Hello,
I have to admit to being a bit of an Ebay addict. Hardly a week goes by with me not buying something, Given that my stay in Panama should be for the best part of six months, what would be my options and prices for getting the purchases to me? Would I have to rent a mail box in central Boquete, or could I sort of ‘pay as you go’?
Thanks in advance,
David
Replies
If you order a lot of rather small, low-weight items, you will be able to save a lot of money if you have them sent to a friend or family member in the us who will put all of them into a flat-rate Priority Mail box to send to your forwarder in Miami. Otherwise, each package will have a minimum charge (usually one pound).
I have been using MBEtc. for 13 years without a hitch. It's only about $30 a month (with some free time), and I split with a neighbor, so we only have to pay $14.something each, and I order everything from ebay without any major complaints from me about the cost, and totally reliable. Nothing ever lost.
Sounds like you have a very good arrangment, Summer.
Hi David, we use both. Both have their good points and not so good points, at least in our experience!
I would suggest using "eshop' in Boquete, across from the farmacy Revilla. Charged by weight and volume, and no sign-up fees. I always ask the sender to compact the purchase without bubble wrap or styrofoam peanuts which can really reduce shipping fees. Big sized packages and heavy items are costly.
Thanks James,
Most of the stuff I buy is light in weight. So I might try Eshop. I'm hoping that I can get away with paying something like $6 - 10 on shipping for each purchase I make.
Eshop, which I have been using a year and a half, has a minimum fee ($7 to 8 I think). The issue with like Amazon and Ebay is that Item's that arrive separate stay separate, they don't consolidate. So you have to weigh that into your cost plans. Also, Amazon will ship a small Item in a larger box than necessary, adding size (at some point you are charged for larger packages) and that additional weight.
I understand, I have been using Ebay and Amazon for years. I look around and compare down in David and then weigh their price (if they have what I want) and shipping in. Example, last year I needed an adapter for the sound system at our church. $32 at Panafoto. $16 at Amazon, but instant versus about $24 and 2 to 3 weeks. You also have to be careful with Eshop. Their receiving site in Florida is not open Saturday-Sunday. This means (and I have had more than a couple of instances) where an item was attempted to be delivered on Saturday, then they retried on Sunday, and then the item was returned. You think, well I will order where Amazon says that will arrive in 2 days and that will work. But the shipper does two day shipping, but doesn't ship for a day or so and then it arrives on the weekend again. Not ideal. I don't like gambling.
Otherwise, I have greatly appreciated the service and know in the past that the usual services could be over a hundred to get a box of items. And, if it is not something the the Panamanians use, you could need to order if you want it, or go without. Example: a King size mattress foam topper. They seem to like "FIRM" beds here, and since we rent, we ordered one from the US. It still was cheaper than any other alternative.
Drugs: They sell most drugs whether prescription or not over the counter in "EACH" pricing. Ibuprophin is one of those. Works out to over $.60 per pill (at least that was my memory). I bring back one of those bulk bottles from Costco, or, as I will need to do soon, is order from Amazon. You just have to watch out for expiration dates (length, they don't tell you the actual on the bottle you get).
Well, love it here, but you do have to decide to be flexible and try to be as Panamanian as you can to keep costs down. (BUT I STILL WANT MY HOT SHOWER) :)
One more thing, I heard recently there is a service in David that is in the neighborhood of $2.00/pound. I am going to look into it this week.
I have been a loyal eShop customer for years and have never had a problem. They are the best from my experience.
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