jackar99

I have mainly boxes of personal things to ship back to the UK from Texas and wanted to know which option to choose. There is no furniture so I'm thinking that using a removals company may be overkill. Also I'm not in a desperate need to get them there in a week (under a month would be ok), so using UPS or USPS also seems too expensive/too fast. Has anybody looked at freight shipping - either by air/ship? I'm thinking that I could drop the 20 or so boxes off at a freight shipping depot and then pick them up 2 or 3 weeks later at a similar depot in the UK (or even have them delivered). Houston/Dallas to London would be a typical route that I would look at.

dottypotty

We too are moving from Texas back to the UK. So far I haven't found any info and have mailed three boxes via USPS and it has cost over $200. I was planning taking extra cases and paying baggage fees, but will have extra boxes to ship.

DDL

We're not sending over any furniture either. My husband spent this week-end boxing up some of his clothes - he filled out the customs/shipping forms online (USPS) last night, paid the postage online, and we're taking the boxes to the Post Office this afternoon. Two "dishpak" boxes are going to run him a bit over $200.

We live near a large Port (Charleston, SC) and the local UPAKWESHIP company quoted us $560 door-to-door (US to UK) on the equivalent of about 5 boxes, but we decided to stick with USPS as have read some negative reviews about the UPAKWESHIP business lately.

We too will be taking an extra piece of luggage each over on the plane, and I'm going to use M-bags for my books.

There's just no way around it - it's all going to be expensive!!

dottypotty

DDL, please excuse my ignorance, but what are "dishpak boxes" and "M-bags"?

jackar99

Is USPS generally cheaper and more reliable than UPS or Fedex for shipping boxes that weigh from 10 to 50 lbs ?

DDL

No ignorance at all! A "dishpak box" is similar in size to what in the UK might be called a tea chest box. Dimensions (US) are 18" x 18" x 24" (4.5 cu/ft)

An M-bag is a [supposedly - we will soon know!] relatively inexpensive way to mail "printed matter" (such as books) overseas. You box everything up but then the boxes are put into a large canvas bag - an "M-bag" - and sent over. Here's info from the USPS website: http://www.usps.com/international/mbags.htm

DDL

That's what my hubby has deduced by visiting all 3 websites (USPS, FedEx and UPS) and using their online calculators

dottypotty

DDL - Do you think photographs (of the old fashioned kind) would be included under the description of printed matter?

Mummy in the foothills

I've been looking at the M bag rules here
Printed matter is admissible in M-bags. Articles that meet the definition of “printed matter” include newspapers, magazines, journals, books, sheet music, catalogs, directories, commercial advertising, and promotional matter. “Printed matter” is defined as follows:

1. Papers upon which words, letters, characters, figures, images, or any combinations thereof appear.
2. Papers that do not have the character of a bill or statement of account.
3. Papers that do not have the character of current and personal correspondence.

I'm still not sure, I think it's be a great way to send all my photo albums and boxes of old pictures if they are allowed. things that you wouldn't care if the opened an looked at I suppose. Interesting
It works out to $3.25 a pound minimum 11lbs charged

I found this all about prices to the UK
http://pe.usps.gov/text/imm/fh_014.htm

dottypotty

I don't know, there are some embarrassing pictures from the 70s and 80s, but I think it would just give customs a good laugh

penguinsix

Why not excess baggage fee at the airport?

Most airlines allow you to take upto 8-10 bags. The first two are free (or something like that) and then you pay a charge for the ones after that. But it's a fixed charge upto a certain weight.

It might be a few dollars more than UPS, but considerably less hassle than pack, ship, pickup, etc.

fwiw I know some folks in Africa who work as carpenters. They take the full allotment of 8 bags every trip, stuff the brim with nails, glue guns, screws, hammers, etc. Why? Excess baggage is more reliable and cheaper than the mail service in Africa.

snowshoveller

I used excessbaggage.com last year to ship 13 boxes from canada. (one of the boxes included a bike! the rest were tea chest sized cartons) they subcontracted dhl to pick up from my house and deposit at address in uk. I think it cost about $1000 CAD(maybe less cant remember exactly), took 3-4 days. Worked pretty well and was traceable. I wouldnt hesitate to use them agan. And no, I do not work or have any connection to them

Relocateme

I shipped one box 661lbs of personal effects to get me settled

April 2010 I took it to the local and only shipper in Canada that did domestic
goods.

It could have gone sea or air as the cost was so close

I decided on air cargo due to travelling back to the coast again to pick it up

the cost to ship in Canada was $191 for the dimensional weight...that means whichever is the greater they will charge that for 66lbs

When it arrived into BhX there was a terminal fee of 43 pounds and a handling fee for the "loose" box of 30 pounds to total 74 pounds
Customs will only keep it for one day or 24hrs so have to be there to recv it

so in all the bottom line is from Canada going Air Canada cargo it cost approx' $11 per kilo (2.2lbs) from start to finish...would I pay this again.....No

Now I have to move it all around with me as I dont want to settle in my landing place and do not wish to consider it a lost cause

J.J

DDL, hi, we had previously heard that Upakweship was a good organisation and have been considering them - and no time yet to research elsewhere. The price seems OK - but their website seems phoney and has a lot of re-directs to other companies , so I was feeling uneasy.

Thanks everyone for suggestions on USPS, (we too have books and photos), maybe carry extra baggage on B Airways.

Sure, whichever way it will be expensive and probably luck of the draw who to use. We have no furniture and are slimming down on everything we would like to / ought to / must take.

Mummy in the foothills

Thanks for that suggestion excess-baggage sounds good. I've bookmarked them as Ds is moving and I know he'll want his guitars and other stuff shipped eventually.
The trouble with paying for extra suitcases is the pick up a the other end, no one has a car big enough for people and lots of luggage.