Cheap Shipping From UK to USA

[brit_la 1]

This sounds fantastic! Im just starting to think about shipping stuff over now, as we are nearing the interview date and want to start getting ready to move........

Where did you guys get the shipping boxes from?

What size do you recommend getting?

Do you think it works out cheaper, getting smaller boxes, that weigh less, or having fewer bigger boxes, weighing more??

Thanks for your help

[lesleysizeland 0]

I just came back from my local DHL office. I went there to get some packing materials, which they didn't have. The man at the desk gave me a quote for the dimensions of my package. 10x50x65(pictures in frames) it would cost 97 pounds. He then told me that there is a company that buys space on DHL flights. And that they had a website for parcel shipping and it was a lot cheaper than regular DHL although it really is still DHL. He went to this website and got a quote with the same dimensions and it would cost 37 pounds. Now that is cheaper. He told me that you type in all of your shipping details and then print all of the shipping labels. They will come to you to pick up the parcels, or you can drop it off at your local DHL. Imagine that.

The website is

www.parcelmonkey.co.uk

Hope this helps someone.

Thanks for this information, i want to ship some pictures and a few others bits (probably only a suitcase worth and the pics) and have been quoted £500+ from other places! As soon as i know about my visa i am gonna look into this. Thanks!

[david'sgirl 134]

My husband got a quote just over 500 pounds. He boxed and wrapped and arranged for pick up. The driver refused to accept the boxes because he didnt list items in enough detail. For ex he wrote tool box and misc tools.They want every single item in tool box listed by name,function and what it is made of, misc clothing must be listed as in T shirt 80% cotton/20% polyester. He ended up buying luggage and we'll pay the extra to check iy. Hope you have better luck.

[NikkiUK 1]

Forgive me if I come across patronising, my intentions are 100% to be helpful incase you hadnt thought of this...

Does anyone have family coming over for the wedding or shortly after? I am paying my family 30quid each to take a 2nd suitcase with them with my stuff in. Its way cheaper than shipping if your stuff is light enough. I hope this might help someone

(I am paying them as its 32quid for an extra bag on the airlines baggage allowance thing, they are not being bribed haha!)

[Christi and Ian 24]

The website is

www.parcelmonkey.co.uk

Hope this helps someone.

It just did. THANK YOU!!

[david'sgirl 134]

Forgive me if I come across patronising, my intentions are 100% to be helpful incase you hadnt thought of this...

Does anyone have family coming over for the wedding or shortly after? I am paying my family 30quid each to take a 2nd suitcase with them with my stuff in. Its way cheaper than shipping if your stuff is light enough. I hope this might help someone

(I am paying them as its 32quid for an extra bag on the airlines baggage allowance thing, they are not being bribed haha!)

Very creative solution!

[SunDrop 59]

Forgive me if I come across patronising, my intentions are 100% to be helpful incase you hadnt thought of this...

Does anyone have family coming over for the wedding or shortly after? I am paying my family 30quid each to take a 2nd suitcase with them with my stuff in. Its way cheaper than shipping if your stuff is light enough. I hope this might help someone

(I am paying them as its 32quid for an extra bag on the airlines baggage allowance thing, they are not being bribed haha!)

Aww bless! I don't think that's patronising at all. It's thinking outside the box, and when you're in the thick of trying to pack up your entire life and immigrate, sometimes the obvious isn't quite so...

American Airlines, with whom I'm a frequent flyer, just introduced baggage fees if you're not an AAdvantage member with a certain number of airmiles on your account. We'll be allowed 2 each at max. 50lbs free of charge, a third is $50 for up to 50lbs or $150 for up to 70lbs. I reckon $100 for 2 extra bags of 50lbs will be cheaper than shipping. 4 extra would be $300 for 200lbs so it goes up to $1.50 per pound from $1.

I dunno if it would have to be baggage, or if they'd carry it as a box. I'm a little worried about shipping anything fragile in baggage and we don't have 300lbs of clothes and shoes! lol.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

I dunno if it would have to be baggage, or if they'd carry it as a box. I'm a little worried about shipping anything fragile in baggage and we don't have 300lbs of clothes and shoes! lol.

I've seen all kinds of containers coming round the baggage carousel at international arrivals....boxes, big plastic tubs, plastic crates, golf bags...so I don't think it has to be in a suitcase. Most are shrink wrapped or super taped. Anything super fragile or expensive can be in your carry-on luggage. I've packed glassware many times in checked baggage on UK to US flights...beer glasses, blown glass from Murano, glass Christmas ornaments, etc. Just wrap t-shirts and clothing all around it and put it toward the middle rather than on a side wall where it could take a blow. And pack tightly so it doesn't slosh around.

Edited February 7, 2010 by Nich-Nick

[brit_la 1]

Well, I would recommend not sending anything fragile or sentimental in your luggage. I worked at a well known airline for over 3 years and trust me, its much safer to send that kind of thing, by courier. It may cost more, but at least you can track the thing and know it will turn up. Luggage on the other hand, well, you can never trust that it will, and if it does, it might not be in one piece! ( I know a lot of baggage handlers and all the rumours are true!)

Definitely, fill your cases up with clothes, shoes , bags etc, but please dont send anything precious with the airlines! If it does go missing, you probably wont get it again and all they will give you is compensation, not a good replacement for sentimental things.

[SunDrop 59]

Well, I would recommend not sending anything fragile or sentimental in your luggage. I worked at a well known airline for over 3 years and trust me, its much safer to send that kind of thing, by courier. It may cost more, but at least you can track the thing and know it will turn up. Luggage on the other hand, well, you can never trust that it will, and if it does, it might not be in one piece! ( I know a lot of baggage handlers and all the rumours are true!)

Definitely, fill your cases up with clothes, shoes , bags etc, but please dont send anything precious with the airlines! If it does go missing, you probably wont get it again and all they will give you is compensation, not a good replacement for sentimental things.

This is true... Having said that, there is never good replacement for lost sentimental items. If something is truly sentimental, it's coming in my carry on with me.

Thinking back to that cargo freighter that sank somewhere about a year or two ago. I remember seeing one of its cargoees being interviewed, talking about how all her family's heirloom furniture and artwork was floating around the ocean somewhere, destined for the fishes. She was absolutely gutted. Having said that, she couldn't exactly have schlepped Great grannie's 12 place teak dining table on board with her

[Calibann 0]

I‘ve been searching around the web for guide on which package carrier to use, since I‘m self-employed they is very important, because I would be sending my pieces often and want the lowest fares available, budd offered parcelabc, but I‘m not so sure, if anyone has other suggestions, I‘d be glad to hear them, thank you in advance.