LBC Air Packet US-Manila delivery for $10- A Review & Guide

LBC Air Packet envelope and bill of landing form

We have again another LBC Air Mail review. The last one I did was back in 2016 and I reviewed sending an airmail for a small box for about $27.00. That rate was a promo rate back in 2016 and has since increased.

Today I’m doing a review on their LBC Air Packet service which promises 4-7 day business time delivery.

Now first the important stuff:

The air packet is a plastic envelope about 9×12 in dimensions.  The rate is $8.00 and 1 lbs limit  for documents or books.  If you are sending other items that aren’t documents then it is $10.00.

There are item restrictions.   Like no cash, jewelry, no liquids and no prescription medication.  Obviously no perishable items either.  However, there are some “liquids” that are allowed as shown in what I delivered.

Shampoo, lipstick, lipgloss, lotions, body creams and mists such as Victoria Secret or Bath Bodyworks mists are ok. However, they will require you to have them properly packed and secured to avoid leakage.  One strict restriction, you cannot send more that 10 of the same item. Though jewelry are not allowed even fake accessories, arts and craft items and hair accessories are allowed.

 

Now what did I sent out.  I was sending a few cosmetic items to my friend Alex in Manila.  She asked for a box for Fenty lip shimmer set from Sephora which comes as 3pack. Next a was another lip treatment that comes in a tube. A 2 pack sharpie art pen and some nail art adhesive foil that was inside a round & capped plastic container.  The rule is to bubble wrap the breakables or squeezables and keep everything under 1 pound.

Also for any airmail regardless if it is a packet or a box, you need to bring them to LBC  for inspection.

LBC clerks does a thorough check of the contents of each package to discourage sending banned or contraband items. They are weighed there and they do the final sealing for you.

LBC Clerk doing final inspection & seal of boxes and packets

I bought by box on Saturday June 23rd at the local LBC office in National City.  They checked the contents of my items and even asked me the purpose of each. Had to explain them the purpose of the nail foil and luckily I had tested the foils on my nail the day before so I showed them what the foils are for.

I was given paperwork to write down Alex address in Manila as well as declaring the contents of the shipment. A sort of packing list. This is important. Take photos of what you are sending as your form of documentation.

LBC Tracking

LBC Online Tracking

After filling out the paperwork, I gave the shipment bag to the LBC  clerk which she did a final check, making sure the bubble wrap secured the items and then weighed them.

Every thing, the sharpie, Fenty lipgloss, lip treatment and nail foil along with its protective casing only weighed .5lbs or 8 ounces.  Meaning I could have added more items.

To be honest I worried that everything felt heavier than a pound so I was very happy with the outcome.

I was told the box will fly out to Manila on Tuesday June 26th and  will take a total of 5-7 business days to deliver.  I was given my tracking number which I sent to my friend Alex.

Here is a timeline of how FAST it actually got to my friend Alex. The packet was delivered to her residence during the early afternoon hours of June 30th Saturday (June 29th US PST Time).  The total number of days was only 7 days and 3 of those days included the travel time itself.

23-Jun	26-Jun	30-Jun
Sent to LBC USA	Air fly out	Delivered: Manila

Happy to say I was impressed with the 3-day turnaround. The last box I sent took about 5 days to get to Manila but still the service was fast.

There are some things I would like to add as observations I got from other customers with me mailing  Balikbayan Airboxes to the Philippines.

LBC Air Box $32 12 pound airbox

Again depending on the box size and weight, there are package tiers for you to select.  There was one for 12 lbs that was for $32 being sent by the customer behind me.

He also sent some valuable electronic items like an iPhone and ipad. HOWEVER, for electronics new or used. You need to pay an electronic tax fee on top of your shipment fee. The man sending out an ipad and iphone spent $44 for each electronic.  He was advised it would be cheaper if his relatives buys the same items locally in the Philippines or just take it with him when he flies out to the Philippines.

His box was thoroughly reviewed by the LBC clerk and a few items were not alowed to ship like a wristwatch and an Apple watch.

Final thoughts. Though I am not a fan of LBC’s sea cargo shipping of Balikbayan Boxes  as they are far more expensive than local competitor cargo vendors, I am very, very happy with LBC’s air packet and air box service.  The fact you can send something for  $10.00 from the US-Manila in about 5-7 days is impressive and am planning to use their services again. The next time I will be sending a book to my dad.

For those interested in using your local US LBC Air mail shipping, do call and check for promos as rates do change. Check and comply with rules of what you can and cannot ship and always document using photos what you are mailing out.

 

Hope this guide and review helps. Till the next post.

Special Thanks to Alex for taking photos of the delivered items. You can check out her Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/xsiaco  as she does reviews of beauty, fashion and craft items from Japan, Korea & Singapore.