To bring boxes or containers into Ecuador can be complicated but doable. The most important thing is to
make sure you have all your paperwork in order.
Lets start out with whom to use for boxes.
There are several carries for example, FedEx, UPS, USPS mail, TNT and others. For regular boxes, I would recommend USPS mail. They seem to be the cheapest on customs, about $26.00 on a box. They can change the price at any point, however due to the weight of the box , etc. When we had used TNT, we paid custom fees of $200.00 dollars for a box approx. 40lbs.
You may be better off paying a plane ticket or half of the plane ticket for a friend to deliver your things.
Starting Aug. 31, you can bring 3 carry-ons which can weigh up to 70lbs. Your bags can be 50lbs or you can be upgraded them to 70lbs. Of course there is a fee to upgrade each bag and that price would be determined by the airline you're using.
Once you get to Ecuador there are some additional costs for where your belongings are going (i.e what city you're moving/going to).
Cuenca, Quito and Guayaquil are the three largest cities, Cuenca being the smallest of the three. It does not an international airport so you would fly into either Quito (the Capital) or Guayaquil (the port city).
Most things you can purchase here but there are some you cannot. It can be beneficial to you to have someone bring suitcases to you and like I mentioned above, paying their way may be cheaper for you. We have used our flight "mileage" to get friends here to bring some of our belongings. This way it free for them to visit us here and we get our things from the US. It was cheaper for us to do it that way but if you don't have the "mileage" to give to a friend, you could offer to pay half of their airline fare.
Just a small note: If your over 6 ft. tall, then you will run into problems getting clothes or shoe sizes in some areas. If you have people flying over to visit, you can have them bring items for you.
An example...If you were to purchase a ticket for $1,000.00, your half being $500.00, there is no tax/customs to bring the luggage on board. You fly into Quito and their policy is that you spend the night in a hotel and fly out the next morning to Guayaquil or Cuenca. That could cost around $130.00 dollars. So you have $500 to $600.00 out of pocket expenses but you're getting 210lbs of your belongings.
To send it USPS, it could cost you up to $1,500 to $2,000.00 with customs and other fees you may have to pay. So, you save a whole lot more by flying a family member or a friend out to see you.
Then there are Containers. Container sizes range from 20 ft. and 40 ft. long, some are bigger. I have already sent a 20 ft. container with our personal stuff to Ecuador. If you send it out within the first 6 months of you being here then there is no tax/customs. Customs needs to know that it's all your personal belongings. If they (Customs) feels that it all looks like imported things you're trying to sell, then they may tax your container.
Again, if you have all your personal items brought over in the first 6 months of your move and all your personal belongings are your own personal belongings, then you will not be taxed.
Your paper work is crucial for a smoother transition. What I am referring to here is your Visa, whether it be a 1 year work visa or another kind. If you do not have some form of a visa, you will not be allowed to bring items into the country on a container.
Again, I cannot stress enough that your paper work needs to be complete and thorough. There will be fees that you may miss, so you need to be prepared and do your homework. We can help you with this so please feel free to ask us any questions you might have.
The second container I got into the country was a 40 ft. one to bring over a backhoe tractor from the US. I found the tractor online, in TX, I then hired someone, a mechanic, to go look at the tractor. He evaluated the tractor, got me a quote for shipping, they packed it up, and got it to the coast where the port was to put it in a container and ship it to Ecuador. I then had my customs guy, whom I paid all the fees to, send the tractor from Guayaquil up to Cuenca, which was approx. another $600.00 fee for traveling. Then, once that happened, I had it taken to another mechanic. He unloaded it for a fee, did some work on it and that is what stag I am at right now. The whole process took about 30 days from the port in the US to get to me in Cuenca.
The second container went much smoother then the first. Because I didn't have all my papers in order the first time around, it took me about 7 months to get our personal belongings. Even though it was here in Cuenca, Ecuador, I could not get into the container as I didn't have the paperwork in order. By not getting it done properly, it could have cost me $12,000.00 to get my things.
Your immigration papers are very important, make sure you have the right ones (visa). Without the papers, you cannot bring a container in. We have all the connections to lawyers, customs people, etc., to make the transition easier. So again, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
