Items to ship vs. buy in Cuenca?

Most people either ship or don't ship.  Sounds like you're having trouble deciding.  You can get everything you need here (of course imported items are much more expensive because of taxes).  So if you love your stuff ship it.  If it's time to start over come with suitcases.

Again, most people who decide not to ship purchase new furnishings.  Furnished apartments are, like anywhere, less available than unfurnished.  Plus they just don't feel like "home."

My decision will be based on whether it costs less to ship or purchase everything. Since I don't know what it costs to purchase the furniture I listed, I need that to make a comparison. I also wanted to know if there are any items worth shipping in boxes.

It will cost you around $8-10 thousand to ship your belongings.  The price of items here depends on your taste and budget.  Remember that if you come with suitcases you will have to replace everything from sofas to potholders.

I ship some of my belongings from New York, I filled half of a 20' container and I pay for the shipment $1800.
I save money because I packed the stuff and rent a truck to move it to Newark by myself.
I worked in cargo ans moving companys for many years, so I have a good idea how it works.
Expenses in Guayaquil are another history but I didn't pay to much, around $600 and the inland transport to Cuenca another $1000.

But every experience is different.

If you need extra help I can get you a moving company over there and they can give you a quotation.

Send me an email with the city, state your are living, my email is [email protected]

About buying stuff here, there's many prices and qualities, here are some orientative prices:

matress: $300-1000
set of sofas: $1000
refrigerator: $500-900
dryers: $400
washing machines: $500

Brig your computer, here are expensive, like $200 more and the same for TV. 


Vinny66

Thank you Vinny. I will probably just be shipping boxes, TV, computer and some misc. items. If you can send me the information about shipping, I'd appreciate it. I live in Seattle, WA and I know the container can be shipped from here. I read I need to hire a shipping agent from Cuenca. What do you think?T hank you, Diane

Thanks eddstaton. I will be shipping some boxes, but it sounds like buying furniture is less expensive than shipping it. I'll probably bring one of those air beds so I have something to sleep on when I get there until the shipment arrives. Since I don't need top of the line stuff, I'll get all my furniture and appliances in Cuenca. These answers really help.

Ok, I will send you the info by private message to you, look for it in your Expat.com mail.

Regards
Vinny66

Hi.  I will be coming down next month to Cuenca from Vancouver, Canada, and will be staying for 1 year or 2. 
I will bring 3 suitcases with all my basics and diving equipment but I would like to ship a medium-Large box full of things that I prefer not to buy while there.
Does anyone know of a place or mail service that I could use to have my stuff delivered to so that I could pick it up when I arrive.  Ideally I will like to have it arrive a few days (or a week) after I arrive.
This will make my packing so much easier than deliberating over what stuff to stuff into my luggage while worrying about going over the weight limit for luggage.

Thanks for any tips!   

Hello mackbutter,   Notice there's weight limitations for mail packages. regaular mail in ecuador has a 4 KG weight limit and if you bring more than this you will pay heavy taxes.

Courier is very expensive too and it will customs inspection.

An option could be non acompanied luggage, no taxes but it depends in which items you want to bring.

Vinny

Thanks .  That's great info!

P.S. Vinny:  Where do u prefer? Spain, Panama or Ecuador?

Just curious .  Thanks!

If someone decides to import household goods, better wait until the residence visa is aprove, otherwise the taxes will be high.
Swiming gear is a very good idea to bring. I been looking for a life jacket and was very difficult to find, even in the sport stores.
Finally I found it in Guayaquil in a safety items company for $40

Vinny
What a nice person you are to offer to help people considering moving to Ecuador and hoping to have a shipment!! Just thought you were kind and wanted you to know that.

I am fascinated that people seem mostly concerned with electronics. I am mostly looking at clothing(heard it it hard to find western sizes.) what is your experience? I would also be very interested in bringing food items. What is banned? I would be bringing dry goods, and things I already have now, that I would replenish there, like sealed coconut oil, coffee, dry milk,
pasta, rice,beans, tomato paste, canned mushrooms, Himalaya salt and other seasonings. I home cook all of our stuff and purchase in bulk to survive gov. theft of income to be able to afford to live here. I would also like to stock up on and bring toiletries and a very small car, which would prob. make the shipping container a good investment or at least a close match in cost to replacing every thing. I have reduced my home of 22 yrs down to 20, 27gal totes of the items that I love and use the most. only electronics would be a camera, two laptops that have info resources on them and a few small appliances. I feel the juicer will be very happy there. Any comments or insights to my aspirations anybody?

was your shipping cost based on weight or the size of the container?

