Shipping from California to UK
 

Hi all
Looking for some advice.
We are about to move from California to Devon & was wondering if anyone had any shipping companies & rates that they've used & would recommend. We've been quoted £9k & £10k for 1500cubic ft of a 40ft container from various shippers but it does feel very expensive. We have been looking into John Mason, Pickfords & Bishops. I've also gone down the other route of getting quotes if we packed things ourselves etc and it's much cheaper. Worried that the cheaper option will result in more issues down the line with certain services not included.

Any advice or help appreciated
Thank you!

Re: Shipping from California to UK
 

Can't help with your question, but I saw your username and thought you might like to read this whilst you're waiting for answers:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...the-summertime

Re: Shipping from California to UK
 

Hi there,
We just arrived in the UK from SF Bay Area and our belongings will arrive next week. It was a 5 week shipment.
We used Rainier in Washington State and (even though it hasn't arrived yet) they were fantastic every step of the way. Our flights were cancelled twice and so we had to keep changing our move date. Nothing was a problem for them.
We paid around 8K for a 20ft container. A container was dropped off, they came and packed everything and they filled the container. They have to do inventory for customs paperwork. On this end, they are delivering, unpacking and taking away the garbage! The only additional thing we had to pay for was insurance and storage on this end.

I researched this a lot and I was going to go with another company. When I checked them on BBB, this company was recommended by people who had moved.

Mark Lawson was my contact. If you tell him that my shipment is due to arrive on August 17th, he'll know who this is.
Good luck!www.RainierOS.com

Re: Shipping from California to UK
 

That's $8000 not pounds

Re: Shipping from California to UK
 

Do you have any extra items like creating works? I have just received a quote that’s a little over 9k 420 foot container but I’m not sure if I really want or need to take everything. Wondering if I should just pair down the list or look for an additional quote. I have been working with crown and they have been fantastic so far and came recommended by many people.

Re: Shipping from California to UK
 

Did you use Yavner for Rainier who is apparently their local contact?

Re: Shipping from California to UK
 

Avner, yes.

Re: Shipping from California to UK
 

do they have to inventory it ? Or can we inventory it and provide a list of items inside ?

Re: Shipping from California to UK
 

Hi there, just wanted to check to see how your experience ended up going with Rainier once your items were delivered? Any extra costs? We have been speaking to rainier and they do seem very reasonable and I'd love to hear your thoughts before we go ahead with it. Thanks!

Re: Shipping from California to UK
 

there were extra costs associated with the fact that I live down a wiggly dirt road, which I knew about in advance, and which was charged by the shipper on this end. Basically they had to take everything out of the container and put it into two vans for delivery. They did mention that things had been packed in the container with heavy things on top of light things. This may have been because they also had to transfer from a delivery van into the container on the US side of the delivery. I didn’t have any damages so it didn’t bother me very much. They were very communicative and I thought the price was very reasonable and I was happy with the whole thing.

Re: Shipping from California to UK
 

I would highly recommend Rainier. They were excellent all around and I would certainly use them again.
I didn't love the packers they subcontracted to. They didn't do a great job I found out on this end, but only one thing was broken. I gave the feedback to Mark at Rainier and he was on it right away. Not really any hidden costs. It was as he said. Due to COVID we had problems moving into our rentals so we stored it with Britannia in the UK, which was organised by Rainier. Couldn't have been easier and in doing so I kept my insurance until I received my belongings.
Good luck.

Re: Shipping from California to UK
 

Good to know! I'm going to be there when the packers come and will be making sure they pack up everything as well as possible. It's all so unknown, but great to hear you had a good experience!

Re: Shipping from California to UK
 

I think we will encounter extra costs as the top off location is very rural and windy roads! Thanks for the heads up about the packing - I will check in with Rainier about heavy things being placed on top of our shipment. That's a worry as our shipment has lots of fragile items.

Re: Shipping from California to UK
 

I was there the entire time with the packers. 8 hours. When my shipment arrived, the guy at Britannia said it was the worst packed container he had opened in 15 years. The inventory page was ridiculous. I had nothing to hide but if customs had been looking for something they'd have had to open every box since only the ones I labeled myself had anything written on them. Mirrors packed just in a box, framed prints the same. I'd never used a container or used packers before so I didn't know any better and they looked like they were doing a good job.

Re: Shipping from California to UK
 

Thank you for your response! This is good info to know. I'll make sure I set that expectation of labelling everything and wrapping all fragile items. Ours is a small shipment so hopefully it'll be easier to manage the packing as our apartment is small. Glad nothing was damaged!
Anything you would suggest to make the packing smooth as possible for everyone? I'll group items together that should be packed together, label everything and ensure they know which items to wrap in bubble wrap etc. Anything else?