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I am interested in this as well. I build models of military equipment as a hobby, & Ecuador does not have a big model building community. Hobby shops like we have here in the US just don't exist there very much. That being said, I was looking at the website for Fybeca in Ecuador (a pharmacy) & they have a shipping option, so I assume it exists.

Damon.

Condo is under construction and will be done by April 2022. Meanwhile, I am processing to sell my home here in Palm Springs. My plan is to rent a house in Quito until the condo is ready.

Ecuador's post office is no longer in operation. totally shut down.


When people order from Amazon in the US, most Expats and natives use a courier / frieght forwarder / mule. These are small businesses that operate like FedEx and DHL, but specialize between a port in the US (example Miami) and a port in Ecuador (example Guayaquil).

For instance, I recently ordered products from amazon using SPU Courier for about ten dollars a pound. Other possibilities include Laarbox or Globalbox. You send your order to a warehouse in Miami. They consolditate the shipment with other orders and deliver to Ecuador. You can pick up at their office or have it delivered to your door (here it is usually a hand delivery, nobody trusts packages to be left at the doorstep)

Inside Ecuador, Servientrenga is the main shipping and logistics company that will deliver packages everywhere. Pickup/Dropoff kiosks are commonplace. Delivery inside the cities are also being taken over by app-based motorcycle couriers like Glovo, Domocilio, Uber, and others (yes, it isn't just food and people they deliver now).

Addresses are not standarized like the US. People give cross streets and landmarks, GPS Coordinates, or Google Maps Plus Codes to get things from place to place. In some cities, there is a system for addresses using Manzana (Mz) and Villa (V) and F to distinguish a residence. For example Mz 28 V 8 F 10.

Wow!

Now that is something I will definitely miss.  Other than the language barrier, until now I hadn't found anything that is a serious negative.  This is pretty serious.  If I order a 40 pound package, the $10/pound makes it too expensive to actually order (if they would even bring that over).

Thanks for this.  Little bit depressing, I have to admit.

There is plenty of online shopping available here. You just have to order on MercadoLibre, Facebook MarketPlace, or OLX. Amazon just doesn't do business here-- yet.

But you can get stuff from there if you can't find what you want locally. In my 2 full time years, I have ordered from Amazon exactly once. I don't plan on making another order any time soon.

You can find cheap non-stop flights to Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. I have gotten a one way as cheap as $90. A lot of people will do an annual or semi-annual shopping trip-- load up on a suitcase or two full of stuff at Costco or WalMart and then have Amazon deliver the rest to their AirBnB. Come back to Ecuador a few days later.

Thank you so much. It really help me a lots to prepare my move and to live as an expat.

That's hopeful.  But doesn't customs search your suitcase?

not to worry, you will get used to it, but on your exploratory trip spend some time in the shops and even a mall in one of the big cities to get an idea of what is and isn't readily available. We brought a years worth of replacement heads for our electric toothbrushes, haha, you will find that you don't need nearly the clothes you had in the states for a beach community. The coffee, siracha and soy sauce are not the same but after a few months the stuff we had in the states will probably taste 'funny' to us now. We are still who we were, but we do a lot more walking and reading, we eat a lot more vegetables and sometimes we go 10 days or so without ever going into a store, we mainly use the street vendors for produce and fruit. Still trying to patronize the locals.

Occasionally. The only real limits on anything are cell phones and computers (2 each). And alcohol, 2 liters. There might be others but it isn't normal things.
The rest is personal. Some expats will max out the limits permitted by the airline, bringing 8 suitcases.

Thanks

As to postal service not working, my mother forgot and sent a package of the usual tat she sends to the kids and although is going through the system slowly, it is here and being processed (supposedly).

I thought they were not working at all, but apparently at working with a bare bones staff and things are moving through. But unless you can speak Spanish fluently and get on the phone to them I'm not sure it would arrive.

Great news. Maybe my wife will finally get the birthday card I sent her from Ohio in 2016! 🤣

lol. Am not sure why, but I seem to remember being told letters take longer. Don't know why was they aren't searched like packages, but that is what I was told. As this is Ecuador, I didn't question the logic of it, as it sounds like something Ecuador would do

parrotsrest wrote:

not to worry, you will get used to it, but on your exploratory trip spend some time in the shops and even a mall in one of the big cities to get an idea of what is and isn't readily available. .

This is a stellar idea. To take it a step further, bring a camera and notebook and a shopping list of "must haves". I spent many hours in Megamaxi on my exploratory trip, trying to get an idea what foods and household items i wanted and needed, as well as prices on things I buy the most often so I could get a clear idea of budget. And then once I lived here found that many deals are found in the mercados and tienditas.

Go shopping for clothes and shoes at the malls too and try stuff on. A lot of big guys can't find their sizes, especially in the highlands. Having said that, you can also get a tailor-made shirt for $35, so why shop at the mall for overpriced american brands?

