Anybody ever done this with their furniture, etc.? I have heard nothing but horror stories about just about all the ports in Mexico. I haven't decided on whether to do this or not, but..... Also, would like a reference for (if one exists) a decent customs broker in Cancun. Thanks in advance.
Hyde shipping is a name that comes to mind. No experience of them myself but if you do a search for "Hyde" you'll find some previous threads
We used Crown Relocation Service. You can view their website at http://www.crownrelo.com/web/relo.nsf/index.htm . They packed us in New York, held our stuff for 6 months while we did some traveling and then delivered and unpacked our stuff in Cancun, taking the packing materials and other garbage away with them when they were finished. From the start in New York, to the finish here in Cancun, it was totally painless. No customs horror stories at all, although almost every box and carton, including wooden crates that held glass tables and electronics, were opened and resealed with government marked tape. They handled all customs and brokerage. We lost one wine glass. Everything else arrived in perfect condition. The only caveat is that this kind of service is expensive. The short formula is you pay by cubic feet, those cubic feet being expressed as the fractional value of a shipping container. In our case the number of books, CDs, DVDs and other "we can't leave these behind" items, amounted to enough space so that the furniture and electronics came along for the ride, as we didn't take much. In truth, were it not for what we considered essentials, it might have been cheaper to leave it all behind and start fresh down here.
I am familiar with Crown. They came to my house and even gave me an estimate. But my estimate was overland to Texas, and then to Veracruz. It was exhorbitant....about 3 times what the stuff was worth, and this was before the big fuel hikes. However, Crown did seem very professional, and I probably would have used them. Going to Cancun was relatively painless, and not too expensive. It was the overland parts that were killers. But did you do your move, using the infamous "menaje de casa"? ....or did you just pay the taxes? And how long did it take for you to receive your goods, after they were actually shipped?
According to Crown, our stuff came by sea, not overland. The customs tapes on our boxes did say Progresso. I just took their word for it. We did use the menaje de casa. Curiously, my wife's Spanish, the result of more than 6 years living and working in Barcelona, and my Spanish, or rather New Yorican, the result of being born and raised in the Bronx, both fell afoul of the Mexican Spanish required for the manaje. We were fortunate in that the New York Mexican Consulate was so overwhelmed and understaffed that the Consul herself vetted our manaje de casa, offering corrections and advice. The entire FM3 and manaje de casa process took just 3 short and pleasant visits to the Consulate, where we used a reserved entrance and never waited on the endless lines outside. We had more trouble with the New York City and Federal authorities getting our apostile and other documents lined up. As far as the delivery is concerned, as I said, our stuff was held in storage in New Jersey while we did a mini-world tour. They asked for a month's notice, which we gave them, and they showed up in Cancun on the morning of the day that was scheduled, only to be stopped by Transitos for not having the permit needed to drive into the ZH. That took a half day to iron out (we were not involved), so the off load and pack out didn't begin until late in the day and had to be extended into the following day. The two drivers arrived alone and were joined by 6 other "local talents" hired by Crown to assist. All told it was a slightly stressful but painless experience.
We did the opposite. We drove our stuff in a Ryder truck to the border. Then we hired a guy with a trucking company who lives and works both sides of the border. We put our stuff in his truck, he drove it across the border, we returned the Ryder truck and then we flew to Cancun. The truck arrived in Cancun two days later. We didn't lose anything. We did a manaje de casa. We used a Mexican Customs broker in Matamoros. The truck got a green light when it crossed, so our stuff was never examined (but the paperwork was). When you ship stuff by water there's no such thing as a green light in Customs, everything will be examined. When you ship by land you have a 1 in 20 chance of having them open every box. We moved $80K USD worth of stuff, including antiques and Grandma's silver. The total move cost under $4000 USD including gas for the Ryder...
I like RiverGirl's take.....especially since I can't qualify for the menaje de casa, because my FM-3 is a helluva lot older than 6 months. RG....do you still have any contact info for the people you used in Mexico?
The trucking company we used was owned by Julio Hernandez. I don't recall him speaking a lot of English. But he owns a house in Brownsville and another in Matamoros. And he has kids that were born on both sides of the border. His family goes back and forth daily. So he probably speaks English. Five years ago his Matamoros tel was +52-868-817-4593. Julio knows people in Aduana/Customs. So ask for his advice on finding a Customs agent to work with.
Windknot - Is menaje de casa anything like menage a trois? If so you might want to brush up on your spanish a bit more. Rivergirl - So your trucking guy has kids who were born on both sides of the border. Did his wife sort of go spread eagle with one leg in each country and the babies therefore came out on both sides of the border? Windknot, back to you - It seems like it would be so much more painless, and less expensive, to have a huge garage sale or whatever, where your US stuff is, and just replace it down here. Just remember - AVOID SERGIO PILATI MUEBLES (CANCUN & PLAYA) AT ALL COSTS. Cheers, T.J.
Guy really gets around, doesn't he? Anyway, muchos grassyass. I'll give him a call when I get to the States.
