So I have a bunch of household stuff to send from Chicago to Hong Kong… too much for UPS or Fed Ex. There are a milllion websites out there- but they all have that “middleman” vibe where I feel like I’m getting charged a bunch extra just because I don’t know who to call directly. Anyone ever done this? It’s more than a pallet, but probably wouldn’t need a full 20’ container. What do I need to know?
Craig’s List?
Seriously, if you want to deal directly with the cargo ship, I’d presume that they’re going to charge you for a full container. And if you don’t want to pay for a full container, then I can only imagine two options:[ol]
[li]Find an ordinary person like yourself, who also wants to ship a partial container worth of stuff from Chicago to Hong Kong. Or,[/li][li]Find a middleman who you’ll pay to find such a person.[/li][/ol]
My wife and I did it recently, shipping household goods in a 20-foot container from Ohio to New South Wales (via Norfolk VA, the Panama Canal and Singapore, as it turned out). We tried to do it as cheaply as possible, but the total cost was around $10,000 dollars. It turned out that clearing customs in Sydney cost more than we expected, since that involved emptying the container into a bonded warehouse, going through customs, hen reloading onto a truck to go the last 160 km to Newcastle. We had got quotes for one company to do the whole process from door to door, but that would have cost a bit more, though involved less work on our – i.e., my wife’s – part. However, we didn’t deal directly with the cargo ship: we dealt with a shipping company that handles the process of moving containers around the world, as well as with people who packed the container for us in Ohio, and other people who unpacked it in Sydney.
+1. Just sell your stuff (or give it away!) and buy new things over there. You will be 100% happier with the result!
If you factor in the time involved for hassle, for accomodations until your stuff gets there, for the need to buy things specific to your new place anyway, and the unknown about how things will fit. As well as the probable move back across the ocean! Even moving from NYC to Seattle, it was cheaper to pay to take all clothes, sheets and pictures/memories on the airplane and buy everything new. Walmart and Ikea have really driven down the cost of furnishing a place!
Anything that is special or unsellable. Put it into a storage locker or rent part of a friend’s garage, pack it up tightly, seal it. and let it wait for your return.
Shipping container prices from the US to the Asian market are way down because of all the backhauling of empty containers. Being in Chicago I would call the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad, they will get it to Seattle, and then ask who they would recommend for the international shipping.
In my experience the people that work at the ship yards see people like you all the time and can be really nice and helpful.
Thanks for the ideas so far.
Just to clarify, I’m not looking to connect directly with a ship- but just to connect with a “real” shipping company- and not some pseudo-internet company that just connects us with a real shipping company (although if the business model is the same as for travel agents, perhaps I don’t pay more out of pocket dealing with “middlemen”).
Also not looking for the movers to come to my house to pick up boxes - there seems to be a huge markup for that sort of service. We can load a pallet, container or whatever ourselves. I did find a website that gave an ‘automated’ quote for a 20 foot container for $2,700- which seems reasonable compared to Giles experience- but that cost doesn’t include customs charges, so not sure how much that adds on to the total…
Keep in mind there may be requirements for them to load the pallet for you. Expect also, they may want to see what is in every box before packing it on to the pallet for you. There needs to be a full inventory of the contents. Plus, how can they be sure all of the items you are packing aren’t actually broken before you packed them. You could pack a bunch of broken stuff, insure it, and then file a claim when it is delivered. Or what about illegal items or dirty items or other contraband. It’s there ass on the line if you are shipping illegal items, animals etc. And there are probably safety regulations or other requirements that call for specific packing and palletizing.
I’ve shipped things internationally several times, but I don’t know how much of that process was Army policy, or actual shipping company policy.
I would sell as much of it as possible. Especially your electronics. You tvs and things likely will not work over there, and by the time you get back to them in the States, they will not be worth having. Sell them now while you can still get money for them. The items you don’t want to part with could be left with a trusted friend or relative, or put in a storage unit. The storage unit might be cheaper than shipping it.
We dealt directly with shipping companies when we moved from the East Coast to Israel. The company we used offered a crating service for people who could not fill a 20’ container. Basically they come and build crates to hold your stuff for shipping. When they have enough crates to fill a container going to your destination, they send it along.
It’s cheaper than filling a container. The downside is that they have to wait until they have enough crates to fill a container before they ship your stuff.
BTW, a reputable company will use expert packers. We were pleased with our service, they got everything into a 20’ container, all tightly packed with no room for the stuff to shift.
Cool. Do you remember who you used?
The shipping company you dealt with was probably a forwarder or NVOCC (non-vessel owning cargo carrier). A forwarder often issues documents that look like contracts of carriage but if you read the fine print you will see that they just arrange, as your agent, for an actual carrier to carry the goods for you. An NVOCC operates like a shipping line but actually just books space on other people’s ships. It’s conceivable that you dealt with an actual shipping line (ie one that owns or at least time charters its own ships) but very unlikely, and to an outsider it would be hard to know the difference.
If you told me the name I could tell you, probably.
It would be exceedingly rare for actual carriers to do retail.
Well, it just so happens that a relative of mine is shipping a car from Hawaii to CA and I am going to pick it up for her just next week. She shipped it via Horizon Lines. I think they also run a shipping service between various points on the West Coast and Asia.
I’m not meaning to shill for them here – I know nothing about the company, only that they are in that business. Years ago, when I moved, the big shipping company was Matson. Anyway, you can deal directly with the company. Call their customer service numbers and ask them.
An NVOCC or freight forwarder can definitely arrange LCL (less than container load) shipments for you. I work for one. Send me a PM and I will provide you with more info.
Words of wisdom.
Strand, in New Jersey (formerly NY).
Do you know anyone at a nearby university? Academics are frequent globetrotters, so someone should know who they use for shipping.
I asked my friend who does log export. He recommended a freight forwarding company. He thought that his price from Tacoma Washington to Japan was $1,400 for a 40’ container, base price, not including any packing.
They are just international removalists. They appear to do local packing, pickup and storage themselves, but everything else would be contracted out.
Thankfully, they do the unloading themselves - they have an office in Israel also, so when we shipped with them we dealt with them on both sides of the pond. Makes life much easier. They uncrated the big furniture, and even put the beds back together again. Very smooth.