# Cheapest way to move from US to UK?



## suitsyousir (Aug 8, 2008)

Since this delightful forum is filled with wonderfully cosmopolitan people, I thought it appropriate to ask this here:

I'm in the process of heading to Afghanistan, but my wife is moving to the UK with all our belongings. I'm trying to figure out the cheapest way for my wife to ship these belongings from our studio apartment to London. 

No furniture to send, mostly clothes and books. Definitely not enough to warrant a container.

But since USPS got rid of surface mail, the package-shipping prices have skyrocketed to at least $2.6 per pound. UPS & co. are at least 3x more expensive than USPS. 

Does anyone know any better options?


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## Portuguese-Connection (Jul 10, 2009)

When I moved from the USA to Portugal I paid for excess baggage with the airlines. 8 suitcases and a set of golf clubs cost me about $800 in fees.....but the price was great compared to the shippers.

Upon moving back to the USA I found that movers like Gauntlett (a UK firm) were twice the price to return. Anyhow, I personally think that the best bet is to go the excess baggage route. It is a nightmare in the airport but the cheapest route to get your items to Europe. Just know coming back to the USA is more expensive.


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## Phinn (Apr 18, 2006)

suitsyousir said:


> No furniture to send, *mostly clothes and books*.


I have nothing useful to offer regarding international shipping prices, but I do applaud you on your priorities in life.


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## jackmccullough (May 10, 2006)

This might be a cost-effective application for the Kindle.


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## Ricardo-CL (Mar 31, 2009)

I moved to Germany almost four years ago to do my master, and the best thing to do is to get in touch with these guys that specialize in moving cargo than are less than a container; you only need to put everything together in a palettized wood box, which most of the time you can obtain from them, and request the collection or take it yourself to their depots. Once in the destination, you just arrange the collection of your crate at their depots, and in some cases, they can deliver it to your place using third-party courier services (in my opinion the less people you involve, the best, although it might mean to rent a big truck at both places).
These guys do business consolidating a lot of boxes in a single container, hence they might take a while to fill up a container. 

The crate I sent back to Chile was 1.5x1.5x1 mts. and weighed 210 kg., mostly from books, clothes, shoes, my bike, my computer, pretty much everything. It cost me 900 EUR. including the wood crate... the only problem is that I had to drive to the Netherlands to deliver the crate because with the collection included, the price soared to 1.200 EUR!. Don't forget that -if you go with one of these guys- you need clear up everything regarding the payment of taxes, custom fees, etc. at the destination, they use something called Incoterms 2000, which specify who is responsible for what at the different stages of the shipping. (DDU means you pay nothing once you collect it at the destination)

If you happen to live near a sea port, you'll be able to find a lot of these companies, just make sure that they're trustworthy, needless to say that they must be liable for your cargo via an insurance or a contract.


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