Shipping: US Company or Foreign?

[jle930sl 0]

Hey everyone. My fiance and I are trying to decide if it is worth shipping the stuff over that he wants when it comes time. He's looked into some German companies (where he's from) and wants me to look into some American - based companies to see if it's cheaper...

but my problem is that I don't really feel like I'm finding any information from him. A lot of the american based ones don't ship FROM another country, only TO the other country. A few other ones don't give you a lot of info, just make you fill out forms so they'll call you (and I signed up for a few of those, but am waiting for the calls).

Do American based companies ship from the other country to the US? Or are we better off just focusing our search on Germany Based companies?

Thanks!

P.S. He wants to ship about 12 boxes of household goods, his bed & mattress, his desk, and possibly some book shelves.

[Der Bücherwurm 1]

P.S. He wants to ship about 12 boxes of household goods, his bed & mattress, his desk, and possibly some book shelves.

Wouldn't it be cheaper for him to sell those things and just buy something new in the states? It cost me over $100 just to ship a small box with a tent and some sweaters and camping gear from Norway to the US.

UPS and FedEx are international. A South African friend of mine had stuff shipped from home to Germany on a boat. That was the cheapest way but it took her over 3 months to get her stuff.

[StillThePrettiest 3]

I shipped stuff from both the UK and Australia, and yes, it does take some time, but in the end I think you'll probably find it's worth it, if you can get a good company and a good deal... I spent a bit of money on it all, but I can say without QUESTION that it cost me far less than trying to replace all my stuff, and of course this way I have things that I know and like, and don't have to start all over again with choosing things

when I did my research, I focused on companies based where I was shipping FROM... you will find that many are international companies, but if you called them in the US they'd just refer you to their German (or European) branch; it's much better to just start where you're going to end up anyway! in my experience, it is WELL worth ringing round to a lot - you will probably find that quotes will vary quite widely, depending on a whole range of factors; when I was getting quotes in the UK, the most expensive quote was exactly double the cheapest! so you will see there's quite a bit of variation - lots of quotes means lots of choice. When you call, they will all ask you for a cubic foot amount - at that stage you will probably not have that much of an idea, but from what you said you're shipping I'd get quotes for between 100 and 150 cubic foot - the company you end up choosing should send someone out to the house to have a look at everything, and give you an exact price, but in the meantime if you ask for the same range from everyone you'll be comparing apples with apples, so to speak... most good international movers will quote you one price for them to send a crew to the house, package and box everything, take it to the shipyard, load it on to the ship, bring it to the US, and deliver it to your home at the other end... insurance is extra, and there may be extra charges if you are really far from an urban centre, or if there're access difficulties at either end (eg stairs), but otherwise it should be all included

oh, and they won't cover customs fees, and they scare you a bit with these stories about how it COULD cost you up to $5000, and I got a bit worried about that, but my customs fees from the UK were $10, and from Australia $62 (a larger load, plus I brought a couple of new things which I declared, so there was a fee for them)

good luck with it! it's very daunting, I know, but just work through it methodically, and make lots of lists, and you'll be fine

[jle930sl 0]

Thanks for the replies. We are slowly trying to get some ideas. He's convinced it'd be better to bring everything over because in the end he thinks it'll be cheaper than buying new...I'm not so sure. But at the same time, he's moving thousands of miles away from home, I can understand wanting some of your own stuff. So, we're price shopping.

The reason we're looking more right now is because I too am moving..across country. I'm moving into a studio apartment and will have to get furniture. He has a desk that he would theoretically like to keep (it's pretty nice), so we are trying to decide if we want to ship that stuff when the time comes or not. Because if we choose not to, then I will spend a little more money to buy a nicer desk when I move now... or if we choose to ship his stuff later, then I will just use something cheap for the next months until the move comes.

Thanks again for the advice. Let's be honest - everything sounds duanting!!! From the visa paperwork, to the wedding decisions (we're having a religious ceremony only so are making wedding plans at the same time - don't worry, nothing that is set in stone..basically making all our decisions now & will book everything when we know our tentative date will work), to moving across country (me - in 3 days) for a new job... to everything.

Posting all that makes me realize - dude, i NEED to write a schedule up.

Thanks again. Don't mind my ramblings...

[Amy and John 1]

I shipped stuff from both the UK and Australia, and yes, it does take some time, but in the end I think you'll probably find it's worth it, if you can get a good company and a good deal... I spent a bit of money on it all, but I can say without QUESTION that it cost me far less than trying to replace all my stuff, and of course this way I have things that I know and like, and don't have to start all over again with choosing things

when I did my research, I focused on companies based where I was shipping FROM... you will find that many are international companies, but if you called them in the US they'd just refer you to their German (or European) branch; it's much better to just start where you're going to end up anyway! in my experience, it is WELL worth ringing round to a lot - you will probably find that quotes will vary quite widely, depending on a whole range of factors; when I was getting quotes in the UK, the most expensive quote was exactly double the cheapest! so you will see there's quite a bit of variation - lots of quotes means lots of choice. When you call, they will all ask you for a cubic foot amount - at that stage you will probably not have that much of an idea, but from what you said you're shipping I'd get quotes for between 100 and 150 cubic foot - the company you end up choosing should send someone out to the house to have a look at everything, and give you an exact price, but in the meantime if you ask for the same range from everyone you'll be comparing apples with apples, so to speak... most good international movers will quote you one price for them to send a crew to the house, package and box everything, take it to the shipyard, load it on to the ship, bring it to the US, and deliver it to your home at the other end... insurance is extra, and there may be extra charges if you are really far from an urban centre, or if there're access difficulties at either end (eg stairs), but otherwise it should be all included

oh, and they won't cover customs fees, and they scare you a bit with these stories about how it COULD cost you up to $5000, and I got a bit worried about that, but my customs fees from the UK were $10, and from Australia $62 (a larger load, plus I brought a couple of new things which I declared, so there was a fee for them)

good luck with it! it's very daunting, I know, but just work through it methodically, and make lots of lists, and you'll be fine

Do you mind if I ask which UK shipping company you ended up using. I am in need of a shipping company to move my possessions from the UK to the USA.

[StillThePrettiest 3]

I used Allied Pickfords; they were pretty good