Cost of Shipping things back to UK

Hello all  - I hope you had a great christmas and let's hope we all have a wonderful New Year!

Okay, I know this has probably been asked loads of times before, but please bear with me and help me having to trawl back through all the posts on this subject.

Its about the cost of shipping (hence the title <winks>)...

I'm the brit and my hubby is the USC.  I've been in USA for 3 years on and off now - married in April and because I put down the wrong code, I was denied my EAD.  It will be a waste of time refiling it all over again, not to mention the cost  .   

With only the one wage coming into the house, and our savings gone  :\\\'(, its going to be a case of me going back on my own to get a job and somewhere for us to live before we even begin to apply for hubby's spousal visa.

We are not bothered about any furniture, just some sentimental stuff that we wish to keep.  Therefore, we will only have a couple of boxes to be shipped.

I need to find out, who will do this at the best price? It wont matter to us how long the boxes take to arrive - its not stuff that we are going to need you see.

Any help on this would be appreciated... and I'm sure that now we have decided on a month, there is going to be many questions asked by us both  .

Hubby will be joining himself in the next couple of days.... he keeps asking me questions that I really can't answer him, stuff like his computer etc  , which I'm sure some of you out there will help

Thanks.

Pauline

The post office will give you the best rate for only a few boxes.  I shipped 10 boxes in August for $650.  You can send them surface and it should take between 6-8 weeks for them to arrive.  Good luck with your move!

Thanks for that info .. can you tell me approx what size the boxes were please?

Thanks.

Pauline

Most of my boxes weighed between 45 and 55lbs.  The post office can give you the size limits but I think you can't ship boxes bigger than 120 inches combined height and width.  I wasn't even close to the size.  Weight can't be more than 60lbs per box.

Most of my boxes weighed between 45 and 55lbs.  The post office can give you the size limits but I think you can't ship boxes bigger than 120 inches combined height and width.  I wasn't even close to the size.  Weight can't be more than 60lbs per box.

did you got hit with any customs fees/taxes ?

No.  All my customs forms said my items were previously owned personal items.  None of my boxes were even inspected. 

My situ was the same as Kristi's -- sent about 10 boxes via USPS air mail for a little over $600...and no customs duties paid.

(My mom sent my final box, which was just sheets and towels, and she checked "merchandise" rather than "gift".  We had to pay £45 in customs duty!  Thanks mom.    )

I didn't ship mine via air mail.  It went by surface.  MUCH cheaper than air mail but it took about 6 weeks for my stuff to arrive.

Kristi, how much did it cost you and what weights were they?  I'm just trying to figure out if its cheaper to just get a flight and take two big suitcases, plus a large carry on bag with me.  Also, ask the airliners how much extra they charge for another suitcase!

Pauline

My boxes were between 45-55lbs and I shipped 10 of them.  I spent about $650.  It really depends on how long you'll be living here and what you feel you can't live without.  I shipped the necessities and I didn't want to have to buy a lot of things when I got here.  I still had expenses to set up house.

I brought 3 large suitcases and a carry-on.  I think I paid $130 on Virgin for an extra bag.

Virgin is now $140 per extra bag. 
You can gamble, but I really mean gamble... by taking a packed smaller bag and seeing if you can take it onboard.  I honestly did this - thinking it would be my carry on - but the moment I stepped inside the terminal, they insisted on weighing it (all I was concerned with and read about had been measurements, not weight), and it was too heavy to carry on, so they made me check it.
I was genuinely upset, but played up a bit, and the gentleman checking me in looked at how small a bag it is, plus, the porter was there, who had helped me try to repack things, and we both stated that even if the bag was empty it would be too heavy... and the check-in guy took pity on me and didn't charge me.
But who knows.
Overall, I think it's cheaper to ship.
Also, my friend, LittleNicky on here, is in the process of moving... you might send him a message asking him how he's going about it.  I think he found some deal, but it's got restrictions on size.  I'm not sure.
And be careful what's shipped by ground; I did that with one box, and it looked like Ace Ventura had been in charge of it... kicked around, other heavy boxes tossed on top of it, etc.  I got a couple of cracked tape/ cd cases, etc.

I had a few casualties as well, a picture with broken glass and a broken coffee mug.  Not much considering how battered my boxes were.  Pack carefully and use lots of bubble wrap!