The Best Forwarder For Your Balikbayan Box

By Douglas Price


You are reading this article right now because you are probably married to someone from the Philippines. And since you are married to someone from this country you will know what balikbayan means, which means someone who returns to his or her country of origin. In addition you will know what balikbayan box means and its cultural and social importance, and you want to know which forwarder to use to send this box home to the Philippines.

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.

For you to best be able to find the appropriate cargo forwarder for your needs, it is a good idea to have a checklist on hand. This checklist will include things that you should consider in looking for the best forwarder to ship your box home to the Philippines. Remember that when it deals with money, always use a checklist to aid your decision.

First of all get a heads up on the most reliable forwarders in your area by asking fellow Filipinos who may have used their services lately. There is nothing better than word of mouth referral when you really need it. Try to get as many referrals as possible if there quite a number of forwarders in your area.

Compare prices across providers as regards their services. Usually prices can be compared as to what they charge, usually based on sizes of the boxes, which can come in small, medium, large and sometimes extra large. Sometimes some providers only have one standard size. However, just be informed that on average freight charges usually begin at around USD 60.

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.

Do check if the providers you have in mind have representative offices in the cities of the major islands of Luzon, Mindanao and the Visayas. If they do have a presence in all major islands, then you can breathe a little easier for you know that they are better organized and your shipment will be easier to track from their central office, wherever that may be.

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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