We highly recommend Sandra Baquero, Sanestar International, Guayaquil, Ecuador. Sandra is a subject matter expert in shipping your contents internationally and certainly provides a first class service. What I liked about Sandra was that she provides written step by step directions for preparing your shipment. She is always quick to respond to your questions. I have to admit Sandra did a lot of hand holding with me and I was a nervous client. She was always comforting, put my fears to rest and was so patient with me. If you follow her detailed instructions you should not experience any unpleasant experiences with clearing customs and your container arriving safely.
Most likely, you will have a local international packing company involved in moving your contents from your home. They do not always understand the international requirements of the country you are relocating to and that is why you need a subject matter expert to coordinate your move to a new country. We moved a 40 foot high cube container from Arlington, Texas to Cotachachi, Ecuador. Our container arrived in 30 days safely. We had requested that Sandra supervise the unloading of the container in Cotachachi. I cannot say enough nice things about her team. What amazed me is how Sandra and her team demonstrated a real coordinated team effort with professionalism. What really stood out was how much her team enjoyed working with her. The container was unloaded and paper removed within 3 hours. All on Thanksgiving Day 2013. Since some of the costs are estimates it was a nice surprise to actually receive a refund from Sandra. A refund may not always be applicable but this demonstrates her honesty.
A recommendation for Sandra would not be complete with mentioning the relocation of our 3 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels which are like our pet children. At first we hired a local Texas pet relocation service that claimed they knew about relocating dogs to Ecuador. This turned out to be a big mistake and waste of money. I soon realized that they did not understand the requirements of Ecuador which I found out about by simply reading Expat blogs and other websites. Thank haven for Sandra that came to our rescue. We followed her instructions to the letter and she even pointed out a procedure that saved us money. I would never relocate a pet family member without an expediter since it is just not worth the risk.
Since our flight arrived late in the evening at Mariscal Sucre International Airport, Quito, Ecuador Our dogs had to stay in the airport cargo warehouse until the next afternoon when they could be cleared by the vet and customs. I was very nervous about our dugs being housed in the cargo warehouse overnight. Sandra had prepared us ahead of time of what we could expect regarding our dogs once they arrived at the airport.
I will never forget when we landed at the Mariscal Sucre International Airport, Quito we were so surprised to see this women holding up a sign with pictures of our dogs. She was so clever to know we would respond to someone holding pictures of our dogs.
The fact that Sandra met our flight and got us settled for the night in nice little hotel near the airport demonstrated how she provides outstanding service for her clients. The next day she checked on our dogs and made sure they had food, water and even took pictures on her cell phone for me to see. What a comfort to see pictures of our dogs smiling for their picture! I would never try to bring a pet internationally without using Sandra as an expediter. Our pets arrived safely without any problems and have adjusted completely without any problems.
Some people ask me if it was worth sending a container. All I can say that for us the answer is “yes”. But that is because of the caring service and passion Sandra demonstrates.
If you have any questions regarding this reference you may contact me by email. chenry784@gmail.com or bh4639@gmail.com
Sincerely,
Ann and Bill Henry
Cotachaci, Ecuador