Shipping Household Items Out of State
Please note: this page contains reviews and opinions sent in by Berkeley Parents Net subscribers. Your
own experience may be different. Please always check references before hiring!
Berkeley Parents Network >
Reviews >
House & Garden >
Shipping Household Items Out of State
Jan 2010
I want to ship a fairly large but not heavy wooden coffee
table from Berkeley to Portland, OR. Looking for any good
suggestions that are not too expensive. Shipping via
Greyhound would be fine except that the table is 84'' long
which exceeds their length requirement The table is
84''x30''x17'' and weighs less than 75 lbs. Any suggestions
would be greatly appreciated.
anon
Try Uship.com--you describe your item to be shipped and your
desired price-point. Shippers bid on your item and you
select the one that works for you. We did it recently to
get a scooter from Idaho to CA and it worked out great.
Anon
Jan 2007
I need to have a queen size sleeper sofa shipped to Albuquerque, NM from San
Francisco. Is there a freight company that can do this without charging more than the
couch is worth? We have gotten one quote for $500 which seems too much. Two freight
companies I have called only deal with businesses, not residences, and will only ship
new furniture, not used. It is a lovely sofa and we would like to be able to keep it,
but can't spend too much on sending it. Any recommendations and ideas how to get it
to NM are welcome.
Melissa
A friend of mine used Greyhound to ship a chair she got on Ebay. They
have a quick quote online at www.shipgreyhound.com.
suzanne
May 2006
Help! Does anyone know of a transport company that will ship a
car hood from NJ to CA? It is oversized for UPS, FEDEX, USPS.
They do accept oversized shipments, but for businesses only, not
personal shipments. My son has paid for the hood, but the person
he bought it from will not arrange shipping....(good lesson
there!) Any suggestion is appreciated.
I had two armchairs shipped from TX via Greyhound. Yes, on the bus! It was cheap,
too, although I had to pick them up at the station.
anon
Jan 2005
I'm relocating for professional reasons to the east coast, and
trying to figure out the most hassle-free, economic way to make
the move. I'd appreciate any suggestions from people who've
done this before. I need to transport my car and my belongings
(many, many, many books and dishes; a few clothes, chairs, and
bookcases) and myself. I would prefer to fly and ship my
effects, but don't know how the economics work, how long it
takes to ship a car, etc. This is a very sudden move, so it
will still be winter, which makes the drive less appealing. Any
suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Bracing Myself for the Cold!
We have moved across the country twice and have not yet found an
easy way to do it without spending a lot of money. Both times
we rented a huge truck, put our car on the back of the truck and
drove. The rental and the gas, plus a few hotels stops, really
adds up. If you decide to go this route, make sure you get a
diesel truck as getting over the Rockies is nearly impossible
without one. Moving expenses when moving for work is tax
deductible, so save your receipts. Good luck!
I've moved cross country twice, and moved once across the
Atlantic. In all cases, I packed all my belongings (you can get
good boxes at U-Haul) and hired a company to do the shipping. I
never had a car, though. Overall, the cost is not unreasonable (I
think my last move - Boston to Berkeley - was about $1,500
total). Plus, your employer may offer to pay - mine did for one
of the moves. I also have lots of books and kitchen stuff, but
not much in the way of furniture. My biggest piece of advice is
to make sure you get a reliable moving company. We got stuck with
an unreliable company once, and they lost/broke several things.
When I moved from Berkeley to the east coast, I used Mayflower,
and they were very good. But it's been several years since I
moved. Before you settle on a mover, check out movingscam.com. As
for shipping a car, I know that there are agencies that will have
someone drive your car for you, but I've never done it myself.
Good luck with the move!
IC
A friend of mine recently moved everything she owned, including
a large bed frame from NYC to the Bay Area- she used Air
Express, she put her belongings in boxes and they came to bundle
them up into pallets, it was a 10 day voyage but much less
expensive considering the weight of 20 boxes of books too.
anon
We have found a company which I feel would provide you with an
economical way to relocate. If you don't mind
loading/unloading yourself (or hiring a reputable company to
perform the labor of loading and unloading), I would contact
MOVEX.com at www.movex.com. Provide MoveX.com with the
approximate contents of your possessions that are being move.
They provide a long distance tractor-trailer. You have 1 day
to load it; a driver moves your possessions to your new
home;then you have 1 day to unload it.
Macy
I've moved across country a couple of times--once I used Penske
and moved myself (ourselves)(I liked Penske alot the truck was
huge but easy to drive and comfortable--relatively you know---but
I'm reluctant to make recommendations--check it out). Another
time I rented a one way car for a nominal fee, packed some things
in the spacious car to get me through, drove across which was
really fun, and shipped the rest. Both ways were very successful
under different circumstances If I moved myself again with a
rental van now, I would hire people at the loading end to help,
this took us a long time. It was super fast at the unloading end
for us. There are also some more creative ways of doing it like
using private freight storage companies, but I have no personal
experience with this route. Good luch!
anon
A few comments on the advice given to the person who was moving
cross country. For almost two years I've been a volunteer on
the consumer advocacy website www.MovingScam.com (recommended
by one person who responded) - I post there as ''Diane.'' At
MovingScam.com, we recommend moving yourself if possible,
either with a rental van (Penske has the best reviews) or with
a U-Pack, We-Drive type company such as ABF U-Pack at
www.upack.com or Broadway Express at www.broadwayexpress.net.
