samjwood

Hi all

I am just starting to pack our belongings into boxes to ship to US.

My question is do I have to keep these boxes open for which ever company who will puck them up to check contents? Or can I seal them?
Also are there any items that are not allowed in the boxes, ie food stuffs etc?

Sorry if this is a strange question but thanks in advance for replies.

Sam

*less than 3 weeks to go and losing hair and marbles*

MsElui

no foodstuffs, booze, flammables like glue or matches etc.

when my husbands company on an L1 did the shipping - the packing was paid for as part of the removal process. So I just sorted the stuff into piles or cupboards when done and then let them pack it how they wanted. They checked for prohibited items as they went along and also wrote up the contents list that will need to go on the customs form.

I think if you seal the boxes up they may be 'unisured' as they couldnt be sure the itesm were not already damaged etc.

Sheepdip

When we left they wanted them open and sealed them with their own marked tape. Not sure about the food stuffs (probably ok if they're tinned etc. not fresh) but they wouldn't allow liquids.

How are they traveling? Ours went by boat so 4 weeks probably wouldn't have been good for food stuffs!

rpjs

We taped ours up (mostly books and similar) and never had any indication from the shippers (Excess Baggage) not to - they even supplied the tape. We're still waiting for them to clear Customs, so it'll be interesting to see if CBP have opened them once they finally arrive.

Anian

I taped up all mine. They cut some open and then resealed them. The only ones they opened were the ones that contained numerous 28mm metal figures. I don't know if they x-rays them all and those were the only suspicious ones, or if by weird chance they happened to pick only those. Getting it through customs was a bit more awkward because the receiving company didn't send the documents to the correct address.

Volt61

You won't be able to get insurance if the shipper doesn't pack & seal the boxes themselves,
Otherwise, you can just give them a list of what is in each box.
Your shipper should be able to tell you what cannot be shipped.
Expect your stuff to be held to ransom at the other end by you being charged an "X-ray" fee, which mostly are not done and its just another Federal Government scam, aka theft.

Bob

You can do what you like, but if you're using a company to ship your stuff, follow their instructions and each might be different as to what will be covered by insurance etc.

SANDRASZ1982

Do you know what company did you use, please?

Brat1

The shipping company we used came to the house and did all the packing for us and did an inventory of each box, we didn't have to do a thing, just tell them what not to pack!!! Unfortunately, we still had a hold up at customs when the ship arrived in New York and they supposedly had been looking through our stuff, never saw that any of the boxes had been opened. The shipping company brought all the boxes to our rental here and put them in each room and offered to put the bed together etc, so I really didn't have to do much. Don't know about if you're doing it all yourself and any problems that would have with insurance, but that's what we did. Good luck with the move, once you leave you'll wonder what you were panicking for!!!! I'm sure it'll all fall in to place

SANDRASZ1982

This just sound ideal...
Can you please send me detail for the company.
Thanks in advance

AmandaLS

We are moving to New Jersey on 30th March and have Pickfords coming tomorrow to pack everything for us.

I have spent today just segregating what is staying from what is going, we are using a 20ft Sea Freight container.

Not too sure how much Pickfords are charging as my Hubbys company is paying as part of the relocation package.

Will let you know how it goes

Bob

Who they used might not be relevant if it's a different location though, because it's all down to who is contracted on the other end as to how good the experience ends up being

MsElui

Pickfords. was very happy - went very smoothly. Although we didnt pay so have no idea if it was expensive or cheap.

jackattack

We had a similar experience. I just put all my stuff in piles (or put giant labels on things) and said:
* this stuff goes by air
* this stuff goes by sea
* this stuff goes into storage
and they handled the rest including all the customs documentation. We, of course, had to actually sign all the documents but the company we used filled in all the dodgy parts of the form that were foreign to me.

We used Graebel. Our company paid for us to relocate so I'm sure it was expensive, but the process was relatively stress-free and I'd recommend them based on our experience.