need shipping advice!!!

nycgirl

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Hi Everyone,
I will be moving to BA in June and I am in dire need of shipping advice....What is the best way to ship from the States? I have lots of books and other stuff that I'll be shipping! I heard that one needed an Argentine passport to pick things up in BA? If you have gone through this process I would much appreciate any advice/tips you may have!
Thanxs!
NYCgirl
 
Hi...NYCgirl. I haven't started the moving process yet and I am many months out from doing it, but most of the blog pages I have read said leave or sell all that you can before you move. I plan to have just myself and my dogs, plus clothing and a computer. The rest will be money in a bank and I plan just to start over. I am just following the advise of others. Here is an invidual's blog page on the subject. Good luck and please keep me posted on how the move goes.

Peter

http://expat-argentina.blogspot.com/2006/02/plan-before-you-make-your-move.html
 
Hi Peter,
Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately, I am terribly attached to my books and I cannot fathom leaving them behind....So I am definitely willing to go through the hassles of shipping....I just need to get the scoop on how it all works....
Best,
NYCgirl
 
HiThis information isn't what you're looking for but it's good info and sorta funny too. I took a ton of books with me here on my last flight, I was expecting to need to pay 40$ in overweight but the woman let it slip, she did tell me though that anything above 100 pounds would not be allowed on the flight. Another thing I usually do is I have my carryon luggage way over the limit, they never check on that stuff. It can be a bitch carrying that shit around the airport though.
 
nycgirl,I moved from the states to ba three years ago along with my spouse and two children. We put everything into a container and shipped it to ba. The total cost was about U$S2500.00, but we brought everything frig., tvs, computers, washer, dryer, toys books silverware, etc. Once here we confirmed we had made the right choice since most artifacts cost more here and are of lessor quality then back in the states particularly computer stuff. This worked for us becuase we broke down a five bedroom 2500 sqft home and we did not have to pay a customs surcharge since we were Arg residents prior to leaviing the US; had we not been we would only have been allowed $300.00 worth of goods per family unit. A less expensive alternative may be to consolidate your belongings and ship them. This normally is a better solution for people with less stuff since it is charged as a portion of the container instead of the whole thing. Generally the price is based on the amount of cubic feet your things occupy.Hope this helps!Mitchell
 
NYCgirl, we moved here almost three months ago with 2 dogs 2 cats, and 5 suitcases in one trip. On a previous trip we brought and left with someone, three additional bags filled with other things we wanted to bring. Then when we left Miami, I left whatever books I couldn't bring with me, with my friend, as well as a couple of already packed suitcases. Since then, a friend came to visit and brought me another bag of my books. I understand about your books, and I had to severely restrict the amount of books I brought in, and as I'm a writer and still involved in real estate I needed all of my reference books, as well as baby books for my pregnancy. What I did was to make the priority piles and those books got shuffled between bags, because yes, there is a severe weight limit now with the airlines and even on our prior trips here, they were enforcing it heavily (ever since last october). Some airlines allow you up to 70 pounds and 2 checked bags and others allow only 51 pounds. For instance American allows 51 pounds and then to 70they charge 25.00 overage, but once you go from 70 to 100 it's an additional 100.00 (plus the 25), and they WILL NOT allow you to go over 100. You can pay for additional bags to go with you which will be subject to the same weight and size limits, but what they warn you is if the plane is full they can reject the additional luggage. We flew with Delta because of our pets and it was a nightmare flying from Miami UP to Atlanta, then trudging through the airport with all of our overstuffed carryons and the cats, but the flight from atlanta to BA was only 1/3 full and it was a great flight. In the end it was worth it.One thing you could do is to pack some books separately and have them mailed to you. I was hesitant to do this but other people have. Supposedly customs doesn't charge you for books, but then you have to go through sitting in the customs post office all day to get your packages - not fun. For other things, yes you can rebuy things here and we chose to do that for most of our stuff. The things I brought because they were important to me were my pots and pans (the good ones here are very expensive), my books, our sheets and comforters (great for filling out the suitcase and sheets here are not great quality), and some other things. I think you will find it difficult at best and almost impossible to bring your things in by container if you don't have a visa, plus all of the headaches of dealing with the paperwork. If you want to email me separately about the rest of my experiences and how my husband managed to hit the weight limit and yet get a lot of stuff, feel free at [email protected], there is this helpful post about feria americanas and how you can do some replenishing of your things http://movingtoargentina.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/04/my_first_remate.html And there are expats who leave who sell their things. I just bought a bunch of english novels for 1.00 each. good luck!Laura
 
I did the move in Sept from Spain. I had an average amount to shift.....300kg/4 cbm. It went consolidated/groupage and took a couple of months to get here, but was worth it in the end. I brought everything I could...all my books, computers, desk pictures...stuff you like to have around you. I don't regret it for a moment, as most is not replaceable. Argentine customs was another matter though. I had to jump through several hoops, secure a guarantor etc....visit EMBA several times at the docks and finally collect my things by flete in the sh***le of the world, the compound of Mercocarga, Dock sud. It was all worth it in the end when I unpacked my stuff with my girlfriend. My advice would be: If you can afford to, just ship it.....some things are not replaceable. I can give you more detailed info if you like. No problem. Good luck!
 
I've moved in and out of Argentine several time--and it is indeed a pain even in at the best of times. Being an Argentine resident is pretty important. I suggest contacting Lift Van international who have always been my movers. Talk to Monica--they publish in the Herald pretty regularly. Regarding books, you can ship them economically in an "M bag" with the US post office and they get here pretty reliably. Books to not carry any duties so you should be able to get them out of customs easily. I also buy books on Amazon and have them shipped here.
 
Can anybody here tell me if it`s REALLY TRUE that in order to bring in an entire household-full of stuff from overseas, it`s BETTER to be an Argentine resident returning from a short trip??
I`ve been a resident here forever, yet always an American citizen, however I always understood that for me or any Argentine, it was the exact opposite!!... You had to be AWAY from the country for at least 18 contiguous months, in order to LOSE your residency!! THEN and ONLY then, could you come back and bring the entire household that you purchased abroad even including your personal (used) car with a very low tax rate on it.
How and when did everything turn the other way around??
If things are actually like they sound in this forum, then we could all travel every year and bring a container full of tax-free things to re-sell.
Please, someone tell me the real "fija" since even the authorities here can perpetuate myths.
However I tend to believe that by sheer logic, my original interpretation is the correct one.
Thanx.
 
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