The Cheapest Way to Ship to the Philippines

According to the United States Trade Representative, the goods and services exchanged between the United States and the Philippines are estimated to amount to $30.6 billion. Out of this figure, exports stood at $12.1 billion. So there’s a lot of packages moving from the United States to the Philippines. There are several ways to ship to the Philippines, but not all of them carry the same cost. Some are cheaper than others. If you’re looking for the cheapest options for the shipment, then we list 5 services that cost the least.

Why Does it Cost So Much to Ship Internationally?

Many times, you’d have realized that international shipments cost way more than domestic shipments. Sometimes, this can be double the domestic rate. There are multiple reasons for this inflation. But the main reasons are:

Tariffs and Custom Duties

Tariffs and customs are the main reason international shipments cost so much. You must be aware of how the US and China were engaged in a tariff war when Donald Trump was the president. When you sent a package to any country, say the Philippines, you have to pay the trade tariff to the US government. The higher the tariff, the more you’d have to pay.

Transportation cost

The distance between the Philippines and the US is 13,208 km. Therefore, the cost of moving goods over such long distances is going to be high. This cost is borne by the sender. The total cost may fluctuate depending on the fuel prices.

Port Congestion

When a large number of goods are processed at a single port, this can create congestion and delay the overall process. This delay costs money to the carrier, which negates the impact by charging an upfront cost that is included in the shipment fee. The carrier calculates the congestion in advance and estimates a price. You’re expected to pay this price as well.

Depending on your package and the season you’re sending it, you might be asked to pay additional charges. All of these things add up and increase the international shipping cost.

Top 5 Options for Shipping to The Philippines Cheap

Many shipment agencies can help you move your parcel from the US to the Philippines. But not all of them are created equal, especially when it comes to cost. Here are our top 5 recommended shipping companies you should use when sending your parcel to the Philippines or overseas for that matter:

Parcel Monkey

Parcel Monkey is not actually a courier service, but a portal where you can find cheap courier service. Consider it as a real-time database. You just have to provide the destination in the Philippines you need to ship the parcel to, and Parcel Monkey will show you the available options. You can see which companies are charging the lowest fees and book your shipping with them.

Along with fees, you’ll also be able to view estimated delivery. So if you want to balance cost with delivery time, you can do so at Parcel Monkey.

After you’ve sent the package, you can track it via an in-built package tracker service. You can see the exact location your package has arrived and how much time is left to arrive at the said destination finally.

Some of the courier services available at Parcel Monkey are United States Postal Service, DHL, dpd, TrakPak, and Parcel Force. You can also use the service for bulk shipping and get a deep discounted price.

Easyship

 If you’re concerned about the supply chain, then you can use powerful shipping software to track your package. Easyship is primarily geared towards merchants and businesses who regularly ship overseas. So if you too send regularly to the Philippines, you can use Easyship to make product tracking easier.

Getting started with this state-of-the-art tracking software is easy. You just have to connect your store to Easyship. Then connect your own courier account, and Easyship will collect all the real-time data for you.

And the best part is you can select from a range of pre-negotiated discount rates within Easyship. They have tie-ups with multiple courier agencies specializing in shipping abroad. Thus, you can leverage the powerful technology behind Easyship to ship to the Philippines hassle-free and cheaply.

UPS

UPS is a publicly-traded company that ships to over 220 countries, including the Philippines. The courier company started back in 1907. Over the years, it has perfected the process of moving goods across borders.

UPS collects the package right from your doorstep and delivers it to the recipient’s doorstep. You’re informed about where the package has arrived and how long it’s going to take.

Since the company moves a lot of goods worldwide simultaneously, it can lower the cost and offer a competitive price.

From 2019 onwards, UPS has been delivering packages via drones in the United States. But it hasn’t been expanded overseas. Once it does, the packages will arrive even earlier.

MyUS.com

Another excellent option for you to send packages overseas is to work with MyUS. The service is designed to shop local stores in the US and ship the packages overseas. Only those stores are listed that are tax-free and ship worldwide.

So instead of packaging your own product, you can have the shop do it for you and ship the parcel to the Philippines. This method allows you to save as much as 80% of your overall shipment bills.

Popular brands you’ll find at this website are Nordstrom, ebay, Levi’s, Adidas, Nike, Etsy, Disney, and so on.

Coming to the products, you’re going to find a range of products ranging from cooking utensils to electronic gadgets.

It’s the company’s responsibility to take care of handling and safe delivery. You don’t even have to shop in-store. Just browse from the website, place your order, pay the amount, provide the destination address in the Philippines, and let MyUS do the rest.

LinBis

Linbis is another freight forwarding service cloud-based application specializing in logistics. It assists businesses of all sizes to synchronize their sophisticated processes in one dashboard. This makes managing the logistics easier.

You can make use of powerful features within LinBis like barcode software, stock management, demand planning, fleet coordination to optimize the entire process.

LinBis is excellent for people who ship to the Philippines regularly. You can manage your shipments and get better estimates on delivery. It seamlessly integrates with companies like Amazon, Intuit, and Quickbooks. So if you’re using those services as well, you can source relevant data into the LinBis platform and view everything under one roof.

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Conclusion

When shipping overseas, you need to consider the weight and type of product. Not every item is shippable, and there will be restrictions. Therefore, it’s best to discuss the same with the retailer before you buy it. You must get clarifications on warranty coverage. Once that is out of the way, you can use any one of the methods mentioned above to send your package to the Philippines from the US.

Frank Gogol

I’m a firm believer that information is the key to financial freedom. On the Stilt Blog, I write about the complex topics — like finance, immigration, and technology — to help immigrants make the most of their lives in the U.S. Our content and brand have been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and more.

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