Shipping from Bishkek to Portland
February 23, 2010 7:59 PM   Subscribe

What is the cheapest way to ship a package from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to Portland, OR?

The package will be between 13 and 20kg. Fedex and DHL will be quite expensive, but may be the only way. I've contacted some freight services but they only deal with shipments greater than 45kgs. Any ideas?
posted by alpinist to Travel & Transportation (4 answers total)
 
Best answer: Try the Kyrgyzstan Post. They are listed as a member of the EMS cooperative. This is the network that delivers our Express Mail internationally, and they offer reciprocal service.

Based on usps.com it would cost about $225-250 to get a 20kg package from USA to Kyrgyzstan, it is likely similar the other way around. I know this is a ton of money, but likely less than you were quoted by UPS/FedEx/DHL.
posted by reeddavid at 9:27 PM on February 23, 2010


Best answer: I shipped a carpet from Bishkek to Chicago back in 2007. I ran around town pricing out DHL, cargo etc. and found the Kyrgyz post office EMS Post to be cheapest. I kept insisting on "sea" shipping and they were confused and I finally figured out that from such a landlocked country sea shipping was more expensive than air.

My package was 6.75 kilos (~15 lbs), took 7 days to arrive and cost $124.47.
posted by Bunglegirl at 8:26 AM on February 24, 2010


Response by poster: Thanks for the replies! My guy in Bishkek is insisting the the Kyrgyzstan Post is unsafe for shipping. I'm not sure why, it sounds like you didn't have any issues Bunglegirl?
posted by alpinist at 8:52 AM on February 24, 2010


It took a long time for them to wrap the package and seal it in wax but I had no delivery problems. I was worried the felt rug would get wet because it was only covered in muslin but it was fine. Obviously if its something of importance or value you would be better off with FedEx but my experience was fine. When I got a quote from FedEx it originally sounded cheaper but once I brought the carpet in they suddenly said that it was by volume, not weight and the price doubled, YMMV.

Here it is at the post office in Bishkek and here it is on my mom's doorstep in the U.S. seven days later.
posted by Bunglegirl at 9:26 AM on February 24, 2010


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