Thread: Shipping Household Goods from US to Panama

Does anyone have experience in the best way to ship household goods from US to Panama? So far, all my efforts produce are very, very expensive alternatives and I wonder if anybody has any recommendations? They would be most appreciated. Headed to Boquete in September - October.

Many thanks.

Whatever you do, don't sign up with Panama International Packers -- they have a horrible track record. I am using Canal Movers, and am very impressed. No, it isn't cheap -- all the more reason to bring as little as possible.

I contacted a mover in new jersey called omega shipping they offered consolidation or full container service. I belive its a big company because my cousin shipped a car to Colon with them at very reasonable
price and they did all the work. I know they are located by the port in New Jersey i am sure u can find them in the internet I got my rate on the internet omegashipping.com
let me know if you need more help
tennisman

Whatever company you sign up with in the US, they will contract with someone else to handle the Panama end -- and that is by FAR the most important part. You need to exercise some control over their choice of Panama broker/mover.

Can anybody help with extra info regarding moving from Denver Colorado to Boquete?

How about Canal Movers?
Very difficult process.....

Originally Posted by Delia Hoffman

Can anybody help with extra info regarding moving from Denver Colorado to Boquete?

How about Canal Movers?
Very difficult process.....

friends of mine moved from the states to bobuete and seeing they did not send enough to fill a container they phoned a local long distance mover , allied or mayflower etc and bought 2 boxes from them 7 ft by 7 ft by 7 ft , the shippers put them in a container with other stuff and sent it down , if you have less than a container this might work for you

Hi!

I think exilo meant Panama International Movers. Panama International Packers has a very good record. Panama Int'l Movers has the bad rep and also goes under Eurovan and ran by Rene Perez. From our move from Chicago to El Valle we used Panama Int'l Packers who used Bekins/Boyer-Rosen from the U.S.

Mary
www.whypanama.com

I recently tried a company in new jersey to ship our
furniture its our 2nd shipment they are called International sea and air
very very good results and they also packed it all got 3 other
estimates and they were over 700 cheaper and NO DAMAGE
took about 4 weeks to get here.
516-355-5300 or email john@internationalmoving.com

I would worry most about when your stuff gets HERE!!!
Finding an agent that will take care of your stuff in a timely manner is difficult. Also expect hold ups in customs, lots of random charges, and a little bit of good ol' Panamanian 'charm' that will end up frustrating you!
On a random note...bring all your coolers! Seems like a strange item but they are really expensive here. We use ours all the time if going to PriceSmart for shopping and driving to the beach, etc. Also you can use them as packing boxes too!

Suzfez02:

Hi! That is why we got the shipper first on this end and then they recommended several in the U.S. that we then interviewed up there.

Also you need to make sure that you specify "door-to-door"!! Otherwise they try to charge you various things including delivery to your new home! We put 10% down when they showed up with the container and then 30 days after delivery!

I created a little cheat sheet that helped with the move on organizing, what to bring, what not to bring, etc. It made the move so much easier and less nerve racking! We had 317 items on the manifest, received 317 items with nothing missing, damaged or broken. Also, we didn't have to pay anyone off at customs.

Mary
www.whypanama.com

I recommend you always use this site no matter who you go with... Please Review:: Terms of Service

I didn't have a lot of things (just under 30 boxes & an office chair) & I ended up thinking I was saving money by using a shipper instead of a moving company, but in the end MBE charged me a lot more (almost double) than the original quote, so I would have been better off dealing with the moving company, BUT I don't know how much I would have been dinged when it came to duty/taxes. This was after he (MBE) said he'd let the extra boxes slide & still only charge me $400 & I did tell him in the end how many boxes there were, but I get the bill "suddenly" at the last minute.

So what I did was ship to Miami, then let MBE take over & get it to Panama. Customs did open most of my boxes & did slice my office chair. Not sure why when I thought all was taken care of on with MBE. So it may be better to ship straight through.

Also I still have to find someone to take my stuff from here to the Interior once I move.

That's going to be a challenge & you are going to Boquete which is 6.5 hours away.

HTH


Michelle

If you have a male panamanian you can trust to find a mover that would be best...the price might go up if you try to hire. The gas cost on that could run over $120 on a cube truck, it's about $40 one way on an SUV, plus wages etc... maybe $300?? I don't know exactly but the movers prices seem a bit high to me around David area. Should be some gringos going out that way, I'm gone till mid sep though.

One shipping company advised me that I would need to hire a customs clearing official to get my items out of customs in Panama otherwise I would run into major problems getting my things out. Is this true? Please advise.

Hi JWR2001!!

That is why you hire the mover in PANAMA because they take care of everything on this end, including your broker. They then recommend someone on where you are moving from! You also want to make sure your quote is "Door-to-Door" that way you don't have to go anywhere near customs. We were told to stay away from there because they see our "white" face they will come up with extra taxes until we give them a little something under the table.

This is why I have recommended Panama International Packers to handle moves. They are not to be confused with Panama International Movers - too many horror stories about them along with Rene Perez and EuroMovers.

Mary
www.whypanama.com

I shipped my household goodies (22 boxes), weighted over 700 lbs & all was rec'd... My custom agent did a great job, quick & efficiently transported to home in Las Cumbres...r

Originally Posted by Rok Alwar

I shipped my household goodies (22 boxes), weighted over 700 lbs & all was rec'd... My custom agent did a great job, quick & efficiently transported to home in Las Cumbres...r

rok:

Who did you use and how much did you pay for this job? thanks jim

As a retiree, I paid only $ 91.00, plus the Corredor de Aduanas charged me only $ 65.00 --- Remember, I did not ship any wooden items....just personal effects.....r