# Request for Help - Shipping a product from USA.



## pagbati (Apr 9, 2014)

I’ve been trying to get hold of naked barley, also known as hull-less or e-barley, for quite a while now. For whatever reason, the companies that usually supply it in UK have been out of stock for nearly a year so that’s no longer an option.

I’ve sourced the product in USA, but the company doesn’t ship outside the country. This is the first time I’ve needed to purchase a product from the USA, so I don’t really want to set up a USA mail box purely to receive a 2 or 4lbs bag of barley. I was wondering if any USA members are planning on sending a balakbayan box or other mode of shipping from the US to the Ph and would consider including this particular item in their shipment.

I am able to purchase the product online and pay for it in US$, but of course a US address is required for delivery. Here’s the website if anyone’s interested. Organic Ancient Grain eBarley | Grain Place Foods

If any member can assist with the shipment, kindly let me know and we can discuss payment details by PM. Any other suggestions are of course welcome.


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## art1946 (Nov 30, 2017)

Why are you wanting e-barley? I was raised on a farm in Ohio and we raised barley. 

art


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Hopefully someone can help you out Pagbati and.... Have you tried a store chain here called Healthy Options, most stores can special order, here's a link. Healthy Options

Store locations. Store locations


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## art1946 (Nov 30, 2017)

Hey Mark

I doubt if they have barley in the Philippines. Maybe an online store there would have access to getting it. Shucked barley isn't easy to come by. My dad use to plant fields of barley. When getting the barley out of the fields the hull is still on the grain.

art


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

https://www.lazada.com.ph/products/organic-bobs-red-mill-barley-pearl-pearled-hull-less-grains-berries-100g-repacked-i2060532878-s9151478071.html?



Chuck


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## fmartin_gila (May 15, 2011)

I will be getting a mailing from my forwarder in the states about the end of Feb or early March (when my tax info gets there) if that would work for you. I live in Mandurriao so wouldn't be too hard to work out the details.

Fred


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

bidrod said:


> https://www.lazada.com.ph/products/organic-bobs-red-mill-barley-pearl-pearled-hull-less-grains-berries-100g-repacked-i2060532878-s9151478071.html?
> 
> 
> 
> Chuck


Nice find Chuck, I looked for a while and couldn't find much.

I really miss the Cambells Beef & Barely soup or actually I'd like to make it myself with my own barely, I just may give this a try.

Even Flaxseed meal on my ceral, I used to work for a Supplement company and we got most of these things free but so expensive or hard to find here, online ordering sure has changed that.


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

M.C.A. said:


> Nice find Chuck, I looked for a while and couldn't find much.
> 
> I really miss the Cambells Beef & Barely soup or actually I'd like to make it myself with my own barely, I just may give this a try.
> 
> Even Flaxseed meal on my ceral, I used to work for a Supplement company and we got most of these things free but so expensive or hard to find here, online ordering sure has changed that.








flax seed - Buy flax seed at Best Price in Philippines | www.lazada.com.ph


flax seed Philippines - Shop for best flax seed online at www.lazada.com.ph




www.lazada.com.ph





Chuck


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

bidrod said:


> flax seed - Buy flax seed at Best Price in Philippines | www.lazada.com.ph
> 
> 
> flax seed Philippines - Shop for best flax seed online at www.lazada.com.ph
> ...


I also see they sell corn flower differing variations and ingredients for corn bread or I could also make corn dogs.

I wish I knew how to make tamale's lime the ones I bought from sn elderly lady in Tijuana... Right at the San Yisdro border crossing I usually ran into women selling tamales.


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## pagbati (Apr 9, 2014)

art1946 said:


> Why are you wanting e-barley? I was raised on a farm in Ohio and we raised barley. art


I intend to make Ezekiel Bread and e-barley or hull-less barley is best for sprouting. The hulled barley that you probably grew in Ohio has an indigestible hull that adheres to the grain; its therefore usually removed during processing. Hull-less barley has an outer hull that’s loosely attached to the kernel and falls off during harvesting.
If you’re interested, here’s a link explaining what Ezekiel bread is. https://draxe.com/nutrition/ezekiel-bread/ I’ll try and attach a photo of the end product.


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## pagbati (Apr 9, 2014)

bidrod said:


> https://www.lazada.com.ph/products/organic-bobs-red-mill-barley-pearl-pearled-hull-less-grains-berries-100g-repacked-i2060532878-s9151478071.html?
> 
> 
> Chuck


Thanks for the link Chuck; that’s a very interesting product - ‘Organic Bobs Red Mill Barley Pearl Pearled Hull Less Grains’. I’ve never come across ‘Pearl’ and ‘Hull-Less’ in the same description before, it’s usually one or the other. I need to be able to sprout the barley and one cannot normally sprout pearl barley as it is has been polished to remove the bran ++. However, I’ve been checking this product online and it seems that some people have had success in sprouting it.

