I've been working in NCR for 10 years now. During those 10 years, it is inevitable that the once empty house will be filled with household items. And the hardest challenge when relocating is the transport of these items.

 

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My wife and I were both hailed from the province, so we grew up with the mindset that when we retire, living in the province is probably the best idea.

 

Obviously, our retirement age is still a little bit far. But with growing babies added to the family and the pandemic, that changed how we work. Relocating back to the province became luckily possible.

 

 

Finding the Appropriate Logistics Company

 

If you are just transferring via land, there are many Lipat Bahay services to choose from. Ranging from reputable logistics companies to the smaller services you can find in FB.

 

However, our situation is a little bit different because we are relocating from Luzon to Mindanao. Technically, we are traveling overseas.

 

As much as I want to use the lipat bahay services I found on FB, I am a bit apprehensive because if anything happens to my cargo it will not likely be covered with insurance.

 

With the proliferation of scam artists, it is better to be safe than sorry. Due to this, I chose to use the services of a much bigger logistics company.

 

 

The Logistics Candidates

 

• LBC
• JRS
• APCargo
• Transpotify
• 2Go

 

LBC

 

Bulk transport is available only for corporate accounts. A regular customer will need to send the items as a regular parcel, which defeats the purpose of a lipat bahay service.

 

JRS

 

When I contacted them, they said that they do have the service. However, the price quote is not that enticing. And the bulk of the preparation is on the customer.

 

What I mean by this is I need to crate fragile items aside from packing them in a box.

 

APCargo

 

They don't transport items to Mindanao.

 

Transpotify

 

The most expensive service out of all the candidates. Their initial price quote of the items is 100,000, which can change when the actual items are checked by the personnel.

 

2Go

 

Found the sweet spot in terms of price and customer effort. I just need to put the items in boxes, and they provide the crating service with an added fee.

 

 

The Winner and Its Hiccup

 

2Go is the ideal candidate, and I really thought that it will be a smooth sail from there.

 

As fate would have it, the specific destination in Mindanao is covered in 2Go's OSA (Out of Service Area). The cargo will only be dropped in 2Go's warehouse, and I will need to pick up the items from there.

 

This means I need to contract another vehicle (a 4-wheeler closed van) to pick up the items and deliver them to the exact destination.

 

After calculating the expenses, it is still within our acceptable range. So we decided to go ahead with the plan.

 

 

How to Process the Cargo Transport

 

Since I am an introvert and is more comfortable with written communication. Aside also that the company only provides a landline number, which we all know that a mobile calling a landline is bad for the pocket.

 

So I choose to contact them via E-mail.

 

Once initial contact is established, they will send you a template that you need to fill up.

 

2Go Email Template Email Address: [email protected]

 

After that, a representative will be assigned to you to cater to your request. Even though it is via Email, the responses are fast. You can actually close the transaction within 2 to 3 hours, given that you already have all the needed information on hand.

 

Once the agreement is done, you can then schedule the actual pick-up date of the items.

 

 

The Hardest Part of Relocating Is

 

Putting the items in a box. I am confident with my skills when doing an unboxing but not the other way around.

 

In times like these, you need an expert to handle things efficiently. Fortunately, my older brother used to work in a wholesale warehouse store when he was in college.

 

He knows how to work with boxes, put items appropriately to utilize space, get around non-conforming items, and secure them for safe transport.

 

You might be thinking that it is just an easy thing to do. However, when you are new to this kind of thing, it pays to have the knowledgeable to handle it. This is to save time and lessen the trial and error phase.

 

Yes, I was able to copy the process while watching my brother and able to do my own boxing when he's not around to help. Though it is still not yet on par on what he can do, but the experience of learning something new is always a good thing.

 

 

Moment of Truth

 

After packing all the items, we just waited for the scheduled pick-up and actual price quote.

 

The personnel measured the boxes and asked us which items were fragile as they will be put in a crate.

 

The personnel segregated the fragile items and measured them again.

 

After that, he calls their office to process the actual price quote and crating fee based on the measurements he sent.

 

Overall, the price is still within our acceptable range.

 

 

A Twist of Fate

 

I've mentioned above that our place is on their OSA list.

 

In a stroke of luck, the representative that was assigned to me was able to push for the cargo to be delivered to the exact location.

 

Of course, there is an added fee on top of the price quote. However, it is still less expensive than me contracting another vehicle to pick it up from their warehouse.

 

Props to that 2Go representative for going the extra mile. She really helped me a lot in terms of lessening my expenses and effort. God bless her.

 

 

The Payment Scheme

 

These are their payment schemes:

 

• Prepaid
• Freight Collect

 

Prepaid

 

You can pay on the spot to the 2go personnel once the final price quote is calculated. You can pay in cash or via bank transfer.

 

Freight Collect

 

The receiver will be the one to pay the fee. In other words, Cash on Delivery (COD).

 

I chose to pay in cash as I've already prepared the budget for this relocation.

 

 

The Bill

 

• Highest estimated quote from the other logistics company is around 100,000
• The lipat bahay services I found in FB is around 75,000
• I established 75,000 as the max transport fee amount

 

The total bill incurred from 2Go is around 38,767.59.

 

If I include the other expenses like the balikbayan boxes, bicycle boxes, transport expenses, meal expenses, and the talent fee for my brother.

 

All in all it is around 58,767.59.

 

If you think about it, I was able to save so much because my established max transport fee amount did not even account the other expenses. It only covers the cargo transport itself.

 

The items were picked up on April 28, 2022, and were delivered on May 14, 2022. A pretty good lead time given that our place is non-serviceable by them.

 

 

Closing Thoughts

 

At the onset, My wife and I know that we are relocating in the foreseeable future.

 

This is the reason why most of our household items can be disassembled like the cabinets for portability purposes.

 

Also, we bought our other items under the notion that they are to be left when we relocate. For example, instead of buying a fancy dining set, we decided to buy an ordinary one. Function over Form.

 

Relocating to a place where the minimum wage is much lesser than the minimum wage in NCR is a difficult decision. Sacrificing the comfort of earning a higher income.

 

But when you are married and have children, your first task is to be with them. Applying the concept of remote work here is obviously not applicable.

 

Choose your family. Always.

 

 

Disclaimer

 

This is not a sponsored post.

 

I am just sharing my experience to at least give others an idea of how the process is done. And be able to help those who also have the same challenges as I did.

 

 

 

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