best shipping company to use - UK to US

[sunnybear 0]

Forgot to say Atlantic International did a great job and all my mans stuff is here safely! I believe he shipped in ummm November and it all arrived in January. The biggest item was a bed though. All the rest was boxes of dvds and computer stuff and personal things like that. So not a true full household of stuff!

[zoobuffalo 0]

i think it really varies! look at my quotes - they're pretty vastly different like that one being loads and not even being door to door! i guess the only way to do it for sure is to get quotes yourself like you're doing. i listed how much stuff i'm taking so you might be able to gauge some sort of an idea from that?

i'm calling john mason back tomorrow to say we're going with their quote. will be sure to report back on all stages of the process

[StillThePrettiest 3]

one of the things I've found most frustrating with trying to research shipping companies, Jeraly, is their complete inability to provide anything as simple as a price per cubic foot... I know it can depend on various factors, but even a range would be helpful

that said, I was given a recommendation today by a friend, Crown Relocations, and when I visited their website they did at least specify that when they talked about 'cartons' they meant 47cm x 45 cm x 45cm... gave me a bit of an idea at least, and the quotes form was pretty detailed

my friend RAVED about them, and the price she paid sounded too good to be true... I'm going to wait for details before getting too excited though

[Jeraly 4]

Thanks for all this guys - I am going through and bookmarking *everything*

[zoobuffalo 0]

have bitten the bullet and we're going with john mason. i called them yesterday to accept the quote and i had to scan and email over my husband's passport (we're doing it in his name to be on the safe side) and the acceptance of quotation form that they'd sent us. we fixed a removal date of the 11th april! wowowowowow so soon! today in the post i got a pack with the US customs forms and instructions on how to fill them out. am trying to do it all by myself right now while my husband's out at work! wah! it's all like declare items you have acquired abroad and their value etc, stuff you brought with you that was not made in the US... it's a bit complex can anyone advise?

[Jeraly 4]

Ewww - that sounds horrible... Are the instructions no help at all? It's useful to know that it takes a little while to get it all organised - I was just going to leave mine until the last minute... What pages of hubby's passport did you have to scan? Was it just the biographic data?

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

am trying to do it all by myself right now while my husband's out at work! wah! it's all like declare items you have acquired abroad and their value etc, stuff you brought with you that was not made in the US... it's a bit complex can anyone advise?

That is WAY more involved than what I had to do for Excess Baggage. I had to list (roughly) what was in each box, for example, Box 1: clothing, kitchen accessories, CDs. Box 2: amplifier, handbags. Etc, etc. I didn't go into what was acquired in the UK or elsewhere. I specified an overall estimate of value for the lot, and then individually for specific, more valuable pieces. This was at the instruction of Excess Baggage. I had no hold up with Customs when it arrived in the port, and owed no extra duty. I can only wonder if John Mason has a different protocol? Sorry if I can't be of more help. Perhaps you should call them and ask if, as returning resident, he has to declare each used household item. I have some vague memory that there is an exemption for this... Someone correct me if I'm wrong!

[zoobuffalo 0]

well it's all specific to your case, so the instructions just told me to list in everything in this one section that we're shipping that we've owned for under a year - so really it does take some thinking about and figuring out! i haven't been very specific, just said like 'kitchenware, worth about £30' stuff like that. will send it back to john mason today and hopefully they'll give a holler if anything's not right. yeah it was just the biographic info page of his passport they wanted. was feeling a little stressed out about it all this morning, trying to make sense of the forms, but feeling better now. but yeah probably best not to leave it too much to the last minute, i feel like i have done a bit and it's still 3 weeks till we go...

[zoobuffalo 0]

elmcitymaven that's really interesting... so you didn't have to fill these customs forms in at all? i was given the same forms by doree bonner. it's the US customs form 3299. just thought they were the same with every shipping co. as it all has to clear US customs. i have to do all that basic inventory stuff for each box too, but this was definitley required. hmm maybe shoulda gone with excess baggage... tho i am saving a bit of money so maybe it's worth the stress will call up about that tho - thanks!

[StillThePrettiest 3]

if I've understood you correctly, you've put the shipment in the name of USC, correct? could that be making a difference? so it's seen as an 'import' rather than a domestic move? I don't know how these things work, but that WAS something I was warned to be careful of...

Edited April 2, 2008 by StillThePrettiest

[zoobuffalo 0]

the people at john mason didn't say that it would make any difference. i was just doing it this way because i don't have my visa number yet to put on any forms etc. and we get to use his SS# and should be all fine. i'm sure it's all just formalities. the stuff i'm having to tick on the forms is mostly the same for residents and non-residents.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

To answer a couple of questions...

1) I did have to do the customs forms (including 3299), but I don't recall going into detail except for the clearly valuable stuff (lots of vintage hi-fi). We said for the others "Household effects, including clothes, CDs, books, kitchenware" and so on, and put a rough value on it all.

2) I was the named person, as a returning US resident.

To be honest, what we're bringing in is such small fry to Customs that you are not expected to list every book, CD, item of lingerie. Be truthful and clear, but you can be general when it comes to things like books and clothes and whatnot.

[zoobuffalo 0]

ah ok cool, well that sound pretty much like what i'm doing. just getting bogged down with the terminology and what not

[Lansbury 19]

one of the things I've found most frustrating with trying to research shipping companies, Jeraly, is their complete inability to provide anything as simple as a price per cubic foot...

That is strange as it would depend on if you want to send your item by sea, in which case the price is normal by volume ie cubic feet or by air in which case cost is dependant on the weight.

All the movers we talk to price our load by how many cubic feet it would need. Having worked out the cubic feet they all just immediately gave the cost of the actual shipping, and all were very close. Where the difference came in was on the other services being provided, such as packing and unpacking etc.

[StillThePrettiest 3]

oh, they're all happy to tell me a cost based on how many cubic feet I think I'll need, but the problem is I have no idea! quite apart from not being able to measure stuff - most of it's packed in boxes in the cellar, but it isn't all coming - I don't know whether they'll let me pack stuff under other stuff (eg under the legs of the sideboard which is, unusually, quite high off the ground) or whatever... you would THINK they could just give you a starting point, with whatever disclaimers they need, so potential customers would have a way to compare all the quotes they get, but maybe that's not in their interests

also, depending on how cheap/expensive it is, I'll take more/less