# Relocating to Germany - Need Way to Ship Books and Clothes **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 15, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relocating-to-germany-need-way-to-ship-books-and-clothes/543308 "2010-06-15T16:33:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![velaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ce7236/32.png) [@velaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velaro)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relocating-to-germany-need-way-to-ship-books-and-clothes/543308/1 "2010-06-15T16:33:40Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relocating-to-germany-need-way-to-ship-books-and-clothes/543308/2 "2010-06-15T16:38:06Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relocating-to-germany-need-way-to-ship-books-and-clothes/543308/3 "2010-06-15T17:20:52Z")
I have used [DHL](http://www.dhl.com/en.html)to 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. ---
**Author:** ![velaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ce7236/32.png) [@velaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velaro)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relocating-to-germany-need-way-to-ship-books-and-clothes/543308/4 "2010-06-19T14:41:38Z")
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](http://www.sevenseasworldwide.com) . Does anyone have experience with this company? ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relocating-to-germany-need-way-to-ship-books-and-clothes/543308/5 "2010-06-20T07:11:59Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relocating-to-germany-need-way-to-ship-books-and-clothes/543308/6 "2010-06-20T08:09:57Z")
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.