So I’ll be moving to Duesseldorf, Germany, in about a month. I don’t plan to take all my belongings, and I’ll take some of my things with me on my flight. That still leaves about a hundred books, assorted binders, and about two suitcases worth of clothing. I don’t have any reason to visit Chicago again in the near future, so it would probably be cheaper to mail or ship my things in some way rather than book a flight to Chicago and back. Is there any way to do this that won’t cost me an arm and a leg? I don’t mind if it takes weeks or even months for my things to arrive. Can anyone recommend a company or service I should check out?
Surprisingly, it can sometimes be cheaper just to pay the airline for an extra bag. It cost be a total of $110 to ship an extra, overweight bag full of books from Italy to San Diego in 2006, and it was there when I arrived. No way I could have shipped it for that.
I have used DHLto ship freight internationally. I can’t compare them to anyone else, and have no idea of their cost today, but it’s at least a starting point. I can vouch for them as being reliable, I never had any problems with shipments. They will help you (or do for you, maybe) with the necessary customs documents.
Additional baggages on my flight are certainly an option, but I was hoping I could reduce expenses if I accept a longer delivery time.
I only see express mail services and large freight shipments (for companies) on DHL’s website. Am I missing something?
I was thinking about http://www.sevenseasworldwide.com . Does anyone have experience with this company?
We paid almost $300 to ship one extra bag to Italy from Qatar this year. It only weighed 23 kgs(on Luftansia) You get extra weight if you fly business or first class. 
When we are heading back to the states we are shipping suitcases at a cost of 10 Euroes per kilo. Think it’s with TNT.
I am seeing relevant Google ads all over this thread.
I have used shipping companies a few times to move personal belongings between the U.K. and the U.S. The last time was a while ago, so I don’t remember much about the cost (and what I do remember might no longer be relevant), but these services certainly exist.
It can take a long time, though, because basically your stuff has to wait until a cargo ship (with a little bit of free space) happens to be going from the port near to where you start from to a port near where you want the stuff to be, which might happen tomorrow, but also might not happen for a couple of months. It can also be a hassle getting the stuff from the warehouse where it may have been delivered, and getting it through customs.