Shipping

[Fraisinette]

Hey everybody! We're getting ready for the big move to the ME and am wondering what is the best / cheapest method for shipping our essentials. We get a shipping allowance, but have 2 young children, so of course lots of things that we need to bring with us. TIA!

[sciteach]

This does not answer your original question - but I do think what I'm about to say is important.

It's nice to bring things with you to a new country - but I STRONGLY SUGGEST that you are brutal when choosing what to bring with you. As such - just bring your prized possessions, clothes and things which are really important to you. Things which are bulky (such as paintings/furniture etc) are best kept in your home country preferably at your families house at no cost. Remember that most things can be purchased overseas and you'll notice that you tend to buy medium quality brands which are cheap, last a couple of years but work well for the time you have them (like Tefal)....

I'm just mentioning this after lugging a nice Platinum 8 Person Dinnerwear set to two countries which I never use. I never paid for it to be shipped - but the idea that it's worth lots of money so I should keep it loses interest when you realize that half of the value is spent on just sending it to your next location. All I'll say is that some locals are very happy with me at the moment.....

[PsyGuy]

First I agree with sciteach, people tend to take way to much stuff.
On to your inquiry. best and cheapest tend to be the balancing points, there is no best and cheap option. You have cheap options and you have more efficient options. You generally have 3 issues when it comes to shipping: 1) Cost, 2) Efficiency (how fast it gets there) 3) Convenience.

Baggage: This refers to transporting your items on the plane trip. Depending how much you bring it can be very economical compared to options like DHL/FedEx. However at a certain point your paying a couple hundred dollars for 50lbs/22Kg The efficiency is the best, it goes with you, so it gets there (supposed to) at the same time you do, though if your lucky and you pray you will hope for delayed baggage. This means the airline will courier your luggage to your residence/destination, saving you the trouble of having to lug it around. Which bring us to convenience. Its a pain, you have to stand in line at the counter or curbside check the luggage, you have to claim it (hopefully just once) and then you have to wheel it around though airports and hopefully your school provides an airport pickup, but if they dont or its at odd hours you may have to move it around a city or further. That gets VERY unwieldy when you have two large checked rollers, a carry on "pilots case" and a personal item. Lastly, when its empty even if its the type on luggage that nestles inside one another with a family of 4 thats still 4 large bags taking up space.

Courier: This is one of the many services that have grown in popularity that essentially pick up your luggage at your residence (or a convenient drop off point) and transport your luggage directly to your final residence destination. Its the equivalent of "FedEx/DHL" your baggage. Its not very efficient, time frames are 5-10 days, so you have to be packed far in advance, and the cost is pretty high at $300-$400 average per standard (50lbs) bag. The convenience though is very high. Your bags are waiting where ever you want them to be when you get there.
A partial option of this is the airport residence courier service. For $25-$50 per standard bag a service picks your baggage up at your residence or you drop it off at the airport and they handle deliver to your residence or its available for pickup and checking at the airport.

Air Freight: This is a less glamorous version of a courier. Instead of packing your property in luggage and being flown on commercial passenger aircraft. You box your items (as if you were moving) and then deliver them yourself to a departure point where they fly on a cargo aircraft. Its not very fast, about 7-21 days and you pay more for faster delivery, but everything is just an estimate. Its the best option when you have several hundred pounds of stuff that you want to transport without breaking the bank or waiting forever. Sometimes you pick the items up (requiring a vehicle and time) or you arrange for conventional ground (truck delivery) at the destination.

Cargo Container: This involves packing your stuff again much as you are moving, and securing the boxes on a palette and wrapping them, with poly binders and plastic film. This pallet then goes into a ship container and "sails" to a destination port, where you either pick it up (vehicle, and potentially long drive) or arrange for ground transportation (truck) to your residence. This is the cheapest method of shipping suitable when your getting close to measuring stuff in tons or portions thereof. It is also painfully slow, 3-6 months, and you may have to clear the property through costumes at a warehouse. Still if your wife wants to bring her 500 lbs shoe collection or you have a lot of seasonal clothing (that you can wait for) its a very cost effective option.

[IAMBOG]

We arrived in China with fifteen suitcases. On cost and efficiency it won out. On convenience, well it certainly wasn't ideal trying to push three luggage carts through the airport (I had a bit of a train going), plus two kids under ten, one in a stroller. However, it was cool to have everything there instantly. I never considered the possibility of having the luggage delayed. Perhaps in future we should check the baggage right at the last minute before running through security.

