shipping from moscow

[V and A 1]

We are starting to plan the big move from Moscow. I was wondering if anybody had any ideas on shipping her house hold goods here to the US

[james&olya 1,121]

We are starting to plan the big move from Moscow. I was wondering if anybody had any ideas on shipping her house hold goods here to the US

Unless it is something of significant sentimental value, sell it all and buy new here. You will come out ahead! VERY expensive to ship from over there! And since things usually cost more there than here you might even come out ahead, even without factoring in the exorbitant shipping costs.

[baron555 934]

Unless it is something of significant sentimental value, sell it all and buy new here. You will come out ahead! VERY expensive to ship from over there! And since things usually cost more there than here you might even come out ahead, even without factoring in the exorbitant shipping costs.

Yep, don't bother with the usual stuff. Sell it and buy new here.

[Scafidi454 22]

I've looked into this before, and it's a few thousand dollars for a shipment company. Definitely only take the sentimental stuff and irreplaceable things. Also, take whatever clothes you wear most frequently, and whichever are really good. Otherwise, don't worry about the rest.

[mox 298]

I don't know of anyone who's shipped from Russia, but as others have said, it's going to be incredibly expensive. If you're independently wealthy and don't mind blowing the cost of a small car on shipping, maybe have her look into it on her side. There should be consignment companies that will do it.

Also note that if you're taking anything out of the country that could be considered of cultural significance (military medals and paraphernalia, old photos, even bric-a-brac), you're very likely to be stopped. They take that kind of thing pretty seriously.

If she has just a bunch of smaller things, do what we're doing: visiting every year or so, leave space in your luggage to bring back a few things at a time. Might take you ten years, but much cheaper. Doesn't work that well for tables and band-saws, but pretty good for books and photo albums.

[eekee 182]

Household goods = sell.

Cheapest way to ship things to the US is to send it Pochta Rossiya. It'll take a few months, but it's far cheaper than other options. Bear in mind that most things in the US are way cheaper than in Russia, and you'll save money by buying new rather than shipping.

[sofya 10]

I agree with all previous posts. If you absolutely MUST bring a ton of stuff (beyond clothes for the first few months, all important documents, laptop, sentimental stuff and jewelry), she can always have extra suitcases with her. Depending on an airline, each extra suitcase (after the first two, which are usually free on the international flights, at least with Aeroflot) will cost her 150-200 Euros or dollars, if within weight limits. A colleague of mine once took 7 (!) suitcases with her when she moved from Moscow to the United States, which contained pots and pans and silverware (really?), books (really??), hangers (seriously???) and lots of old clothes, which should've been donated to say the least.

Don't waste your money. Encourage her to pack 2 suitcases and a carry on and avoid any airline fees. Everything else, I mean, ANYTHING, can be purchased waaaaaaay cheaper in the U.S. Unless of course she wants to bring her mink coat (but will she wear it anywhere but New York City?).

She can sell her stuff pretty quickly on avito.ru, molotok.ru and other similar ebay-ish websites, or give it away through darudar.org. All three work like a charm!

[V and A 1]

thanks for the imput))) We were both thinking the same thing

[leith@Ievgeniia 8]

remember we operate off a 120V system. so if it plugs in it will not work without a converter. so many hair products that plug in should not be brought. what i did was when we moved here i bough like 3 changes of cloths and many empty cases for her things. the rest we found a shipping company in ukraine that did sea shipping and it was very cheep for the rest of her things. and we just took weight on each case not to have suprize at airport

[eekee 182]

remember we operate off a 120V system. so if it plugs in it will not work without a converter. so many hair products that plug in should not be brought. what i did was when we moved here i bough like 3 changes of cloths and many empty cases for her things. the rest we found a shipping company in ukraine that did sea shipping and it was very cheep for the rest of her things. and we just took weight on each case not to have suprize at airport

You can get a voltage converter. Comparable hair tools are "practically free" in the US in comparison, though. I use US straighteners etc. with a converter.

[SMR 368]

You can get a voltage converter. Comparable hair tools are "practically free" in the US in comparison, though. I use US straighteners etc. with a converter.

To clarify, anything with a power supply will work with just a plug adapter (or by replacing the AC power cable if it detaches) but most kitchen and bathroom appliances work off straight AC and will need a transformer which is bigger, more limited, and harder to find than a plug adapter.

[eekee 182]

To clarify, anything with a power supply will work with just a plug adapter (or by replacing the AC power cable if it detaches) but most kitchen and bathroom appliances work off straight AC and will need a transformer which is bigger, more limited, and harder to find than a plug adapter.

I got mine at RadioShack; they're not THAT hard to find.