Also and this is great with so many goid sastrerias=tailors here you can get custom clothing her and it very inexpensive.

My Sastreria made me 5 custom t-shirts with a pocket in a very nice cotton for $10 a piece.  Custom dress shirts for $25 and custom suit for $50.  Who needs clothing from Lands End via Amazon when you can have tailored for pennies.

Heck yeah, I am with you on that.  I guess it's really like I've been telling my wife, you make some trade offs, but overall you get more than you give.

We visited rhe pottery town El Cera yesterday with friends and a guide.  I like a city that has sone amenities but for those looking to live the nearly off grid lifestyle with chickens, donkeys, and horses you can live super cheap in El Cera.  Rent for a house is $50-$150 a month.  They do have electricity and bus service.  I actually believe you could retire there on $800 to $1,000 a month.  As I said I like a few mote luxuries but if you need cheap living with gorgeous mountains you can do it there.  I think there is internet nearby but probably not fiber optic.

I just created a business account with FedEx.  They said I get 45% off shipping to Ecuador.  I wonder how the heck you even give a shipping address?  Or maybe you just use your PO box?

Pick it up at the local FedEx office works best.

Rexriver wrote:

Pick it up at the local FedEx office works best.

This is probably going to be the most straight forward way if the office isn't *too* far from you

I know there's one in Quito.  Are there other offices in Ecuador?

We live in a large apartment complex here in Cuenca, with an established name and address. DHL will deliver to the bldg. and the admin office will call us and we pick it up downstairs. We have lived in other areas of Cuenca and have had to go to the carrier office to pick up packages. The unfortunate issue with FedEx and DHL is the step costs to get mail and packages here.

There is a FedEx office in Cuenca.

Rexriver wrote:

We live in a large apartment complex here in Cuenca, with an established name and address. DHL will deliver to the bldg. and the admin office will call us and we pick it up downstairs. We have lived in other areas of Cuenca and have had to go to the carrier office to pick up packages. The unfortunate issue with FedEx and DHL is the step costs to get mail and packages here.

I don't want to get personal, but I am curious... what do you put down as a delivery address?  You can change up the house number or street name or anything, but I'd love just to see an Ecuador delivery address.  I am hearing a lot of "3 houses down from the big house" and stuff like that.  Not sure how to put that on a FedEx package.

Here's an example: Your name, Edficio Portal Del Sol, Tower #, Floor#, Apt.#, Cuenca, Ecuador, Zip code, phone number.
As you mentioned you could put down in the delivery instructions: Yellow house, 3 house down from the intersection of Emilio Carrea & 12 de Octubre, Cuenca, Ecuador.
I've often just put the FedEx or DHL address on the package and pick it up at their office, guaranteed to work every time.

Hi BKiser:

I recommend having all your packages delivered to you via Servientrega.  It is like U.P.S. in Ecuador. I heard that the post office is working here but barely with a skeleton crew.  DHL deliveries will cost you a fortune.  I hear rumors that Amazon is delivering to Cuenca but I don't know that.  Servientrega gets your approximate address and then when they come to deliver your package they call you on your cell to come out and get your package.

I would suggest specialist couriers serices like SPU Courier, Deblex, Laarbox. They are licenced businesses in Ecuador with warehouses in the US. They tend to be a bit cheaper than DHL or FedEx and thet understand the peculiarities of Ecuadorian import laws.

Also, these businesses have offices in Guayaquil or Quito

Mail order is probably my biggest concern about living in Ecuador as well. I build models of tanks, & am not prepared to give up my hobby as long as I can still physically do so. Ecuador just doesn't have that culture (there are model builders, but they are rare & concentrated in the bigger cities).

Damon

bkiser wrote:

I don't want to get personal, but I am curious... what do you put down as a delivery address?

Example
F10.  V4. Mz 239. Sauces 8, Guayaquil 090506.

This is how I understand it, but I could be wrong:
In Guayaquil, f10 is like a house number. V4 (villa 4) is a designation for a small group of homes, like an apartment block or a group of condos. Mz (manzana) is a large block with a number. Sauces is a neighborhood in Guayaquil, 8 is a subdivision number. 090506 is the equivaalent of a zip code.

We always add our phone number and email when we have something delivered. And then the person doing the delivery will almost always ask you for you to link a Google map.

The country is also organized into provinces and cantons (like a county)

bkiser wrote:

I don't want to get personal, but I am curious... what do you put down as a delivery address?  You can change up the house number or street name or anything, but I'd love just to see an Ecuador delivery address.  I am hearing a lot of "3 houses down from the big house" and stuff like that.  Not sure how to put that on a FedEx package.