Although I personally moved with ABF and wrote a glowing review
about it for www.Epinions.com, I now feel that Broadway Express
(BE) is a better choice for most people. Included in the low BE
price are amenities such an air-ride trailer, a ramp, moving pads,
tie-down straps, and dollies. You can also move your car on the
same trailer with your household goods. Although it's somewhat
more expensive to do this than to ship your car on an open
carrier with a company like Dependable Auto Shippers or Tn'T
(both of which have good reviews on MovingScam.com), your car
and your household items arrive at the same time with BE,
avoiding the long delays that beset the auto transport
business. Transit time cross-country with BE is usually 7 to 10
days, sometimes less.
The most important advantage of BE in my mind is that you can
hire the BE driver to help you load for a small hourly fee (and
you can get additional labor from a temp agency like Labor
Ready at www.laborready.com if you don't have friends to help
you). The more than 70 people who have posted good reviews of
BE at http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1935
praise the drivers to the skies and say that it's like having a
trusted friend there helping you in what can be a very
stressful situation. The driver who picks up your things is the
one who delivers it and there are virtually no reports of
damage, probably because of the air-ride trailers.
Because moving with a freight company like BE is a new concept
for most people, I developed a FAQ sheet about it (with photos
showing how it works) at
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1771. I have no
financial connection with either BE or ABF, but I feel that
they are both excellent companies that treat customers right.
The fact that they charge by the floor space your things
occupy, rather than by weight, also favors people who have a
lot of books. Most people who move with BE or ABF save about
40% over the cost of a full-service moving company.
A further comment about the advice given to use Movex. DO NOT
USE MOVEX. Movex is a broker in Tampa, FL, that uses Broadway
Express as one of its main carriers, and people who think that
Movex did a good job for them have often had BE as their
assigned carrier. However, if you use a broker you are opening
yourself up to paying a broker's fee and putting an extra layer
between yourself and the freight company, which can cause
problems as described here -
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff125851.htm.
There is no reason to go through Movex to use BE--contact
Broadway Express directly at www.broadwayexpress.net. Note,
however, that Movex has set up a non-compete clause with BE
whereby you can't get a quote from BE if you already have one
from Movex. (The person who posted about Movex also had some of
the facts wrong--you don't get a full day to load and a full
day to unload. The driver stays with the trailer while you load
and unload and you get several hours depending on the size of
the shipment.)
If you want to use a full-service moving company (one that will
load and unload the trailer) and cost is a concern, a company
that has very good reviews on MovingScam.com is Delancey Street
Movers in San Francisco, reachable through the Delancey Street
Foundation there. They often cost somewhat less than other
companies because they employ ex-prisoners, ex-drug addicts,
etc. I describe Delancey Street in detail in this thread -
http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2775. In
general, expect to pay at least $2,000 for a full-service mover
to move a shipment of whatever size cross-country.
MovingScam.com maintains a Blacklist of scam movers that can be
checked out, and you should always put the name of any company
you?re considering into Google to see whether any complaints
come up. If anyone needs further advice about moving, please
feel free to contact me or just go to the messageboard at
MovingScam.com. I hope this helps!
Diane
We've moved across teh country twice using ABF. they bring you a trailer, you load it
yourself, and they drive it. both times the service was excellent. they are honest. it
cost us about 1500 to move all possesions in a 2 bedroom house. they calculate it
by feet of trailer you use, not by pound. it was far cheaper than any other
alternative we could find--and, because you and your freinds pack it yourself, you
can be sure you pack it the way you like it. nothing got broken either time.
sarah
Shipping one piece of furniture
I need to move an antique china cabinet from the East Coast to the Bay Area.
It's a fragile-ish
piece (has glass windows with thin, curved wood inlays.) It was my
grandmother's and has
great sentimental value to me. Does anyone have a recommendation for
movers who will
carry just one piece for you, and get it to you intact (without it costing three
times what the
piece is worth??) Thanks!
Elise
We're interested in having a dining room set (table, eight chairs, hutch)
shipped from my
mother-in-law's home in New York to our home in Oakland. Has anyone had
experience
shipping a small load like this, and can you recommend a company who would
handle
something small? Thanks--
Carolyn
I have a sofa that I would like to give to a friend in San Diego. It's a used sofa
and of course
the difficulty is in transporting it for less than what it would cost to buy one
there. Anyone
know of an inexpensive way to move this? Is anyone moving to San Diego in
the next few
months with extra space in their truck/moving company, or know of someone
who might?
cris
We shipped some antiques cross country when our Dad died. Look in the
yellow pages in
the town in question for packing firms. (Maybe it is actually under ''furniture''--I
can't
remember exactly but the ads are typically self-explanatory.) Someone comes
and builds a
crate for you (essentially a large cardboard box with lots of interior foam) that
is custom fit
to the item(s). They know how to do this, and they know the trucking
companies that will
ship this kind of item.
It is very easy but not cheap. They will tell you the cost when they come & you
can decide
whether it is worth it. In our case, we figured it actually came out to about the
value of the
item. Since it had sentimental value as well, we had no problem paying it. The
item arrived
our our home with not a mark on it.
Mary Ann
this page was last updated: Aug 1, 2010
The opinions and statements expressed on this website
are those of parents who subscribe to the
Berkeley Parents Network.
Please see
Disclaimer & Usage for
information about using content on this website.
Copyright © 1996-2013 Berkeley Parents Network