The start of September for Filipinos usually means one thing. Christmas time is here! Wherever Pinoys are in the world, the season of giving brings family and loved ones together in celebration. For those who live overseas, one way to send their presents comes in the form of the Balikbayan box.
Every immigrant and overseas worker, with love and effort, accumulates pasalubong or
souvenirs throughout the whole year until their boxes are filled before shipping it back home. Whether it’s during graduation season, summer time or the holidays, here are 5 important signs that it’s time to ship your Balikbayan box earlier.
1. Public places are starting to get crowded
Peak season means everyone gathers their boxes at the same time, at the last minute. Since health and safety remains to be a priority in a pandemic-stricken world, it’s best to avoid lining up with a lot of people in one place. The benefit of getting your boxes early means you can conveniently schedule when our team picks up the boxes, or go to the nearest drop-off points without worrying about the crowd.
2. There’s no next-day delivery for heavy cargo
As much as online shopping introduced convenient ways of purchasing items wherever you are in the world, the same can’t be said for big shipments like a Balikbayan box. Unless you’re sending a smaller box or fewer items, there are specific requirements before an item can be shipped by plane. Since bulkier and heavier boxes don’t fit on commercial or cargo aircrafts, they have to travel by sea. Considering that you want the boxes to reach the Philippines in time for Christmas, it’s better to ship at least two months before to give ample time for delivery.
3. Ber-months mean busier times for everyone
The holiday season may be a time for relaxing and vacation, but before that, students and employees are hustling to complete their projects so that they won’t have anything to worry about during their R&R. In terms of packing a Balikbayan box, you have to secure every item to make sure they don’t spill or break during transit, while making the most out of the space in the box. Most people don’t have time to think about the small details, so getting your packing done much earlier saves you the time and energy to focus on work or school.
4. Racing against shelf life and expiration dates
Regardless of whether you’re sending perishable goods or non-food items in your Balikbayan box, you have to consider the effects of storing things in a box for too long. This is especially true for consumable items like food and toiletries that shouldn’t be packed together because they will affect each other’s quality. Since pasalubong are known to have chocolates, candies, soap and perfume all jumbled together in a single container, it’s not ideal to delay its delivery. Even in the case of clothing items, bags and shoes, they can also be prone to wear and tear if stored for too ling. They can stain and affect other fabrics, or even cause mold and mildew from leftover moisture, leading to odors and spoilage.
5. Delays are the enemy and high volumes are worst nightmares
Overseas shipments have to go through a lot of screening when they reach Philippine shores, and during the holiday season dealing with a larger volume of shipment will take more time. It’s also important to consider the time taken before it actually leaves the country of origin (loading and processing) and the conditions of the weather and transportation during transit, all of which can affect the time taken. Poor weather conditions can cause delays at sea and even by land when making the final delivery, and in a worst case scenario, when there are too many boxes to deliver, delivery dates may be postponed due to lack of staffing or missing boxes due to high volume.
Conclusion - Ship your Balikbayan boxes as early as now!
If you have at least one of these five signs that we shared:
- Public places are starting to get crowded
- There’s no next-day delivery for heavy cargo
- Ber-months mean busier times for everyone
- Racing against shelf life and expiration dates
- Delays are the enemy and high volumes are worst nightmares
Why not save yourself the trouble and hassle, and just ship your box before the Padala season gets hectic?
By shipping out early with MetroBoxCargo, we make sure that your Balikbayan box reaches
your loved ones in time for Christmas, without any worries.
It’s so stress-free that you can choose to either schedule when we will pick up the box from your doorstep, or you can visit any nearby drop-off points at your own convenience.
We now provide forwarding services to the whole San Francisco Bay and Greater Los Angeles, just contact us to know more about the next cut-off dates in time for Christmas.
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