weighing the cost of uk furniture vs shipping

i'm wondering if people wouldn't mind sharing a ballpark figure for how much they spent on bedroom furniture in the uk?  from what i can tell, it looks to be somewhat expensive.

i've gotten a quote to ship my full size bed, dresser, nightstand, a small tv stand, and a number of boxes for $1100, door to door.  this is all i need to take with me and seems like the more cost effective option, esp given that i love my bedroom furniture and mattress/box spring. 

is there any reason why i should not ship this? 

did anyone have any issues with their items being damaged or with pests getting into the items during shipment?  is it worth the hassle, even if it saves me money to ship it?  i was convinced i would just buy all new furniture when arriving but the quote seems like such a great deal (it's upakweship, which everyone seems to have a good experience with on this board).  i've also got someone from allied coming to give me an estimate later in the week, as well. 

I shipped my furniture and had no problems or regrets.

Especially if you are keen to ship the boxes (books, clothes and other things you want to keep) - you might as well include the furniture. 

That being said, there do seem to be a lot of good deals on furniture around (not sure about the quality).

I shipped a ton of furniture over and haven't regretted it for a second! No damage, nothing lost, no pests. It's definitely worth it, and I think $1100 is an excellent price. I haven't bought bedroom furniture in the UK, so don't have any prices for you - but if were looking to buy on a budget, you could always go to charity shops, car boot sales, etc. and buy second-hand stuff.

thanks for the initial responses!

i should have probably added that i'm very particular about furniture, having grown up near a really famous furniture city and used to buying high-end stuff.  i also need a quality mattress/box spring or else my back ends up all out of sorts. 

i'm definitely leaning towards shipping things over assuming i can lock in that rate i was quoted, but still trying to weigh out the hassle of it all! 

Wow!  That seems like a really good price.  I'm in a similar situation--very picky about furniture and weighing the cost/convenience of bringing a couple of things I really like v. buying there (or getting a furnished place).  If I had a quote of $1100, I would definitely bring them with me.

it does seem like an extraordinary good deal, huh? i want to go home and measure and double check the cubic feet they're estimating...if they've underestimated, i could end up owing more if i go over the space they've quoted me on.   perhaps the recession has caused their prices to go down a bit, i wonder?

That sounds like a really good deal, especially if you love your particular bed/mattress and need it to be just right for your back (I can relate, I have back and hip problems and have never yet had a mattress that didn't cause me pain) -- I would say go ahead if you can lock this in.

It's not that you probably couldn't find replacements right for you and at the right price for you in the UK, but if you can keep what you already have but ship it for a great price, I'd say go for it.

My paranoia kicked in after I spent a couple of hours:  have you checked out the company on movingscam.com?  It's a site a lot of people on here have recommended.  I guess there are international movers who will add lots of extra charges, etc, before delivering your goods.  Given that the price is so good, maybe it's because they are disreputable?  Not trying to be negative, just careful.

This thread has got me fantasizing about being able to bring my beloved dining room table. . . 

i've started to have similar reservations...the company has been recommended by many on this board (upakweship) but i really need to spend some time tomorrow evening measuring my belongings...i feel like the quote is based on a size that i will inevitably go over, meaning extra fees would be tacked on ($11 per 1 cubic foot over the quoted amount).  that could add up.

i should know more on thursday when another company (allied) comes to my house to do a free estimate.  i'm curious to hear what they price the move as... will post again with an update once i know more!

i'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed that it works out. 

Given that the price is so good, maybe it's because they are disreputable?  Not trying to be negative, just careful.

It's because with Upakweship you're expected to do all the prep work yourself ... I think. Is that how it works, lilybelle?

I brought over a three-bedroom flat's worth of furniture, and used a traditional removals firm. They did all the packing for me, in addition to completing all the customs forms and other necessary paperwork. I don't know if Upakweship does that or not. However, I paid about seven times what lilybelle is paying. Still, for me, it was well worth it. I had a lot of art and a ton of antique furniture which I just couldn't have left it behind.

Yeah, I think that you're relatively safe with those guys.

I shipped a dresser and my kitchen table along with boxes.  Both came with no damage, one being an antique, the other a modern, cheapo piece of furniture that I only sent because we had refinished it and it wasn't going to cost extra to add it to the shipment.

We spent almost what your quote was on a new bed.  Granted, it was before the ressession, and our bed is a UK King, but what we paid is probably on the low end for bed furniture.

Good luck.

My experience with UPakWeShip was great, with no extra costs.

They quoted me a set price for a volume of boxes taking up 100 cubic feet. They didn't seem to have a weight limit, so I pakced what I wanted as long as it stayed within what I measured at home to be the 100 cubic feet.

You do all your own packing with UPak (hence the name: "You Pack; We Ship").

As for paperwork, customs, tax duties and getting a customs and duties man ( I think that's what they are called) -- other companies told me I'd have to find and hire my own for a whole separate fee paid to that person/operation.

But UPakWeShip offer all of those services; they took care of all the customs and duties on the arrival of your shipment to port. I think the one and only thing more to pay was a £34 port fee I think...but that was told to me up front before I'd even shipped, so it was not an unexpected extra.

I went with Upak because weight didnt seem to be limited, the cubic volume was more than enough for me, and because they offered all paperwork done for me at arrival port, while other companies said that was a separate thing I'd have to arrange, which sounded like one more headache to me.

The only "paperwork" UPak do require is that you fill out their own forms that they e-mail to you, with simply details of the UK delivery location, a contract, and also, they ask that you send them a list of  the type of contents of each box. I went overboard with details of every item -- not sure they needed that, but everything when through smoothly at customs as it seemed like they didn't even open my boxes to check. (Customs man must have looked at my tedious lists ["1 book: "Harry Potter and the....."] and thought "Yeah yeah okay....")

For pick up and delivery, they can do door-to-door, picking it all up from your home and delivering it to your new home, without you having to take it anywhere or go get it. Or you can do half -- in my case, I took all my boxes to the local designated dropoff warehouse, thus saving some money of UPak's total quote for full door to door. Then I had them just deliver straight to my door in the UK. Or you can pick it up from port if you want to.

I felt they offered a great service. I had called several local and not so local companies who faffed around talking about having to pay separate fees for what happens at the UK port, and they also charged much more. UPak was so straight-forward and simple in what they offered that it was a breath of fresh air so I went for it, and found them great to work with the rest of the way. Very happy with my experience of them. 

thanks for the feedback on upakweship!

looking into this a bit further, i think i will go over the size limit they have quoted.  i still think this could end up being a very good deal, though i will have to pay extra for them to load my furniture for me. 

i had allied come out to my place to do a free in-home estimate.  they have estimated the weight and cubic space i would need (adding in a few more items than listed in the above quote) and have offered me a quote for expedited shipping (30 days), including packing and unpacking everything for me, for just under $2500. 

i need to talk to my boyfriend about this a bit further, but at this point, i definitely think shipping these items would be worth it.  i can not only take my bed and big furniture, but my massive book collection, favorite dishes, etc.  i am thrilled!   

now to decide which company to choose! 

anyone ever used allied?