Based on that and despite the cost, I’ll definitely give it a try. If it doesn’t sprout, then it’ll go into the soup pot. Here’s a link providing more info on the different sorts of barley for those that are interested. https://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/whole-grains-101-orphan-pages-found/types-barley


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## pagbati (Apr 9, 2014)

fmartin_gila said:


> I will be getting a mailing from my forwarder in the states about the end of Feb or early March (when my tax info gets there) if that would work for you. I live in Mandurriao so wouldn't be too hard to work out the details. Fred


Thank you for that very generous offer Fred. I’m going to try the Bob’s Red Mill product (Lazada) in the link provided by Chuck earlier and see if I can sprout it. If it works, problem solved. If not, then I’d like to take you up on your kind offer some time in the new year. Thanks again.


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## art1946 (Nov 30, 2017)

hey Pagbati

thanks for the info about the Barley. Never knew that. I was a kid when we raised barley on the farm.

art


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## pagbati (Apr 9, 2014)

M.C.A. said:


> Hopefully someone can help you out Pagbati and.... Have you tried a store chain here called Healthy Options, most stores can special order, here's a link. Healthy Options Store locations. Store locations


Thanks for your input Mark. I've just checked Healthy Options online store and I'm afraid they don't stock this item. Purely FYI, over the years I've e-mailed this company and sent messages via their website enquiring about the availability of various products and I've yet to receive a reply. Their lackadaisical approach in responding to customers is typical of what we so often see here.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

pagbati said:


> Thanks for your input Mark. I've just checked Healthy Options online store and I'm afraid they don't stock this item. Purely FYI, over the years I've e-mailed this company and sent messages via their website enquiring about the availability of various products and I've yet to receive a reply. Their lackadaisical approach in responding to customers is typical of what we so often see here.


Many of the companies won't answer emails they don't have the staffing it's best to actually deal with the individual store. 

I ordered product from a store and they eventually came in or they decided to buy limited stock, I've done this a couple times now.


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

M.C.A. said:


> Many of the companies won't answer emails they don't have the staffing it's best to actually deal with the individual store.


 Its a general error in Phils to not answer emails!!! Very few answers and if they answer its often very slow. (The only general exception I have found are real estate brokers, most of them answer.)
I believe they have enough staffing, but to bad organiced.
They are to bad organiced anyway even if not having enough staffing, because if not affording enough staffing it depend of their bad organisation, which make they MISS to get customers by not answering messages, which could have made them afford more staffing otherwice... 

Compare: In Northwest Europe its to bad if not answer within max 2 days even if it need special offer calculation. 
Most of even middle size Chinese busineses answers within *minutes*...  even at their night hours! So not odd chinese businesses get more and more of the world market. Bad chinese quality is a myth many western companies try to explain their short commings at  Chinese production make BOTH bad and good quality. Many of the good quality "western" brands are in reality made in CHINA... 

Btw - Do any American know *result of Trump's "geting back jobs to Americans" ?* It scared up Call Centers in the Philippines some years ago. 
Did many jobs got moved to USA? If so - How did customers react at the raised prices because of the raised costs?


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## magsasaja (Jan 31, 2014)

pagbati said:


> Thanks for your input Mark. I've just checked Healthy Options online store and I'm afraid they don't stock this item. Purely FYI, over the years I've e-mailed this company and sent messages via their website enquiring about the availability of various products and I've yet to receive a reply. Their lackadaisical approach in responding to customers is typical of what we so often see here.


Healthy options do stock hull-less barley. Not sure if its in their online store but they do have it in their branches.


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## magsasaja (Jan 31, 2014)

[QUOTELunkan, post: 15291237, member: 1750126"]
Its a general error in Phils to not answer emails!!! Very few answers and if they answer its often very slow. (The only general exception I have found are real estate brokers, most of them answer.)
I believe they have enough staffing, but to bad organiced.
They are to bad organiced anyway even if not having enough staffing, because if not affording enough staffing it depend of their bad organisation, which make they MISS to get customers by not answering messages, which could have made them afford more staffing otherwice... 
[/QUOTE]

There is a reason why they do not answer emails and having tried the online stuff since Covid hit we have decided to stick to our traditional wholesale/retail stores here in the Philippines. 
The vast majority of inquiries are time wasters and the rest ask so many questions it is not cost affective.


