Hello everyone
nice to meet you

hope you can help me with my dilemma
I moved out of the UK a couple months ago and stored all my belongings at a local Big Yellow (Kingston, Surrey)
Because of the nature of my job I will have to move back and forth from Spain to Italy. 80% chance I will settle in Madrid. However I might as well move to Milan (Italy).
I am totally lost as what's the best option to move all the stuff
Moving company are very costly, £3500 minimum.


But I was wondering if palletting everything up would be also viable and maybe cheaper?
Do you know of any company actually coming onsite and pallet your goods?

I don't have furniture to ship
Let's say total weight is less than 500Kg
I packed everything in large carton boxes as well in small plastic ones
However I have 4 TVs to ship as well. One 50" flat screen which is inside a flightcase with lots of other stuff, weighing around 90Kg
Plus 3 old style CRT monitors
And about 20 boxes of wine

I know sometimes you get the advice of selling everything and buy locally. However that is out of question, for several reasons

thanks a lot in advance

Hello as the cost of storage & shipping is way more that what the items are worth ……..?

Okay, but think about (assess) the volume (m3) - which is also important.

thanks a lot for guys for your replies!!
Well not really. All the wine alone is nearly worth the cost of shipping. 2 of those TVs are actually Sony PVM professional monitors, which are worth a LOT
Plus there are items that are really just irreplaceable, from a sentimental point of view
the storage manager said all can be fit inside your average Luton van

£3.5 K for a Luton van full isn't so bad!

Also
I just noticed the edit from the mods
I apologize about writing in a company name. I promise I did read the forums rules, I might have missed that bit
sorry, sorry

eh, that's the minimum quote though, based on my descriptions. They need to visit the storage and have a look
As everything is already well packed, i was thinking if there are shipping companies who actually come at the place, pallet everything up and load it on their lorry.

If you do a search on 'Man with a van Madrid' you may ask a couple of them what they'd charge and the logistics of it.

Invite me over and that will be one less thing (or rather 120 things!) to worry about.

On a serious note I'd inquire with private transport companies that do this sort of thing - I can even ask around at one or two places I know to see if they can provide a quote.

You could go with moving companies that pack everything up for you (literally every item from your home that's heading with you...) but since you've done most of the work it would be a lot cheaper to go with a small crew with a van rather than involve major movers that usually do longer distances and involve shipping containers for transport (been there, done that, efficient but expensive).

Of course you'd need to decide first and foremost whether it's Madrid or Milan as the destination as it is a much shorter journey to Milan.

if I sort this out asap, then I'd be very glad to invite you guys over....

ok, thank you both for your input. Indeed I have done already most of the work. I wasn't really trying to find a company that do all the work but either a small one with a Luton van or as I was suggesting some regular shipping company that is able to do a palleting service at the storage facility, which will involve bringing their own equipment, I suppose.
I thought that would be cheaper
But I really have no idea on any company doing such service. Or maybe hiring somebody who only put stuff on a pallet, THEN a shipping company simply loading on their lorry.
Yet again, I am not sure if that would be cheaper or not

Silly question, but the idea of having all your stuff on a pallet and then a company to collect it.
Makes me ask if the storage company has a forklift?
If not, no haulage company will collect a pallet. You won't even find one willing to sit around while the pallet is stacked on the truck. And then again, what about the other end?
I would also doubt you would get insurance as they would not be able to confirm what you were shipping.
Even a man and a van will require a manifest of some sort, after all you are making an international move and customs may be interested in the goods.

Id forget that idea and just find a man with a van (once you have decided where the stuff is headed).
There are hundreds of places that advertise on the internet, just do a search for man and a van.
When I had a car shipped from here back to the Uk. All I did was go to one of these 'quote' sites and many people came back, some with dedicated transport, one was a blike with a set of ramps and a small taughliner, even had offers of people who wanted the drive the car.
In the end, I went with a local firm that I didn't even know existed until I did the 'quote' thing.

I did a full house move from within Europe to Africa. There were no pallets involved. It was all packet in a (half) container outside the house and the reverse applied at the destination. No fork lifts or anything other than four men. Actually three and the driver who did bugger all.

thanks a lot guys!!!

to answer Barriej's question, yes at the storage company they have 2 forklifts. And at the other hand I could rent it, also my friend who will help me, is able to operate it.
It is true about customs, I didn't think about it. With shipping companies it will be lot of paperwork, while small private man-w-a-van companies generally take care of all that
Alright then, that is the way to go after all. I guess it will be much more expensive but it seems less trouble