HELP! Need advice on shipping!

so, heres my pickle.  All I have to ship is personal items, no furniture.  So, I got a quote from uPakWeShip for a shared ocean container, 8 week delivery time.  From SF to Bristol.  100 gross cubic feet, which is 4'x4'x6' tall, boxes shrink wrapped onto a pallet.  $800 includes delivery to his door in Bristol, and all customs forms etc.  I have to deliver the boxes to their dock (20 minute drive from me, and I can borrow a friends truck)

My other option is of course, what lots of you did and use USPS.  My concern with that is the weight of each box.  The ocean container is by space, not weight.  The benefit of USPS is I can slowly pack stuff up and send several boxes at a time.   With the container, I have to have it all ready to go at once.  I want to start shipping my stuff over now, even though Im not moving until January.

Any advice is GREATLY appreciated as I have a hard time with making decisions (such a Libra)!! The easy part was meeting Rich and marrying him!  The hard part is moving my life across an ocean!!

I used uPakWeShip when moving to the UK. I would endorse using them as I had a good experience.

I guess it all depends on whether you want to ship everything at once or as you mentioned pack slowly. I think its easier to do it all at once and not have to worry either each separate box is going to reach your destination.

Best of luck! 

Another Libra (that's me) chose the USPS route.  It gave me time to sort through my stuff -- give to friends/family, sell on ebay, donate to charity, ship, bring with me -- while still maintaining a normal life before the move.  First, I sent non-essential items, like books, via surface, and they took about 5 weeks from NY to London.  The essential items, like some housewares, some clothes, and some bric-a-brac, I sent later via air and they took about 1.5 to 2 weeks.  I used some pack-and-ship type cardboard boxes and also some wine boxes that I covered in plain brown paper.  The wine boxes held up great.   Everything did get here in one piece.  No duties/taxes were collected from me and nothing was opened for inspection.  My most expensive box was about $180.  It weighed approximately 60lbs, and I shipped it air.  Good luck with your decision!

so, Im adding my king size mattess to my ocean container, its a california king ( 6' x 7') for another $400.  Considering what a new king size mattress costs in the UK, the $400 is much cheaper!

Good luck finding a bedroom to fit a bed that big.  My ex has a US queen sized bed and had a devil of a time getting it up the stairs and fitting it in his room.  A Cal King is a huge bed by UK standards and most rooms won't accomodate it along with a wardrobe, etc.

I hired an international moving company who moved my entire house for £3500. Including packing and insurance. I thought it would be cheaper than furnishing an entire house from scratch when I moved over here.