3-8 weeks, IF it arrives at all. One out of three or so never arrive. However, sending to the US using Philpost, my letters have arrived in 10 days or less every time. I do not know of any other shipper that offers BB to the US for less the $400. Your recommendation of an inventory sheet is good advice. Larry
