moving to america- anyone shipped their stuff before?

Roadkillv1 · 29 Mar 2016 at 18:39

looking for advice on bringing some things with me. not furniture or the like, just boxes of various items, clothes, gaming equipment, dvds, etc. the nerdy essentials. has anyone used a good service before? i don't need speed, but good quality and ideally not crazy expensive. i can be without the stuff for a while. the idea of packing my consoles and pc and paying extra on the plane isn't very appealing.

R-evans · 29 Mar 2016 at 18:43

Might save money by selling your PC and consoles before you go then buy them again in the states. Probably wouldn't be out of pocket doing that, electronics in the US are usually around 1/3 cheaper than UK.

Soundood · 29 Mar 2016 at 18:46

unless you are transporting furniture say with a high price tag, I would say it isn't worth it,

whatever route you choose, do one thing for me, add up the cost to replace all the items you cant carry on the plane,

then add put that up against the cost of shipping, and the time without having it (6 weeks or longer)

and the risk of damage in transit, especially computer equipment, as above how about sellling it all and buying when you get over there?

I think you will come to the same conclusion as some of my friends.

MissChief · 29 Mar 2016 at 18:55

Kiwi has done it more than once I believe. He's the only Kiwi who lives in LA but flew back to London to get his British citizenship that I know!

Roadkillv1 · 29 Mar 2016 at 19:25

a fair amount of the stuff has a good sentiment value, and many of the games etc are quite rare or collectors stuff, i'd rather not sell/replace. i'm close to my belongings!

Origin · 29 Mar 2016 at 20:22

When I moved to the West Coast of Canada, I used Anglo Pacific. I didn't bring furniture or large electronics. I packed my own boxes, made lists (detailed) of what was in each box, (around 20 or so) they came along, checked them, put them on their truck and then I just waited until they had a full container (part share makes it a lot cheaper, but a bit slower). I was kept updated (stuff was delayed this end due to a strike at the terminal) They then called to arrange delivery and came and dropped everything off. I think it cost around 1700 pounds all in, including insurance.

If I remember rightly, they also offer packing services.
There are a lot of companies out there, have a look on the expats forum for some recommendations, there are / were quite a few threads on moving.

D.P. · 29 Mar 2016 at 20:27

I just used parcel force or UPS or some such after doing some price comparisons.

You want to watch things like electronics, e.g. consoles probably don't work in US.

JBod · 29 Mar 2016 at 20:30

I just used a shipping comparison site when I moved to California from Surrey. The company was picking up the tab though, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered with a full size container (that we only half filled).

You have to list and declare every single item for customs, you also might get randomly selected for closer inspection. Which includes looking at data on hard drives etc... If you do get randomly selected you can kiss a further $100+ good bye.

I also bought one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Goldsource-ST...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

Roadkillv1 · 29 Mar 2016 at 20:40

thanks jbod, i'm gonna order that too, that's a damn good price for something i'll need. yeah i don't need a full container, i'm willing to wait however long it takes, and i only have perhaps....10 good sized boxes of stuff so hopefully it won't be an insane price. i actually didn't know shipping comparison sites existed...i'll be able to weigh everything tomorrow so that should give me a good idea. i've heard ups and fedex aren't that bad but i'll look into a proper freight company too...

the power converter is all i need for it to work in the u.s right? i'm not buying new games for my stuff while i'm out there.

JBod · 29 Mar 2016 at 20:44

Yea, as long as you don't exceed the max power output. I have my UK XBox running through it and a couple of other items.

I have a US TV that I am planning on running through it when I return in a couple of years.

Rifte · 29 Mar 2016 at 21:01

Last year I used Eagle Relocations based in Watford. £1500 all in ( they packed it all and damn well) to take 300 cubic feet worth of stuff to India. They listed it all as it went in and they had a guy in customs in India who cleared it for me.

All arrived in tact and not damaged ( included a fridge freezer, washing machine, dishwasher, ps4, xbox one, blu ray player, my pc ( minus gpu and hard drives, these came on the plane with me) and 3 led tvs all over 50 inches. Also the usual clothes and kitchen utensils.They even brought it to my door in India and unloaded it. True door to door service.

Total freight time was 6 weeks.

Amp34 · 29 Mar 2016 at 23:56

JBod said:
Yea, as long as you don't exceed the max power output. I have my UK XBox running through it and a couple of other items.

I have a US TV that I am planning on running through it when I return in a couple of years.

You probably won't need to. I brought my UK TV over to Canada and it works just fine as it's dual voltage, like most electronics nowadays. That said just checked my NA Xbox 360 and it only runs on 120v so not everything!

Deceptor · 30 Mar 2016 at 00:16

Roadkillv1 said:
the power converter is all i need for it to work in the u.s right? i'm not buying new games for my stuff while i'm out there.

XB 360/One needs a converter (or US power brick), despite both having huge power bricks they are don't like alternate voltages (they won't power on, but are unharmed). I had zero issues with other electronics I brought over though (PS3/4, laptops, desktops, other odd bits). In most cases an adapter will work just fine.

A good idea might be to bring a power strip/surge protector from the UK, then with 1 adapter you have plenty of plugs to use. Plus the US sockets are much smaller so it's a pain to try use adapters everywhere.

As for moving stuff, my employer used Sterling Relocation. It was pretty expensive, but two custom water-cooled machines (with graphics cards etc all still in place) made it over in one piece, not a drop of liquid lost!

Good luck with the move!

sammo62 · 30 Mar 2016 at 00:20

I shipped my desktop + monitor with I think DHL when I moved. I just got an online quote and drove it over to the depot. Cost me about $200 in total if I remember rightly.

The desktop was fine but the monitor got a bit beaten up - you can see damage lines if you don't stand head-on to it.

The rest I just did with suitcases - much cheaper to pay £25 than go through the shipping hassle.

Kutter · 30 Mar 2016 at 00:34

Luckly the company i worked for in the UK used their international shipper to ship 2 boxes over here for me, one was about 3ft cubed and the other was smaller with my hand tools. It cost me £100 and it got to my address in the US in 3 days.

My parents use one of the parcel companies to send stuff over here, and its cheaper than Royalmail and usually comes fedex on this side, again it takes about 3 days. I will have to ask her who it is she uses.