Shipping Service vs. Checking Boxes

I have tried to contact UPakWeShip (email for quotes and left messages) but no one has gotten back to me! :/

We have 6 boxes, all under 50lbs with clothes and different things for the house for our move to Scotland. We were told by the airlines that would could check up to 6 boxes at $80 per box and fly them over with us. This sounds fairly close to how much we would pay through a shipping service and MUCH cheaper than FedEx or UPS.

Has anyone else flown boxes over there with them? Any opinions or stories about it? I don't know how viable an option it is and if we will ever get through customs with all these boxes. Any help would be appreciated....

When we moved over to England last year, we brought 4 large rubbermaid containers full of household items as excess luggage and paid the extra fees.  We made sure they were within the size and weight requirements.  To seal them, we punched holes through the lid/container and closed them with zip ties.  We included a packing list and extra zip ties taped inside the container in case they needed to be opened at any time. We used permanent markers to write our name and final destination on them.  What was nice is we had all our things with us and didn't have to wait on a shipment to arrive and the cost was less than shipping.  Everything arrived with no problems.  Good luck on your move

I did exactly the same as debinator. I think I stole the idea from her in fact. 

I flew Aer Lingus since they had the best checked allowance (70lbs/bag) and best excess baggage rates from LAX at the time. I paid $300 and brought about ~350lbs with me. Everything arrived safe and sound.

I've travelled with one box as excess luggage. It is best to find out the size and weight requirements. Everything was intact when I arrived... a wee battered but that is to be expected with a box. I had a printer and a scanner in their packed original boxes inside and nothing was broken.

We flew over on the 28th of August. We had 4 suitcases (3 out of 4 over the weight limit) and 5 boxes (all under at about 40 pounds). We paid $110 per box on American Airlines, and he waived the overweight baggage charges, which was VERY nice!

Everything arrived safe and sound....though 2 people managing all of it when we arrived in Glasgow was a bit of a pain....

Here is a picture of our luggage when we arrived

i love the photo! how exactly did you manage to get all that to your hotel/flat?

also, i know someone who just went to luxembourg for a few months and they either waived her extra baggage charge or forgot about it.   

and to the people using rubbermaid containers, how did you get them to where you were staying?  just carry them?  i'm thinking about using 2 (hopefully, unless i need more room) of these



which are 2 for $50 on target.com and just under 59" linear, then using them for storage in london.  the main thing i'm not sure about is the drawers accidently opening, but i think duct tape should work and i can bring more if they need to be opened.  what do you guys think?

I used this type: http://www.nextag.com/rubbermaid-roughneck-storage-box/search-html

On my original trip, I had 2 of the 31gal size, and 2 of the 18 gal size. That was before AerLingus changed their excess baggage policies though. The 31 gal were 6 inches past the maximum size the website said would be allowed, but I had called and was told it was up to the person who checked me in. I went to the airport with those 2 containers packed with stuff that was not essential. The person who checked me in though, didn't bat an eye and I was not charged extra besides the excess baggage fee.

I felt like I had a huge amount of luggage until I actually got to the airport. People check some SERIOUSLY odd baggage!!

Once here, they were treated as my normal luggage and now I have stuff stored in a couple of them and the others are all nested within each other.

I would be hesitant to check those drawers as baggage due to the fact that the plastic is rigid and would prob crack if they were thrown about. And chances are they will be. Your call though.

Good luck!

I used this type: http://www.nextag.com/rubbermaid-roughneck-storage-box/search-html

On my original trip, I had 2 of the 31gal size, and 2 of the 18 gal size. That was before AerLingus changed their excess baggage policies though. The 31 gal were 6 inches past the maximum size the website said would be allowed, but I had called and was told it was up to the person who checked me in. I went to the airport with those 2 containers packed with stuff that was not essential. The person who checked me in though, didn't bat an eye and I was not charged extra besides the excess baggage fee.

I felt like I had a huge amount of luggage until I actually got to the airport. People check some SERIOUSLY odd baggage!!

Once here, they were treated as my normal luggage and now I have stuff stored in a couple of them and the others are all nested within each other.

I would be hesitant to check those drawers as baggage due to the fact that the plastic is rigid and would prob crack if they were thrown about. And chances are they will be. Your call though.

Good luck!

yeah i see how those are a lot more heavy duty than what i'm looking at, and the plastic bends.  thanks for the tip. i haven't flown a lot and never checked more than one duffel bag before, so i'm kinda new to this.  maybe i'll just look for cheap rolling duffel bags.  i also want to take my CPU in one of the bags/boxes/whatever i use, so i guess i should get something sturdier. 

oh wait, i just searched for the rubbermaid storboxes you used and some are $200 and some are $12.99.  if they're $12.99 i'll just steal your idea ha.

We had 6 huge duffle bag-type suitcases that we checked at the airport. We paid the oversize baggage charge with AA and everything got here safely - eventually. A few things like the glass in picture frames got broken, but otherwise everything was ok. Our biggest problem was that the luggage didn't arrive with us. We got to Heathrow and none of our stuff was there! We ended up having to wait 2 1/2 days before they finally delivered it.

Here's a question. What about breakable items like sets of dishes/glasses/mugs etc? Most of that stuff was given to use here in the UK as wedding presents. I really don't want to risk breaking anything when we eventually return to the US. Anybody else bring over similar items on the plane? We've also got Royal Doulton and Stowerbridge crystal too. I'm thinking we may have to send that stuff professionally shipped.

oh wait, i just searched for the rubbermaid storboxes you used and some are $200 and some are $12.99.  if they're $12.99 i'll just steal your idea ha.

They are around $10. Target, Home Depot, K-mart, Lowes, etc sell them so price shop. I think the link I gave you is to buy them by the dozen. I just used it to show you they style. Sorry for the confusion.

They are around $10. Target, Home Depot, K-mart, Lowes, etc sell them so price shop. I think the link I gave you is to buy them by the dozen. I just used it to show you they style. Sorry for the confusion.

ha ok, i wasn't sure. some of that stuff is expensive.  if they only had wheels i could stop worrying about it!

i love the photo! how exactly did you manage to get all that to your hotel/flat?

I booked a taxi the day before we left to pick us up at the airport and I told the service how much stuff we, and they said no problem. They had a big van there for us (though we had to wheel this stuff to car park 3 which was a little bit of a trek and tricky too!). it cost 35 pounds (as opposed to about 20-25) but he helped load and unload stuff for us, so I was more than happy to pay the fare....