How to ship furniture easily

June 11, 2007 3:50 PM

Shipping furniture halfway across the country. I haven't the foggiest....

My parents have given me a sofa and two chairs, all quite heavy and appx. 2000 miles away. How can I go about having these shipped from Texas to Oregon (specifically, Amarillo to Portland) with the least amount of fuss?

posted by joseph_elmhurst to home & garden (7 comments total)

You might be surprised at how expensive this will be. If these aren't valuable or sentimental pieces of furniture, it might be more economical for your parents to sell them locally, give you the proceeds, and for you to buy a sofa and two chairs locally.
posted by found missing at 3:59 PM on June 11, 2007

Unless it's wonderful/heirloom furniture, or you have a relative with a truck that happens to be driving between here and there, it likely not worth the trouble.

You might try something like http://www.uship.com/ but I have a feeling it will cost you over $600. And you could get a nice couch and chairs delivered off craigslist (or freecycle) for less.
posted by Ookseer at 4:42 PM on June 11, 2007

This will be freakishly expensive, unless you can luck into a deal with a shipping company that's already going your way and has some extra space on a truck. I recently tried to get a few pieces of furniture shipped from New York to Winnipeg, and no one quoted lower than $1,800 US. Call a few shipping companies near where your parents live for free estimates.

If you really want the furniture, getting someone to rent a UHaul and drive it to you might be a better idea.
posted by Koko at 5:33 PM on June 11, 2007

I haven't looked that prices or routes - but you might check Amtrak. A few years ago one of my sisters shipped a lot via Amtrak and she said it was quite cheap.

I believe you have to take it to and pick it up at the station.
posted by nightwood at 6:03 PM on June 11, 2007

We bought a chair (a faux Eames lounger & ottoman, to be exact) from a vintage store in Tampa, and it cost about $350 to have it shipped to us in Madison, WI by Craters & Freighters.

It worked out for us because the chair itself was pretty cheap and we really dig it. But it seems like the cost to ship a sofa would be brutal.
posted by altcountryman at 7:57 PM on June 11, 2007

I like Mom's Moving.
posted by idest at 4:18 AM on June 12, 2007

idest just linked to my similar question of some time ago. We ended up discussing the issue with Mom some more and she'd decided she wanted to continue using the furniture for the time being. We agreed that we'd take the furniture when we leave our son with her for a summer vacation.

So, in two weeks, we'll fly out for our annual visit (also 2000 miles away). We're renting a truck and moving ourselves. We were able to negotiate a significantly reduced truck rental because the company said they had more in NM than they needed. So, our one way trip to VA was going to help them out. The truck is going to cost us $500. We'll have to pay for gas, meals and lodging on the road. However, we're treating this as part of our vacation since this will be the first child-free road trip in several years. We're actually looking forward to a long scenic drive. Maybe this would be an option for you if you want to keep the furniture.
posted by onhazier at 6:44 AM on June 12, 2007