Not got much to ship over - a few books/dvds/cds - several framed prints which are a little large, a musical instrument.

Who would people recommend I use - I would like the stuff collected so effectively door-to-door.

Contact a few local freight forwarders - yellow pages, or Google <your town freight forwarder> and ask if they do small residential shipments. That is what I have done a couple of times for small shipments.

i would avoid UPS, even if i could forgive them for the unexpected brokerage fees and hassle with customs , some of my boxes look like they've played football with them.

DHL where very good with my pallet though and i may use them again to ship more stuff

Some relocation companies have a freight service, you can get a quote to get an idea.

Weve just moved from UK to Georgia and we used John Mason international Shipping. They were superb. They come to yours, do a free survey of what you would like to take and provide you with a quote.
We took a lot more than we expected and our quote remained the same. They come and pack it all for you if you want, best if you dont want to increase the chance of having it all checked at customs.
Give them a call and they will tell you the best options.

Where are you located Martin? I moved from Cardiff to Central Washington (Near Seattle) and used a company based in Bristol called 1st Move International. They were exceptional and they charge based on area (cubic metres) and were excellent at packing stuff compactly. I got a quote for 3 cu/m and the shipment ended up being 1.7cu/m.

With what you've listed, it would probably be less than a cubic metre (sorry, meter!). I paid $650 approx for my shipment plus a few fees this end. They came and collected it from my house and as I was near Seattle I collected it from the docks, but door-to-door was available had I needed.

1st Move International Removals. Moving Overseas from the UK?

I ship around twice monthly from the UK and as mentioned in previous posts for a large pallet say one cubic meter I use DHL who offer a door to door price including customs clearance.
For smaller packages Transglobal Express are less expensive than booking UPS or any other carrier directly.
They also will print the documents and post them to the shipper.
Freight forwarders are usually more expensive.

Good to know Otto, I have some outstanding stuff to ship over once I get settled so I may use DHL.