Anyway, wife says we'll never do that again :-)

[MizMorton]

We got a job with no shipping allowance, which we're taking as a blessing in disguise. We're bringing one large suitcase each, and one additional box each. If it doesn't fit in those, it doesn't come with us. We're storing a few boxes of our most prized possessions (and yes, really being brutal about everything-- mostly saving unusual pieces or artwork) in basements of friends and family and estate-selling everything else.

I can't wait. The hardest part of it is making the decision to do it, really.

[Overhere]

Iambog, thanks for bringing back the fond memories of trying to negotiate LAX with 12 70 lb bags and kids. I remember the porters looking at me like I was out of my mind. At the time I thought I should have my head examined, but looking back I wish I could do it all over again.

To the OP, I would say just use your best judgement based on research. Write teachers who currently work at the school, ask if the school has any packing suggestions and then be your own best judge. Nothing beats a home away from home those first few months as you become acclimated to a new culture, climate and school. The worst that can happen is you have too much stuff and perhaps some of it stays behind when you move on. On the other hand, perhaps it will cost you a bit more to take it all home with you but in the end does it really matter.

We have shipped multiple times, in any number of ways and there are always hangups no matter which method you choose. Again, continue asking questions on the forum as well as of the movers in your home town. As both Iambog and I have attested to, you can move in extra baggage but it has a cost as well, sometimes its your dignity :)

If you do decide to ship I would suggest trying to find a company that can represent you at both ends, pickup and delivery. I have found that to be the easiest. Also make sure you get quotes for door to door service, especially wherever you are moving to. I once had to find the warehouse, hire a trucker and get the stuff delivered while trying to do everything else necessary to move into a house in a new country, it was a pain. Also make sure you find out about all the costs. I know when I moved to China some of my fellow new hires were hit with large tax bills that they didn't expect and that took some of the fun out getting their stuff.

Good luck with your move, it is exciting, nerve wracking, sometimes stressful but always worth it in the end!

[Fraisinette]

Thank you! You are all incredibly awesome with your detailed suggestions. It would be important for our kids to have some familiar objects with them for sure :-) We have enough shipping allowance for about 11 suitcases I think. Do you all recommend getting rubbermaid totes? I think that they would be easier to store in our new house.

[Overhere]

Soft Rubbermaid works better than the stiff walled stuff, we had one of those shatter in transit. Don't go overboard on the rubbermaid however, you'll still need suitcases for your travels.

Drill holes in the corners of the lids and lips of the bottoms and perhaps along the sides of the top if you take the big ones. Use zip ties to secure the lid and bottom together. Put extra ties in your carryon just in case you get to the airport and need to make some adjustments. Take some extra just in case you can't find them easily in the ME for when you want to bring a box home.

[PsyGuy]

@Fraisinette

I recommend boxes boxes. They carry as well as totes, are super cheap, and store very well in that you can fold them flat or just dispose of them. They offer the same amount of protection as totes and dont require the drilling of holes or twist ties, and boxes are easier to secure with tape then totes. You can also bind them with poly banding to create a carry handle of sorts. If you were going to go with totes I agree and recommend the soft sided and lidded model that have some flexibility. The hard sided ones are far more prone to break.

[twoteachers]

Total newbie question....you don't bring these through the airport do you? As luggage? Wasn't even thinking that way...but can see how much easier tat would be. We don't have a shipping allowance either so the more I can bring with me the better...

[PsyGuy]

@twoteachers

Yes they are checked as baggage/luggage at the airport, and travel with you while in transit.

[Overhere]

If you do use tape to secure your boxes, don't tape them up until after you have them weighed and are sure they are going to be checked in as is. We taped the first time, and wouldn't you know it we had to do some rearranging and the tape was a pain in the butt to deal with at the checkin counter, thus our move to zip ties.

[Basmad6]

Great packing ideas! Thanks for sharing. Never thought of the tub idea, but have a few trusty ones in storage and these may be my go to in the future

[shadowjack]

I use 4 cube boxes (like from a storage place, or Budget/UHaul). Load them up square, weigh them to 23 kilos/50 pounds) and then paper on every side with address in new country, covered with clear packing tape then duck tape the boxes so that they simply won't come open.

Remember to number and itemize your boxes - so you remember what is in each one, especially if you have to make a claim or it is lost. You can insure them if you want - we never do, though.

For bags, we use hockey/duffle bags - high quality canvas.

Came to my last country with 9 bags/boxes and everything came through fine. Shipping was 2000 bucks - but shipping with a company was over $1,000 MORE.

Hope that helps,

shad

[Fraisinette]

Fantastic tips .Yes, we were thinking of 4 big suitcases and the rest totes. Do you need to contact the airlines before arriving with all the boxes? Can they offer you a lower rate if you tell warn them before hand?