I'm wondering what is the best way of shipping stuff from UK to US. Mostly bulky personal belongings?
Answers:
Try FREIGHTWORLD
Telephone: 0870 755 9222
Ask for Geoff (am not sure if he is there, but he gives you a good estimate over the phone) otherwise ask for Philip South.
We too had moved from US to UK and back. they were good (they provide packing materials as well). It took the stuff just 3 weeks to reach US.
Another one - Crown Relocations (crownrelo.com) does a good job - they also do the packing. But it takes longer - about 10 weeks.
3rd option - every extra piece of luggage by airlines would cost you about 18-25 GBP. Check that with your airlines as well.
duh air mail
I lived in America for 6 months and was in the same position I just sent everything by snail mail (you have a choice of surface to air(cheep) or airmail) the only thing I forgot about it being near to christmas so took twice as long. Everything arrived safely though.
Unless you have bulky items, it will be cheapest to pay excess baggage fees to the airline. I am American, living in Europe the past 4 years, and have shipped items via ocean freight. It was very expensive, and I had to pay 25% VAT when items arrived. Excess baggage for golf clubs, bicycles, skis, etc is normal occurance for airlines.
If, however, you want to ship a car, or a lounge set, then half-container is your best bet. Expect about $1400 USD to ship a half-container one-way to eastern USA ports. But that's a lot of stuff for just one year (then you'd have to ship it back?).
UPS land huge company
Use surface mail for some of your least bulky items. I've done it several times and it's relatively inexpensive and quite efficient. It takes about three to four weeks to arrive.
For bigger items, then check with some of the well known removal companies(yellow pages) which specialise in sending bulky items abroad. This could mean a standard removals firm (e.g., Pickfords), or such companies as DHL, Fedex, etc..
NB The person who suggested air mail either did not read your question properly, or is a very wealthy individual!
If you take extra bags via airline, unaccompanied baggage charges are usually cheaper than excess baggage fees. You must arrange for your unaccompanied bags beforehand (with BA you go through their World Cargo division) and there are of course limits to size. Usually your bags arrive within six hours of your landing.
There are also movers who specialise in UK to US transport--but you must meet their minimum amount for shipping. Do a web search and then request estimates from three or four that look good to you. Of course delivery time is longer. usually expect a few weeks for your items to get to you.
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