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Best way to ship household items from Florida to Panama

What is the best way to ship household items, no vehicle, no large appliance's, no large furniture, just 3 bikes, household kitchen items (plates, small appliances, glasses, silverware, pots, etc.), normal house everyday items so you don't have to buy again, Bose surround system, 3 TV's, mementos, paperwork you can't throw out, etc.? Do you pay any import fees or taxes on these items? Is it worth it? I truly hate to start completely over again buying everything for a house.

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I see no one has responded to your post yet. Too bad because I also would like some insight on this topic. As a Person who lives in the United States and lived in Panama for a year, My best guess is that it would probably be around the same price to replace vs shipping. Shipping can be very frustrating due to the little quirks. I have heard stories about people not getting their items released for months. Well, good luck with that.

I'm a big believer in not getting rid of stuff you use just to replace it! We moved from the US to the Dominican Republic and took a 40' container, including a vehicle. We moved to Panama from the DR earlier this year and shipped about 2 pallets worth, including 18 27-gallon totes and a few pieces of furniture.


We brought a lot of cookware, knives, countertop appliances, kitchen gadgets, and lots of tools. Some of these things could have been replaced here, but the prices of imported items is higher, and the quality is often inferior. I regret not bringing my set of Pyrex measuring cups! I haven't found that quality here, and it took me a while to find any measuring cups in Boquete, and even in David, I had to go to half a dozen stores to find a glass one. I refuse to put it in the dishwasher because, even with hand washing, the markings are starting to fade.


Depending on where in Panama you plan to settle, you can find a freight forwarder to handle your shipment. If you ship by sea, it will take a couple of weeks, but it will be less expensive. We've had a hard time finding furniture here that we like, so we've ordered a few pieces of furniture and had them shipped through Box Shop's maritime service. The pieces have taken 2-3 weeks to get to Boquete, and shipping has been as low as $0.64 per pound. I'm guessing that with a larger shipment, your rates would be even lower. Many charge by cubic feet rather than weight when you have a pallet or more.

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