That's what we do.
Village > barrio > landmark > description from landmark
province
country

It usually gets here, if not they will call and will give them further description over the phone

Dagretto wrote:

Mail order is probably my biggest concern about living in Ecuador as well. I build models of tanks, & am not prepared to give up my hobby as long as I can still physically do so. Ecuador just doesn't have that culture (there are model builders, but they are rare & concentrated in the bigger cities).

Damon

That is going to be difficult, especially with no national post office really working. And unless you are able to call them up and deal with them fluently on the phone, your post will not be arriving.

This is super interesting.  It looks to me as if the address is a little fluid from place to place, especially if you possibly include landmarks in the address.  It explains why real estate agents online have never been able to give me a street address for any of the homes I've looked at.

Thank you guys.  It will be interesting to see, when/if I ever move there, how my address will be decided.  Who would I ask?  Maybe just ask a neighbor what the address is?  I guess it would have to be on the deed or paperwork.



"Village > barrio > landmark > description from landmark"

"F10.  V4. Mz 239. Sauces 8, Guayaquil 090506.

This is how I understand it, but I could be wrong:
In Guayaquil, f10 is like a house number. V4 (villa 4) is a designation for a small group of homes, like an apartment block or a group of condos. Mz (manzana) is a large block with a number. Sauces is a neighborhood in Guayaquil, 8 is a subdivision number. 090506 is the equivalent of a zip code."

bkiser wrote:

It explains why real estate agents online have never been able to give me a street address for any of the homes I've looked at.

Or perhaps they don't want you to go speak to the seller and bypass them

Thank you guys.  It will be interesting to see, when/if I ever move there, how my address will be decided.  Who would I ask?  Maybe just ask a neighbor what the address is?  I guess it would have to be on the deed or paperwork.

Depends where you are. The cities will have something that more resembles an address.  If you are the only foreigner in the village, then simply "casa del gringo, village, province, country" will be good enough lol

to the best of my knowledge there is no postal service in Salinas, if I list my address on a government form I simply put:
Name
Condo name with apartment number
Malecon, Salinas, Santa Elena, Ecuador
If i needed delivery service i used Servientrega in Libertad (20 min bus ride) at their office, for pick up or delivery.

If you rent, your landlord will know the official address.

If you rent an Airbnb, the owner will send you the GPS coordinates, Google map link, and if it is urban, then additional directions and possibly an address.

Another example is how my wife gives directions to taxi drivers: (Translating)

"We are in Sauces. Across from the hotel Corona Real, right? Near the Penguino. Make a u-turn at the first traffic light. There's an old red Lada parked there." She doesn't even name streets. When I ask her, she rarely knows the name of a street. They have official names, if you look on Google maps. But you don't see name street signs as large or as frequent as in the US.

You know, we just say "1313 Mockingbird Lane" in the US. It is totally different here. People orient by well known local landmarks.

If you buy, you should employ the services of a lawyer to research the title and/or arrange land surveys and be sure the title and land is clear of claims and unpaid taxes. And you will get the address then as well.

Because the post office is pretty much dead now, the water and electric companies have been using employees to hand deliver bills where I live in Guayaquil

I will also say, this phenomenon is interesting in reverse. I used to often host Latin American professionals in the US. Many hadn't traveled in the US very often.

I learned that most of my clients couldn't understand when I gave an address like "800 Vine Street". how was it possible for someone to arrive there without any other info? (Especially before smartphones!)

One client, an engineer from Colombia, was on his first trip to the US. He told me he found my city to be very confusing because there wasn't a big church in the middle of it and that's how everyone in his town gives directions, in relation to the church. He also thought it was quite strange to see so many clocks around the city!

lebowski888 wrote:

If you rent, your landlord will know the official address.
Because the post office is pretty much dead now, the water and electric companies have been using employees to hand deliver bills where I live in Guayaquil

To be honest, that really concerns me for the welfare of the country.  How can a country successfully operate without a post office?  There has to be a reliable way to send mail from person to person, and it seems to me that is a basic function of government.  If the government can't provide that, how much trouble is it really in?

user159 wrote:

Dagretto wrote:

Mail order is probably my biggest concern about living in Ecuador as well. I build models of tanks, & am not prepared to give up my hobby as long as I can still physically do so. Ecuador just doesn't have that culture (there are model builders, but they are rare & concentrated in the bigger cities).

Damon

That is going to be difficult, especially with no national post office really working. And unless you are able to call them up and deal with them fluently on the phone, your post will not be arriving.

Fortunately my wife is Ecuadorian, so I will have someone that can talk fluently with them on the phone if necessary.

Damon.

bkiser wrote:

To be honest, that really concerns me for the welfare of the country.  How can a country successfully operate without a post office?  There has to be a reliable way to send mail from person to person, and it seems to me that is a basic function of government.  If the government can't provide that, how much trouble is it really in?

Are you referring the Ecuador or the US?
;-)

Joking aside, the postal service is the least of Ecuador's worries. It's a small, poor, heavily indebted 3rd world country