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

magsasaja said:


> The vast majority of inquiries are time wasters and the rest ask so many questions it is not cost affective.


 IF thats the reason, they are bad at sorting which are worth answering 

I still claim its a general "business cultural" error, because almost all officials dont answer neither. An exception answered, but she only forwarded me to an other, who forwarded me to an other - who never answered 🤣 about a very important business thingy - I mean could have become if I would have liked the answer...

Philippine business culture at middle and big level are almost all crap anyway. They lie a lot and deny it even when proven and no one of middle and rich Manila Filipinos seemed to find that remarkable !!! back when I had much contact with such people to learn differences in business culture. Later I have found some good exceptions but they are very few.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Lunkan said:


> IF thats the reason, they are bad at sorting which are worth answering
> 
> I still claim its a general "business cultural" error, because almost all officials dont answer neither. An exception answered, but she only forwarded me to an other, who forwarded me to an other - who never answered 🤣 about a very important business thingy - I mean could have become if I would have liked the answer...
> 
> Philippine business culture at middle and big level are almost all crap anyway. They lie a lot and deny it even when proven and no one of middle and rich Manila Filipinos seemed to find that remarkable !!! back when I had much contact with such people to learn differences in business culture. Later I have found some good exceptions but they are very few.


Lunkan, it's like banging your head on the wall because you do know that email and calling a Philippine business has always been a wasted effort, unless it's your Internet service or the Philippine Bureau of Immigration.

So it's gonna be a visit to the business, that's how it's always has been and that's how it will remain, so for now if you emailed or called a business and didn't get a response Lol... come on already, and for those that haven't been to the Philippines please... It's a 3rd world developing nation so don't expect much but if it turns out positive, what a bonus.


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

M.C.A. said:


> Lunkan, it's like banging your head on the wall because you do know that email and calling a Philippine business has always been a wasted effort, unless it's your Internet service or the Philippine Bureau of Immigration.


 Yes. Their bad handling can be both bad and good though for guys as I,
because it make it easier to become better than businesses compeeting with us  
((But there are few such businesses, which will manage to compeete with us even without that email error, if they dont make the changes needed in the errors in their common production method, which we will change as soon as we get the permit to start working to correct that.))



M.C.A. said:


> So it's gonna be a visit to the business, that's how it's always has been and that's how it will remain, so for now if you emailed or called a business and didn't get a response Lol... come on already, and for those that haven't been to the Philippines please... It's a 3rd world developing nation so don't expect much but if it turns out positive, what a bonus.


 Well. Being a third world country is an explaination,
BUT NOT a reason to stay at that level 
E g when Sovjet and the Berlin wall fell, a Help-to-self-help organisation I founded assisted Estonia and Poland some in the beginning.
Now Poland has more millionaire in Swedish krona counting than Sweden have 
and Estonia JUMPED over some steps in development and did catch up good towards western Europe back when we assisted them. (After that have some mafia problems screwed up development, but I dont know much about later development by I have been concentrating at SE Asia over 10 years.)
(In both these countries there are regions and sections which havent developed good as others have.)


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Lunkan said:


> Yes. Their bad handling can be both bad and good though for guys as I,
> because it make it easier to become better than businesses compeeting with us
> ((But there are few such businesses, which will manage to compeete with us even without that email error, if they dont make the changes needed in the errors in their common production method, which we will change as soon as we get the permit to start working to correct that.))
> 
> ...


You think the mafia can be troublesome just wait until you meet crab mentality.


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## magsasaja (Jan 31, 2014)

Lunkan said:


> Yes. Their bad handling can be both bad and good though for guys as I,
> because it make it easier to become better than businesses compeeting with us
> ((But there are few such businesses, which will manage to compeete with us even without that email error, if they dont make the changes needed in the errors in their common production method, which we will change as soon as we get the permit to start working to correct that.))
> 
> ...


Is your business e-commerce or do you you plan to make a product?
I am curious as i have lived and worked here for 26 years and watched many a foreigner who ran a successful business in their home country fail here. I also know some who have been successful, as they managed to be more flexible and actually put in the hours running it themselves.


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

magsasaja said:


> Is your business e-commerce or do you you plan to make a product?


 Its making physical products. 



magsasaja said:


> I am curious as i have lived and worked here for 26 years and watched many a foreigner who ran a successful business in their home country fail here.


 Yes. Some things need to be done different in the Philippines to even have a chance to succeed in Phils, e g avoid the problem to not get to many copying your business to close to yours, which is very common in Phils. To do that it better be a businesses 
1 /which few can/will copy by
-cost to much to start for most Filipinos - plus preferingly something the Filipinos with money dont like to do, which can be better be rural 
-needing knowledge few have.
or 2/ being something not sensitive for close copying. Most *productions* are not sensitive by the sellings are elsewhere anyway, as long as the raw material access dont become to low.

