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SimeyTheLimey · Mar 24, 2004, 11:28 AM

I have a couple of pieces of furniture which my brother wants to give me. He is located in Coventry and I am in the US. I need a company to pick them up from his house, pack them, and ship them to me. It could be by the slowest means possible, for all I care.

I'm having trouble getting anyone to give me a quote, but I don't want to bother my brother with organizing it. Does anyone know a reliable shipping or international removals company in the Midlands who would take a small job?

Thanks!

engaged · Mar 24, 2004, 03:20 PM

I can only suggest Kuehne & Nagel - we used to use them to ship between UK, Netherlands and the USA when I worked for a small engineering company. They are very knowledgeable.
(I think that they might be the company that Apple use to ship internationally.)

K&N

The Placid Casual · Mar 24, 2004, 03:34 PM

Kuehne & Nagel are good, although I would expect, very expensive.

I would look at www.yell.com, and have a look for shippers in the Coventry/Midlands area... there should be loads about. Then get some quotes... they will probably vary a fair amount.

I work in shipping, but on a larger scale, and would say that you may get a much better deal from a small company than a large shipping Co.

Just be sure to get some good insurance!

SubGeniux · Mar 24, 2004, 03:53 PM

TNT are quite good for internaional deliveries, they have an online system to calculate the wight, and cost for you too.

http://www.tnt.com/country/en_corporate.html

SimeyTheLimey · Mar 24, 2004, 05:09 PM

Thanks for the links. I didn't have much luck with the local directories. I didn't see much indication that they could handle international shipping and most didn't have web sites. If I don't have any luck with the bigger shippers, I'll start picking up the long distance phone and calling them. But I get the feeling that the bigger shippers will be less freaked out by having a person way over in the US trying to get something shipped from the UK.

I sent an e-mail to K&N. I'll see if they get back to me. None of the others I tried bothered. I went to TNT's UK web site. I couldn't figure out how to make that work for me. Part of the problem is I need someone who will pick up and pack it. I think perhaps I'm falling between the cracks between package shipping and international moving. I really need the service of the latter, but not the volume. Maybe that's why they are blowing me off.

SubGeniux · Mar 24, 2004, 05:18 PM

Yes, I've had trouble in the past with TNT's website ,but the service was good in the end.

What you might loko into, is a courier that handles containers, my friend moved back to the States form the UK and she just fileld a container with all her belongings; they came roudn and packed everything too. I can't remember who the courier was though.

Good luck.

SimeyTheLimey · Mar 24, 2004, 05:42 PM

Originally posted by SubGeniux:
What you might loko into, is a courier that handles containers, my friend moved back to the States form the UK and she just fileld a container with all her belongings; they came roudn and packed everything too. I can't remember who the courier was though.

Good luck.

That's pretty much what I did when I first moved back to the US from England. But it's a lot easier when you can go around there and talk to them face to face and tell them what you want. For some reason, those kinds of companies don't seem very customer friendly. But it's probably just that a small job doesn't seem worth their while.

I have a friend who is a freight forwarder in Felixstowe. Maybe I can get him to just shove it in the next container to Baltimore?

SubGeniux · Mar 24, 2004, 05:51 PM

Originally posted by SimeyTheLimey:

I have a friend who is a freight forwarder in Felixstowe. Maybe I can get him to just shove it in the next container to Baltimore?

LOL, now that would be cheeky, hehe.

You're right though, and especially whe nit comes to personal items, you generally feel happier knowing you got your message across to them properly, rather than through a fax or something.

I guess though, if you're not in too much of a hurry, spend that bit extra time checking out all possibilites, and especially insurance. You never know where your stuf might end up.

Mediaman_12 · Mar 24, 2004, 08:03 PM

Originally posted by SimeyTheLimey:
I have a couple of pieces of furniture which my brother wants to give me. He is located in Coventry and I am in the US. I need a company to pick them up from his house, pack them, and ship them to me. It could be by the slowest means possible, for all I care.

I'm having trouble getting anyone to give me a quote, but I don't want to bother my brother with organizing it. Does anyone know a reliable shipping or international removals company in the Midlands who would take a small job?

Thanks!

As it is furniture, you could try Pickfords. They are mainly a removals (the people you get in when you move house) company, so they will be used to packing & moving pieces of furniture, they are also part of a larger International company (Alied Pickfords) and have a website for International Baggage consignments.
They have a Midlands branch in Birmingham, so you could give them a try.

SimeyTheLimey · Mar 24, 2004, 10:23 PM

Originally posted by Mediaman_12:
As it is furniture, you could try Pickfords. They are mainly a removals (the people you get in when you move house) company, so they will be used to packing & moving pieces of furniture, they are also part of a larger International company (Alied Pickfords) and have a website for International Baggage consignments.
They have a Midlands branch in Birmingham, so you could give them a try.

Excellent! I dropped them a line.

Mastrap · Mar 25, 2004, 04:59 PM

Get insurance.

My girlfriend works in shipping and apparently it is quite common for containers to wash overboard in heavy weather. Not much of a problem if it's goods that can be replaced, a bit of a blow for stuff that carries sentimental value.

It looks like we'll be moving to North America this year, I want to make damn sure that our container is somewhere in the bowels of the ship.

talisker · Mar 25, 2004, 08:53 PM

Originally posted by Mastrap:
Get insurance.

My girlfriend works in shipping and apparently it is quite common for containers to wash overboard in heavy weather. Not much of a problem if it's goods that can be replaced, a bit of a blow for stuff that carries sentimental value.

It looks like we'll be moving to North America this year, I want to make damn sure that our container is somewhere in the bowels of the ship.

Good point. And check the insurance condition carefully. i.e. is it insurance against damage, or just complete loss? Does it cover you for goods you packed yourself? Is the value insured adequate? etc etc

Mastrap, I shipped all our stuff from the UK to New Zealand a couple of years ago and used these guys, Shore Porters Not sure if they handle the whole UK, as they're based in Aberdeen, but they were reasonably priced and very professional. Our stuff was all sitting in storage in Edinburgh, and they picked it up, repacked it all for shipping, and shipped it out to us. Not one breakage. Highly recommended.

SimeyTheLimey · Mar 26, 2004, 07:01 AM

Originally posted by Mastrap:
Get insurance.

My girlfriend works in shipping and apparently it is quite common for containers to wash overboard in heavy weather. Not much of a problem if it's goods that can be replaced, a bit of a blow for stuff that carries sentimental value.

The problem with insurance is it isn't much help if the goods have sentimental value -- which these items do as they are family furniture.

I've received one quote so far for shipping (not including the insurance quote), for UKP 867. I can't tell yet if that is good or bad.

talisker, I contacted your recommended company. Thanks!