Today’s blog post won’t be quite as exciting and controversial as a couple of recent offerings, but it’s an important one to me.

Before I moved to PI I was told consistently that shipping to the Philippines was a losing proposition. Packages took forever to receive, they got lost or damaged, and customs charges were terrible.

As a person who had weened himself away from the malls in the US, replacing those experiences with online shopping, I wondered how I would end up surviving.

PhilPost:

So, for the first few months here I ordered nothing. If I couldn’t find something I needed in a local Dumaguete store, I bought a substitute or nothing. But after a few months I needed guitar strings and took the plunge, ordering from my two favourite US string etailers. Shipping charges weren’t too bad and 4 weeks later I had both boxes in my hot little hands.

From there I went crazy. I ordered stuff small and large, dirt cheap and somewhat expensive. I ordered stuff that was break proof and other things that were more fragile. I ordered from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, China, etc. I ordered off of eBay, AliExpress, and directly from vendors.

Here, for what it’s worth, are some observations. If the vendor ships via a postal service (USPS, Royal Mail, etc.) it will be handed off to PhilPost once it clears customs in Manila. Packages seem to go through customs in anywhere between a few days and over a week. From Manila the package is sent to Dumaguete and from Duma to the Valencia Post Office. I think the Duma to Valencia trip adds as much as an extra week.

Once in Valencia, I get a message from my “text mate” at the Post Office and pick up the package. At the PO the charge is 112P (a little over $2). The charge is the same whether the package is valued at $1 or $1000; same with size. I have been told that the 112P represents shipping/handling plus customs charges. The consistent and low price makes things easy.

I have sent myself approx. 40 packages and they have all arrived safe and sound. Delivery times have been anywhere from under 3 weeks to 7 weeks. I was positive that the item that took 7 weeks was lost and told the vendor so. He asked me to wait a few more days before filing a claim and sure enough it arrived, having been routed through another Philippines city.

Now you have to be self-aware, guys. If you need Amazon drone-like instant gratification, PhilPost is not for you. But for the vast majority of items I am fine with the delivery times.

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Lazada/Shopee and Ninja Vans:

Lazada and Shopee are the two largest Amazon-like providers in the Philippines. They have items that are shipped from within the Philippines (usually Manila) and items that come from overseas. Whether it is shipped from Manila or from abroad, from the standpoint of the buyer the process is the same. Once the item arrives in Dumaguete it is loaded onto one of many delivery motorcycles, operated by several companies, such as Ninja Vans and delivered directly to your place. Sometimes from past experience the driver knows where you live and sometimes you will have to direct him. “You pass the mango tree and go left and then right past the large coconut, etc.”

While you can pay with credit cards on Lazada and Shoppe I never do. I order COD, which gives me some piece of mind that I haven’t paid out anything in advance and can examine the package on arrival. Shipping costs are relatively small, depending on the part of the Philippines you live in and sometimes Shoppee has free or very cheap shipping.

If the item is coming from within the Philippines, delivery times are a week or less. Three days is not uncommon. If the item comes from outside the Philippines (such as China) I typically receive it in 10 days to two weeks. I assume these items have to go through customs but there doesn’t seem to be the long customs delays nor any large customs charges. I have heard various explanations why this is and keep my mouth shut!

I have received at least 35-40 packages from Lazada and Shopee and none have been lost or damaged. I guess I am a lucky guy. The only problem I ever had was an item where the Ninjas tried to deliver twice, we weren’t around, and they sent it back to the seller. I just re-ordered and received the item a couple weeks later.

Western Shipping Services:

Let’s say you just have to get something quickly or the seller only ships internationally via a packaging service such as FedEx or DHL. Yes, depending on what shipping service you paid for you will receive the item quickly but you may also have a whopping customs charge for your trouble. You will be paying what the normal customs charge is suppose to be. The handful of times I have shipped this way it was not unusual to have a 10-25% customs charge upon delivery. So I only use this method if I have to or if I believe the item requires special care or insurance.

So that’s my story (and I’m sticking to it). I’ve sent myself nearly 100 packages, cheap and not so cheap and have received every one. I know that once I post this blog I will hear from people who had different experiences but what can I say. I can only report what my experience has been. Of course I do believe in karma and once I post this no doubt a package will go missing but at this point with a .1000 batting average I am a happy purchaser.