Moving Back to US - Shipping Company Recommendations?

Hi!

We are moving back to the U.S. this fall.  Does anyone have any recommendations for a door-to-door shipping company? 

Thanks!!!

When I moved from the US this past November, I used Atlantic Relocation (they are partners w/Atlas). They were wonderful and I have no complaints about them. They partnered with a company here call Fox. I would try to touch base with either one or both of these companies and learn about what they have to offer. Even calling Atlantic Relocation in the US - they could probably help point you in the right direction, or you may even be able to organize everything with them.

I'm in the same boat, moving back around mid-April. Please share any info you find and I'll share what I could find out.

I'm also thinking whether this topic would be more appropriate in the "Repatriation" forum but I don't really want to post "yet another question about moving back"

We used Crown Relocations. Very happy with their service and would highly recommend them.

I spoke to a few companies and decided to go with Seven Seas.

Of course, the choice could be totally different depending on how much stuff one needs to move. In my case I estimate about 3-5 tea cartons.

I liked PSS Removals and Seven Seas on the phone. Both clearly explained their pricing structure so I can easily see how adding or removing another tea chest will affect my end price. Both gave me quotes immediately on the phone. Price-wise they are very close.

Robinsons took a whole day to send me a quote, it's about twice higher and I'm not even sure if I'm comparing apples to apples. Doree Bonner has not returned my call in about 2 days.

Insurance is a big drag for both PSS and Seven Seas as they charge 5% for all-risk. Ridiculously high. I'm looking to underwrite somewhere else, possibly with a US-based company - if anyone has any recommendations, I will appreciate it.

I used Stevens International from the US to UK, and they were terrible. Other people have mentioned they had good experiences with them, but I definitely didn't. My shipment, which I was told would take four to six weeks, took over five months. I moved at the end of May, and everything arrived in early November, in terrible condition.

For a small move (no furniture), I'd recommend looking into the Royal Mail. You can find out the cost on their website if you have your box's dimensions. I used them from the UK to Canada a month ago for seven medium-sized boxes, and everything arrived in just three days (was told it would be four days). In fact, when we arrived, we had slips waiting for us to pick up our boxes at the Post Office. It was around £350 for everything, which was far less than any other method I looked into.

Serena83, thank you for the suggestion! Checking out Royal Mail never crossed my mind but when the volume is not too big, they could be comparable with excess baggage shippers.

Apparently ParcelForce is their division that deals with heavy items. Max weight for USA is 30kg. It costs £169.20 per each 30kg box so if you're sendng only a couple of those the price is comparable to other shippers but with each extra box you're overpaying about £100. Delivery time is extremely fast - 3-5 days. Unfortunately max insured value is only £450.

Overall for my personal circumstances a sea-shipper will work better but ParcelForce is an interesting alternative.

To move here we used Southern Winds International, and we plan on using them again moving back as their quote was pretty reasonable and way under what we expected. We are still waiting on quotes from a couple of other companies, one of them being Crown Relocations.

Apparently ParcelForce is their division that deals with heavy items. Max weight for USA is 30kg. It costs £169.20 per each 30kg box so if you're sendng only a couple of those the price is comparable to other shippers but with each extra box you're overpaying about £100. Delivery time is extremely fast - 3-5 days. Unfortunately max insured value is only £450.

ParcelForce will actually go by dimensions, not the weight. I had several boxes (approx 60x30x30cm) near 30kg, and they were only around £50 each for their 4-day shipping option. Each box, I was told, could be insured up to £450.

Hi, to all those on here who recently made the move back to the US, maybe you could help me with something regarding customs forms for items you ship.

I'm an American moving back to the States, and the customs forms have me confused. I'm talking about the one for Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles. The movers say not to list any articles bought overseas and just attach their packing list (which will not break out what was purchased overseas and what wasn't).

I realized this morning they must not be experienced working with expats going home to the US, because doing it their way would imply that all of my goods were bought overseas, and they weren't. I *think* I need to check number 8 on part IV to show that I  have goods bought abroad and owned more than a year, and then list those items on the back. What did you do? Should the movers be itemizing the list? I'm pretty nervous now that I realized my movers probably don't know what to do in my specific case. Any help will be much appreciated -- I don't have long before the move!

Just wanted to let you know that my move from London to Seattle is completed. I went with Seven Seas Worldwide and everything worked out just fine. My boxes arrived a week early (the estimate is 8 weeks). Customer service was very good. The charges are very reasonable. No major complaints.