Balikbayan Box....

[Call me bubba]

humm.??? in california its only $55 yet in colorado its $110.00. could it be 1.that it has more of a distance to travel from Co to CA?

I believe the reason is because there is a much greater Filipino population in Calif. than in Colorado so they would get much more business and that would reflect on the cost ..... plus more competition makes a healthier market ..... customer wise .... :thumbsup: :cheersty:

YES MIKE S, thats what I was the point I was trying to make...

Competition makes a differrence in a free market country. ....

[i am bob]

humm.??? in california its only $55 yet in colorado its $110.00. could it be 1.that it has more of a distance to travel from Co to CA?

I believe the reason is because there is a much greater Filipino population in Calif. than in Colorado so they would get much more business and that would reflect on the cost ..... plus more competition makes a healthier market ..... customer wise .... :thumbsup: :cheersty:

YES MIKE S, thats what I was the point I was trying to make...

Competition makes a differrence in a free market country. ....

To be honest - and as other have discussed on here - I think the difference is the distance in the US that the boxes have to be shipped. American truck drivers don't work for free!

[Jollygoodfellow]

Seems to me the use of Balikayan boxes by expats is not lawful unless you have a Filipina wife returning to the Philippines.

Source http://customs.gov.ph/

http://customs.gov.p...ayan-boxes/#7.2

http://customs.gov.ph/faqs/privileges/

Bringing Personal Items into the Philippines

Duty-Free entry of personal effects by incoming travelers

Articles brought in by Filipinos and visitors alike, whether in accompanied or non-accompanied baggage arriving within reasonable time, consisting of used personal effects in non-commercial quantity are not subject to taxes and duties. Other duty-free items are wine and spirits not exceeding two bottles, tobacco and cigarettes not exceeding 200 sticks, cosmetics and perfumery not exceeding one bottle.

Returning Filipinos known as Balikbayan, those who have stayed abroad for more than a year, may in addition bring in duty-free used electric or electronic appliances, one of each kind.

http://www.philippineconsulate.com.au/bringing-of-personal-effects-into-the-philippines.html

[JJReyes]

I am not sure if balikbayan boxes are covered under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT Treaty). My mother-in-law was in Honolulu for Christmas and she shipped several boxes, similar to balikbayan, to friends in Japan. There were all filled with goodies from Hawaii. We have a friend in San Diego who is constantly shipping boxes to her relatives in Mexico City.

[Tukaram (Tim)]

When I first heard of BB boxes I was pretty excited abou them. Then I saw that a bilkbayan was a returning Filipino and assumed I could not use them. But then.. I saw posts all over the place about everyone using them. So I figured I would give it a shot. I asked the Forex folks and they said it was ok - they want my money what do you expect them to say.

So, I don't know for sure. Everyone seems to use them but does mean it is legal or just overlooked? Mine will not be addressed to me, but to my girlfriend. I was told I have to give the barangay captain a "gift" to get my name added to the mail?? Sounds fishy to me but it's more fun in the Philippines!

[JJReyes]

Anyone can send balikbayan boxes. Besides they can't tell the nationality of the sender based on name and address. My mother's maiden name is "Albert" and all the Alberts in the Philippines are related. We thought our common ancestry was Irish. It turns out to be Italian. There was a famous Cardinal Alberti. On my god! He was probably fooling around with the chambermaid. We are all bast---s. Not. The Cardinal had a brother who was a famous physician in the Philippines.

Edited January 16, 2013 by JJReyes

[OnMyWay]

When I first heard of BB boxes I was pretty excited abou them. Then I saw that a bilkbayan was a returning Filipino and assumed I could not use them. But then.. I saw posts all over the place about everyone using them. So I figured I would give it a shot. I asked the Forex folks and they said it was ok - they want my money what do you expect them to say.

So, I don't know for sure. Everyone seems to use them but does mean it is legal or just overlooked? Mine will not be addressed to me, but to my girlfriend. I was told I have to give the barangay captain a "gift" to get my name added to the mail?? Sounds fishy to me but it's more fun in the Philippines!

I had some of your worries when I started looking into it and I did read the customs website that JGF gave the links for. It seems like many of those "rules" on the website are not followed:

Frequency: 1 box every 6 months

100% inspection: Not so

I would not worry about it unless there is some real news that something is changing.

Did you shop around for pricing? Your price seems very high, even for Texas. If you are dealing with agents they will sometimes negotiate, as they are dealing with the port pricing with markup. Also, if your quantify is higher they should negotiate. If you offer to drop the boxes off at their place of business they should give you a better offer. Easy to do if you have a pickup truck and we all know that all Texans own a pickup truck! :hystery:

I only paid $85 with Forex from Cincinatti, and I took the boxes to them. $90 with pickup. The agent makes a run to Chicago once a week, and they are loaded into the Forex container there, which is then trucked to the port. Choice of port may vary. As mentioned in another thread, I think some companies are avoiding Los Angeles / Long Beach because of the high rate of export inspections and subsequent fees.

[Jack Peterson]

Having spoken to a Forwarding agent yesterday JGF was quite correct, Whilst the rules have changed a great deal over the last few years, the B/B box was indeed for the returning Filipino, it was so they could send home to themselves, things they had acquired overseas with out customs payments This of course is no longer the case, before, they would have been Out of the PI for a year or more. Now it seems a free for all and to my mind just a way around import duties. BUT ! what do I know, anything, seems to go here, just of late.

The Agent told me that the shipper, is supposed to view the ticket of the sender, this is to ensure it is really a B/B and not a postal service he laughed and said, like most things, no one bothers until customs decide to do a spot check..

[bootleultras]

As far as I remember there is a charge on TV's but as someone previously mentioned if you dont declare it they will never know, I wouldn't worryabout scans, never have any of my boxes sent from various companies and places in the USA been opened or scanned and there has only ever been small damage to the boxes but only at times.... So if you do make sure it is well protected.

I say this as Ive shipped lots of imported alcohol this way so you really should be good!