Send My Love: 9 Practical Tips for Sending Gifts Overseas

While it is the thought that counts, KaBlogs (Blogs ng mga Kababayang OFW and Expats) members share some tips with SP to help make sending tokens to your loved ones that much easier.

1.    Chocolates? Forget it.
Save yourself some heartache by steering clear of sending chocolates using commercial delivery services.
Using a Filipino-owned delivery company serving France, Amy’s chocolates took three months to make the trip from her house to her family’s doorstep. Based in Nice, France since 2000, Amy Enson Menta says the chocolates she sent back to the Philippines arrived melted and in poor condition.
Raymund Landa also had a similar experience using a Filipino express delivery service branch in Saudi Arabia. “I sent a laptop and some chocolates. It took 7 days to get to Calamba, Laguna. The laptop was fine, but the chocolates with the package all melted.”

2.    Flowers? Maybe.
Though chocolates maybe a hard gift to send, flowers maybe more of a possibility, but be willing to pay the price. Amy used Interflora to send a dozen white roses to the Philippines at Php 6,000. “With Interflora, the flowers were fresh, but sending them was pricey. But I didn’t mind. It was worth it.”

3.    Worth the wait
Most delivery services lower the cost of packages by waiting to send items in bulk. Make sure your gift can wait that long and ideally has a while to go before expiring. “If we need urgent packages to send, it [a Filipino-owned delivery company here in France] isn’t available. They usually collect more boxes for shipping before sending them all in one go,” said Amy.

Click here to read more practical tips on sending gifts overseas.

[previous|page|next]

Read on for more practical tips on sending gifts overseas.

4.   Kababayan connection
Language is a barrier. When abroad, one way to avoid miscommunication is to work with other Filipinos. The national connection can also help you bargain down the price. “We prefer someone who is a kababayan, a Filipino who  speaks Tagalog ,” said Amy. “We can bargain a bit of the time of pickup or the cost, minsan utang muna. Basta suki.”

5.    I-LBC mo!
Even with MyAyala or other specialty delivery services, the most commonly used delivery service is still LBC. Chris Layug * in Saudi Arabia reports LBC Express Makati branch only took 5 days to get from Al Khobar to Manila.

6.    Information is everything    
Delivery services only know as much as we tell them. Dodeth Vergara in Singapore reminds us to provide correct and complete information, including you recipient’s telephone or mobile number.

7.    Seal openings tight
Not all gifts are conducive to packaging and long haul delivery. Chris advises not to send oils and liquids, if you can help it. “[It leaking] could spoil the rest of your package. If you can’t help it, send it out but pack it tight, especially the opening cap.”

8.    Beware the tax man
Refrain from sending hot ticket items, unless you’re willing to add tax costs to your shipping bill. “I tried sending LCD or LED TVs and my goodness taxes sky rocketed,” said Ramil Dumenden in Saudi.

9.    Inside job
Sometimes, it simply takes a phone call to make things work. If you want to send flowers, chocolates or items that can also be found in the Philippines, try getting in touch with your friends back in the Philippines. It’s a win-win situation. You spend some time catching up to your friend, while laying ground to surprise your loved ones.

* Some names have been changed on the blogger’s request

Sources:
•    Author interviews on KaBlogs and PEBA 2010
•    POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Agency)

Photo from sxc.hu