Best Shipping Company?

Hi!  So I'm looking into movers.  My daughter and I will be moving to the UK around the beginning of August, 2018.  I know I'll need certain forms filled out, etc. I'll worry about that later.  LOL  What is everyone's favorite moving company?  I'm thinking Upakweship.  Has anyone had any issues with them?  Everywhere else I've found, they all ask how many rooms I'm shipping in order to get me a quote.  The only problem there is, while my daughter and I will be shipping approx. 3 rooms (2 br and her playroom), we're not shipping any furniture.  Only stuff.  So I'm thinking I can actually fit most everything in one of those U-Crate 100 boxes.  Or possibly the Air Freight option.  What does everyone suggest?  I'm needing to be as money conscious as possible, but my daughter has a snow globe collection that absolutely must travel safely.  She'd be devastated if they broke.  Also, they have the option of Terminal to Terminal, I'd just have to pay port charges and customs before I can pick up my stuff.  Would that work out to cheaper do you think or probably more expensive?  If people already covered this in other posts, I'm sorry.  But thanks for all your help!

We used Rainier as the move coordinator and our "stuff" is due to be delivered here this weekend. Unless something goes badly wrong at this point, I'd have to say I'm extremely pleased with Rainier - they did a lot for us with almost no notice.

We, too, had almost all boxes - I believe close to 70 of them.  We used Ranier's  "slow boat" method - they consolidated our stuff with other people's stuff and sent it when they had a shipment.  Their guys professionally did an international wrap of the few pieces of furniture we did have and got everything into two full-sized and one half-sized plywood crates. The total cost of Rainier (who used Sullivan Movers in San Diego as their pack-up/collection subcontractor on the outbound and a different company on the delivery end) was slightly less cost than if we would have shipped via UPAK with entirely less hassle.

The catch is, of course, that we had to prepare to "camp out" on this end until our stuff got here. It hasn't really been a problem - we brought what we needed in two suitcases each and have purchased anything we had to have right away on this end.  It's been about 2 and a half months in transit. So far we are completely satisfied with Rainier - they even sent us the name of the ship our stuff was on so that we could track it as it came over. 

Will amend this if the delivery doesn't go well, but am assuming there will be no problems.  (Fingers are triple-crossed.)

I suggest that you get quotes from several companies. Make sure they come to your place and that you specify precisely what you do and do not intend to have shipped. They should send you a written survey of the items and proposed cost to you. If you don't understand the survey they send to you, ask someone to explain it. Seriously - know exactly what they plan to charge you and for what. Make sure it specifies who handles customs-clearance is in there.  If you go terminal to terminal you may have to deal with customs yourself. I'm not sure it's worth the additional cost savings to do that....

Be sure to send your TOR in just as soon as you know what you want to take. You should be realistic on the list, and they do understand that your list may change somewhat before you actually import the goods.  Read up on what you can and cannot bring into the country - and seriously, don't try to sneak anything in. It's not worth the potential outcome (you could lose the whole shipment). When we sent ours in it was taking about 3 weeks from the time we sent the TOR request until the clearance number came back. Not sure of the timeline now, but I think it's the busy time of the moving cycle over the summer, so don't paint yourself into a corner - do it early, once you are closer to your move.

{Oh, that reminds me, there's another thing to ask a prospective mover. We were told by UPAK and a few others that no liquids were allowed. Including snow globes - same scenario, a treasured collection.  Best check with each carrier you vet so that your daughter doesn't get a nasty surprise on moving day.}

Best of luck!

A few final thoughts while I still remember this stuff:

In measuring for your pack-up, when you are looking at a 100cu.ft. shipping crate, be aware that it doesn't actually hold 100cu.ft. - that's the basic footprint of the box itself in the hold of the ship/truck. You can get about 80cu.ft. worth of stuff in one (give or take). You'll want to get the precise interior measurements from the company you're going to use so that you can sort out exactly how much space you actually have available.  (There always seemed to be "just one more thing that we really want to take" in our case, so it mattered.)

