Moving companies?

Welcome to the forums, I am sure people will have suggestions for you!

Thanks much.

We moved in April from Seattle to Las Terrenas and used Continental.  Overall we wete pleased with the service and the cost seemed fairly competitive.
Nothing was lost and 2 items were victims of some minor damage.
The only snafu we ran into was when we were paying the import charge.
Customs wanted to charge us for 2 items that were used not new; and one of the owners of the company on the receiving side had a really common name that was on the watch list. 
Took a few extra days to get that resolved, funds sent over to them and our property on its way to us.

Thank you.  How did you prove the items were used?  How much extra were they trying to charge you for this?

Regarding shipping we are in the same boat (pardon the pun). I believe we've had Translogic recommended to us, but we still need to get quotes. I have similar questions regarding what is defined as "new", but figured the shipper can help us with all that. The idea that we cannot ship things like flat screens in their original boxes, with packing foam and such, is a pain in the arse. Wonder if we can turn the boxes inside out? I have a lot of stupid questions about shipping...lol

The biggest question you might want to ask yourself, is why am I shipping all this stuff?  If you're not including a car in the shipment, I suggest selling it all and buy here.  Much less headache, you get things (mostly) made for this environment, and items that actually fit into your new home.  Most Dominican rooms, even new builds, are a tight fit for King beds in my search.  You don't want leather sofas here, so think carefully before paying to ship things you may not need or want after you arrive.  Part of the adventure of starting a "new life" is starting fresh. It really helps you know what's what, and what's where.

New adventure is all well and good. However, consider if what you want to bring would make it feel a little more like "home" or have sentimental value. 
The "stuff" that would need to be replace here are:
a) difficult to locate what you're looking for, if you can even find it.
    (some item just aren't available)
b) of lesser quality   
c) more expensive if you want good quality
Example: an average pair of shoes here will probably be about the same price you paid for your favorite pair of Sketchers you wear everyday.
How comfortable they would be is debatable. 
But, then again, it's also quite possible you might just want to live in flip-flops!

I guess what I'm trying to say is:   "Choose wisely" to ship or not to ship.

Great info. We are not planning on shipping much. There are ONLY a few household things I am even attached to such as my Tuft and Needle queen mattress, a corner hutch, crystals, and a few iron pans and skillets. I do love my 65" curved screen tv, but not sure it would be worth the possible hassle. We do need to get my husbands tools over (he is a carpenter). Due to not having much, I did look into the UBox by Uhaul, but the issue is once it gets to the port, you are on your own. Toughest things to leave behind are my books and indoor plants....We also are bringing one very large dog and  6 cats which seems to be the most challenging. Selling our car and truck here.

They didnt get so far as to give us a quote for those items.

Continental notified us.  Both items were tv sets one of which still had the wall mount attached.

We indicated that both were used; neither were in their original packaging.  We pointed this out to Continental who basically fought the battle for us.

We ended up paying a couple thousand dollars on this side.  We did ship 3 new mattresses, 2 guitars, an expensive piece of art, along with a number of personal items.

But for the most part we were pleased with the end result.

Thanks so much.

Talk to Hispaniola Freight in Sto Dom....
Wendoline if she's still there

They handles me at this end
I used Benchmark http://jadeintl.com/welcome-benchmark-customers/ for my container
You may not need a container

Any freight forwarder will be able to help you