But if through internet, some of such can even be having same customers as if living in our birth countries. 
((I have only one such client left in my Swedish business, which I can handle from anywhere. Not related to my business in Phils - other than business consulting knowledge can be used for both  



magsasaja said:


> I also know some who have been successful, as they managed to be more flexible and actually put in the hours running it themselves.


 Yes. My business fullfil both 1 and 2 above = Production and few Filipinos know how to do it. I kind of "copy" Filipinos  by I am buying excisting businesses from Filipinos, but I will not copy their wrong handling  By I have knowledge about how to handle such business, which even few of Filipino owners of such businesses have!!! make I have that advantage too. 
As with the businesses I have had before, it will be much work in the "beginning" until the errors earlier owners have done are corrected and the workers have learned how to do things, but after that it will be much less work needed by me. (Until it will become time for an exbantion phaze, which I expect it will be money from earnings to in around 5 years.)
I am lucky I have found a Filipino (tribe) , who WANT to learn how to do things effective, and almost whole the team he had allready are hard working and DONT need to be checked any often (except two  who are honest but some lazy so they take extra breaks if not checking them. But I dont bother anyway how many hours they work, We will pay based on how much they get DONE in correct quality.)

Btw - In my home country I have worked some as business consultant (charging a percentage of IMPROVED results at my low/no cost changes). I have assisted some Filipinos for free improving their businesses. Sad for me I didnt charge a percentage  at one, which I changed from loss to so good earning so she needed to work only 2 - 4 days per month collecting her shares (before covid) plus when she needed to find new projects. She was good at finding opportunities allready but terrible at judging which have to high risk. I changed that by just changing her thinking a bit plus gave her a hint what type of opportunities to concentrate at finding. (She changed to finance projects where everyone earn by it.)
Capital is high valued in Phils compared to work, which make capital can get a much biger share of profits, so "only" need to make something which get a profit  
A common such in Phils is "harvest sharing" = One finance and other do (most of) the work. Then the common is first get the financiere back the investment and then they split the rest as agreed. It depend of how work intensive it is, but e g for rice growing is the common the investor get 25-33 % of the worth after he has got his money back. Its good for the farmer too by by the financing he can get biger harvest by affording good fertilizing and such. 

Ooops! I thought it was in an other topic, answering your question became off topic


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## pagbati (Apr 9, 2014)

magsasaja said:


> Healthy options do stock hull-less barley. Not sure if its in their online store but they do have it in their branches.


I've checked their online store and that product isn't there. Not sure I grasp the logic of that business strategy i.e., available in branches but not online; and I'm certainly not going to try and figure it out. As the company doesn't respond to e-mails, any idea which branch stocks hull-less barley?


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

pagbati said:


> Not sure I grasp the logic of that business strategy i.e., available in branches but not online;


The same as the many companies that advertise products only to find they are out of stock when you try and purchase.


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## pagbati (Apr 9, 2014)

Gary D said:


> The same as the many companies that advertise products only to find they are out of stock when you try and purchase.


That’s very true Gary and it’s not just here either. We’re nearing the end of the process of sending over a balakbayan box from UK and have been placing online orders. There have been quite a few examples where we googled an item and found it at a great price. However, when we clicked on the URL and were taken to the website, we found that the item was no longer in stock. These companies should be made to take down items when they are no longer available at the price shown. Of course, business’ probably see it as a good way to get people to visit their website, in the hope of getting them to buy other items. Tends to have the opposite affect on me.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

pagbati said:


> I've checked their online store and that product isn't there. Not sure I grasp the logic of that business strategy i.e., available in branches but not online; and I'm certainly not going to try and figure it out. As the company doesn't respond to e-mails, any idea which branch stocks hull-less barley?


The online stores, they don't show all their products, sort of similar to the S&R private food chain.


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## magsasaja (Jan 31, 2014)

pagbati said:


> I've checked their online store and that product isn't there. Not sure I grasp the logic of that business strategy i.e., available in branches but not online; and I'm certainly not going to try and figure it out. As the company doesn't respond to e-mails, any idea which branch stocks hull-less barley?


The branch at Festival Mall Alabang had stock last week. I wont be there again till next Wednesday but they seemed to have plenty of stock.


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## pagbati (Apr 9, 2014)

magsasaja said:


> The branch at Festival Mall Alabang had stock last week. I wont be there again till next Wednesday but they seemed to have plenty of stock.


Thanks for that.


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