I just had a 20 foot shipping container delivered from San Diego to my house in Banos de Agua Santa. The container had to be certified for oversea transport. The contents weighed around 5000 pounds. I went to the U.S.to personally load the container and we waited 6 week for it to arrive. We hired a shipping agent in Quito to get us through aduanas
or customs. This is where the nightmare begins. We has to send a cheque de guarantia for $3000 to guarantee the return of the container. I did get it back but found it hard to write a check in someone's name I don't know. 4 men showed up with a moving truck and transferred all my belongings into the house and outbuildings. When we opened the container it looked like a bomb had gone off in there. Heavy stuff packed on top of fragile stuff, broken items and open boxes unpacked and then stuffed back in the box without using the packing material. The shipping company said it had no control over customs enforcement so it was not liable for damage and so on and so on. It was not fun at all.
But one thing to remember..... There is no word in spanish for over-achiever.I guess I will learn to live with that concept.
BTW...Total cost of this container shipment was about eleven thousand dollars.

After reading many horror stories regarding shipping, as much as I love certain items that I own, I have decided that when the time comes I will just sell everything that does not fit in my suitcases or boxes on the plan.  In addition most of my furniture taste runs towards the rustic hand carved so I should be able to find all that I need there.  With the exception of my Apple Products and kitchen appliances and cookware.

Healer, I'm mostly in the same situation you are (no car though).  Did you get an answer or have you already moved?  If so, how did it go for you?

Thanks!!

Pyrate

. After receiving information from several shippers regarding shipping of household goods to Ecuador I have come to the conclusion that it would be vastly simpler for one to simply arrive naked and hungry with all that money in your pocket that you saved from the shippers and their agents. 
Unless you have money and patience to burn I don't see any other happy ending.

That's not necessarily true. We had a seamless experience shipping a 40' container from Las Vegas to Cuenca for much less than the cost of a move from Charleston, SC to Vegas. So much depends on finding the right agent. But regarding the general question of shipping your belongings vs. showing up with suitcases and starting over, my advice is: if you love your stuff and spent good money for it, strongly consider shipping it. Conversely, if a lot of your furnishings are "past their prime" maybe moving abroad is the excuse you need to dump it all and start anew.

You are
right of course - it's different for everyone but I have read some horror stories and rather disconcerting stories I should say and as you suggested a lot of my furnishings are past their prime and not worth moving although I do have stuff I've had for a long long time and would like to keep but I don't have to.  so maybe I'd rather put that 7000 whatever into the local economy instead of in the shippers agents pockets.  will see when the time comes many decisions to be made.  I am NOT affluent and economics is a big part of my picture along with the perfect climate.  thank you for your reply.  Every story helps.

Here's something important for you to recognize reading posts on forums. Most are overly populated with negative people who enjoy sharing their tales of woe, so it's easy to think their comments are the norm rather than the exception. Those who are busy enjoying themselves usually don't bother taking the time to report how great their life is.

Hola Ed,
Good point.  Actually I had wondered if that might be the case, so thanks again for giving me a little more perspective on this rather expensive matter.  And for my budget, being
so expensive in my modest financial world, it's a big decision.
~ BC

I want to ship two small-medium sized ikea dressers,  a leather chair, ottoman, two small desks plus clothes, pots dishes.  Anyone have a clue how much?  I know different agents will charge different prices.

zarnockf wrote:

I want to ship two small-medium sized ikea dressers,  a leather chair, ottoman, two small desks plus clothes, pots dishes.  Anyone have a clue how much?  I know different agents will charge different prices.

Consider putting your large furniture in storage in some obscure self-storage place in Brooklyn.  Some of your clothes and pots too, if there's a lot of such.

Given that you've posted that you expect to be in Ecuador for a year, it would probably be cheaper to buy new stuff here than to pay the outrageous shipping fees you'd probably incur .. and then you'd be tagged at the back end of the year once you figured what to do with everything then.

cccmedia in Quito

Thank you for that idea.

cccmedia wrote:

it would probably be cheaper to buy new stuff here than to pay the outrageous shipping fees you'd probably incur .. and then you'd be tagged at the back end of the year once you figured what to do with everything then.

There's also a good chance you won't need to buy replacement items here.

Many places are rented furnished.

But you won't find the best rental-deals online.  Go to an Internet café in Ecuador and look for postings on the actual (not virtual) bulletin board.   Walk a neighborhood you like, looking for for-rent signage.  Check the classifieds in the newspapers, especially on Sunday.

cccmedia in Quito