If you self-pack, be aware that the shipper may need to be able to see inside the boxes for their own liability purposes or they may refuse to take a self-pack job at all (except for entities like UPAK). If you self-pack, you may also only be eligible for the basic insurance (that covers if the entire load is lost or damaged beyond repair), so if you do self-pack and go with a company that will allow your snow globes, pack them really, really carefully. And be sure to read up on the insurance options.

Also, about the packing boxes. If you get some that say they measure, for example, 14"x14"x14" be aware that is the ~internal~ measurement, so you'll need to measure one assembled to calculate how many will go in your chosen shipping space if you intend to tetris boxes into a crate yourself. I would suggest going with one uniform size of box if you can - it will make it easier for whomever has to do the final pack of your pallet/box/crate. Our guys were really rather amazing at how much stuff they got in our big wooden crates - we had the "definitely must go" stack and several other items that we were preparing to leave behind due to lack of space, and those guys got them into the crate, too - including a large work table. But they ended up re-packing some of our stuff into other boxes to get it to fit in the crate.  (I have to say, in watching them work, they were really, really impressive packers. I've packed a lot of U-Hauls for moves in my day, and I've got nothing on those guys!)

Good luck!

Has your shipment arrived yet? Whats your final thoughts about Rainier? I live in Seattle and I like that they are right here as well. Our friends used UPak to ship from Seattle to Luxembourg but it was one 50 sq ft pallet. I think they said it cost $1200. We have a lot more stuff (not that we are taking everything we own). Its hard to get a visual on how big 50 sq ft is. haha

Would it be too private to ask how much Rainier charged fr your 100 sq ft?

Hi. Yes, it arrived within a few days of the original guesstimate given to us by Rainier.  They were great, were quick to respond when we contacted them with questions, and they were able to step in to help us out of a bind in a matter of a few days. They contract with local people on each end, so your experience with them would depend on who comes for your stuff and who delivers it, but once it's on the boat, it's on the boat. Rainier even gave us the name of the cargo boat so we could track the stuff once it was on the way. We had stellar service on the outbound with Sullivan Movers in San Diego, and decent service on the incoming portion of our delivery from Britannia (an English company who picked it up at the port in England and brought it up to us in Scotland).

We had two full 200 cu. ft. crates and part of a third (about 400-420 cubic feet in all). The complete cost with Rainier,  including the packing and unpacking and removal of debris on the other end inside our home, was (off the top of my head) around $5,500 from San Diego to the UK. We were up two flights on this end, and one flight in SD, so that stairs carry added a little bit to it. This was using their "slow" consolidation service. They picked our stuff up on April 22 and it arrived here in mid-July, as we were told it would. They have a faster service, but we didn't need "fast" just "cheap". 

You might contact Rainier and get a quote. They were cheaper than everyone else we spoke to (who was reputable). Rainer put our stuff in plywood crates, too. For the slow service they charge by footprint, not weight - which was good, as almost all of one of those crates was hardcover books, and the other was primarily dressers and an antique vanity.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for all the info. So did you just need to have everything you wanted to ship in a big pile and when they arrived, they put all of your boxes and furniture, etc. into the crates and then put them into the truck?    Or did they drop off the crates, you filled them and then when you were ready they came and picked them up?

Hi.  We had actually pre-packed a lot of stuff, but we need not have done. I had a lot of trinkets of sentimental value, and also we had a massive amount of books and journals that we inventoried as we packed so we'd know which were in what box.  The movers would have brought everything and done everything. All the larger items they did pack up - they did a full export wrap and pack (special paper with insulation stuff in it, heavy duty) on all our furniture and larger items. We had them repack our dishes and stemware as well - all was included.

They should send a surveyor out to your place. You tell them what's going and they'll put together a written estimate of cost for you.

Reminder that the 200 cubic feet wasn't actually 200 cubic feet - it was about 160. (About 80 per 100cu ft is usable packing space.)  Hope it helps, good luck!

I'm using International Sea and Air Shipping.  So far, I'm thrilled with them.  They packed up most of my house today and the container arrives tomorrow.  Hillary at the main office has been wonderful to deal with, and every time I call, I actually speak with her.  She remembers the details on my move, and has told me every step what to expect.

Of course, I haven't reached the other end, but I'm really happy so far.

That's more than half the battle. 

Happy Trails!