I've read most of the "shipping" threads in this forum and have been shocked at the cost of moving things. I would guess that apart from sentimental stuff, most needn't have been shipped at that cost. They could have been sold off before the move and then bought again new or second hand on arrival in Canada.

My question is, "if you are not too fussed on how long your goods take to cross the pond, is there a more economical way of sending them? Snail shipment or of like?"

All information and experiences appreciated.

I don't know a cheaper way but if you ship to the west coast via the canal, it takes a month or so and can save on storage

We donated all of our furniture before we left and got new stuff here, not rolling in it by a long stretch and the Sally Ann has become my new best friend!!!!!

We're heading for Fredericton on the East coast so I guess the ship would arrive in St. John or Halifax.

In order for there to be a "Snail Shipment" there needs to be a "Fast Shipment"!..... Unfortunatley that does not exist!!

Can't really answer your question specifically, ie, is there a slower, cheaper way.

But, at the risk of repeating myself, I don't believe you can re-furnish a family home for the equivalent of about $8,000 (as average shipping costs seem to be around the £4k mark) when you get to this end!

It does hugely depend on the quality of the "stuff" you currently own I guess, and how much more of a useful life it has in it - but just about everyone on this forum, who reports a quick update on their lives, mentions the endless shopping to re-start their new homes (and that's even those that did ship over their property!).

OK - so not everyone will rush out to buy a lawn-mower or a lamp or some other 'thing' (except if you live in an area where there are 6-inch grass bylaw police ) and we all have such different needs and expectations, and budgets. Just think about the real costs people

And to the OP, do report back if you find said slower, cheaper route - I'm sure it would apply to many people. Especially those without a house to move into straight away. If you are renting or staying with family, etc, another 6 weeks might not matter one jot!

On our move back from Oz container arrived 4 weeks ahead of schedule because "it had got on the express boat" - apparently they don't stop whilst others like the slow train stop at loads of ports. Didn't alter cost just caused panic as we had no-where to live.

Exactly. We'd be in no rush to have our stuff arrive in the country as we plan on taking our time to find the right house to buy and even then can surrive on bare minimum until "ship comes in". So, if there is a way of saving 000's, then we're prepared to wait.

Shared container usually works out cheaper. Can't remember how much ours cost , I'm sure Ben can

I know because we were shipping a lot of high value but low volume books , the insurance was almost as much as the shipping. We did manage to negotiate that down a percent or so though.

Yup.... but in the world of commercial shipping, one container is small-fry.

Your container will be delivered to a port and then wait for the next ship going your way with space on it. You, generally, can not guarantee which ship route your stuff will take.

Your stuff can just as easily be early as it can be late.... and both options cause an inconvenience.... if it turns up on time, you are lucky!

There is only a limited amount of "free" time a container is given on port so the extra time waiting around for the "fast" boat will cost you storage (and be extra time your "slower" boat could have already covered)....

At the end of it all.... unless there was a mjor shake-up of the shipping industry... there's unlikely to be a "second-class-postage" way of shipping.