Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with shipping

Shipping stuff from Toronto to the UK

gaby — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 18:29:03 -0800

Shipping from Canada to the UK: I have a few extra bags and two bikes that I want to send back to the UK ahead of our return home. We're currently living in Toronto. Have you used any good shipping companies lately? I have found this previous question which is going in the other direction but there's so many shipping companies that I don't even know where to begin. We have two large-ish suitcases and two bikes, and possibly another large suitcase or two.

We'd rather ship it (as opposed to sending it as excess baggage) as getting it to the airport here will be a pain, and getting it back from the airport to home when land in the UK will be equally harsh. Were flying in to London and we live up north.

There's nothing valuable or fragile being shipped and it doesn't matter if it takes 6 weeks to get home, we just need to get it shipped fairly soon.

...international sales virgin

bonobothegreat — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 08:06:37 -0800

HoldmyhandFilter... I'm thinking of selling/shipping a rather expensive antique instrument to someone in Europe (I'm in Canada). I've bought stuff from online websites but never sold anything, so I'm a bit nervous and was hoping to get a bit of background before dealing with the buyer any further.

It may take a month before the deal is done (he's asking for time to raise the money), so I'm guessing if we've settled on the price in Canadian funds now, he should agree to pay whatever his exchange rate is at the time the deal goes through. I'd be happy for any advice on the best method of shipping and insuring an old ukulele.

I only know this person through Youtube comments and from his Myspace page (he seems very much on the up and up), so I assume I just wait for his cheque to clear before shipping the item.

Is there anything I'm forgetting?

Is air shipping much more inefficient than truck shipping?

Caviar — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:51:31 -0800

How much jet fuel does it take to fly a 50lb box 100 miles vs. gasoline for driving the same box the same distance? Assume the vehicles are going there anyway - what I want to know is the difference between flying an empty plane and flying one carrying the box, and the same question for a car/truck. Presumably the answer depends heavily on the type and efficiency of the plane and car, but approximate answers are fine. Are we talking roughly equivalent amounts of fuel, or an order of magnitude difference?

DHL want to charge me for something I already own!

mooza — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:19:48 -0800

I'm in Germany for the next few months. Had one of my hard drives shipped to me by a friend so I could get to some of my files. DHL have it now and won't give it to me without a fee and a receipt! What's up with that? The drive is about a year old, bought it in Sydney, used it to back up all my files, went overseas. I'm in Berlin temporarily on a working holiday visa, leaving in a few months. Had the drive shipped here.

DHL want proof of purchase (this is possible, but I'll have to get someone in Sydney to try and find it, and then fax it to me or something). If it's an old item, why would they need it?

They want to charge me 9% of the declared value. I assume that's the VAT.

Apart from being a foreigner who's going to leave the country soon and so shouldn't be liable for the VAT, this hard drive is old, is mine, and has a bunch of my files on it.

I guess they think the drive is new. How can I convince them it's an old drive without having to go through the rigmarole of finding the receipt for it when I'm halfway across the world? Our friend who sent it labelled it as a gift - I didn't think this would be a big deal. Maybe it is? This is all compounded by my crappy handle on the German language. Your advice will be bestowed on a grateful recipient. Thanks all.

Advice on avoiding customs charges when shipping personal property to myself (US->UK)?

-1 — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:13:20 -0800

I'd like to have my brother ship an item I bought in the US to me (I'm in the UK.) I'd also like not to have to hand over my first born child to UK Customs. Any suggestions? Basically, the situation is this:

I'm in the UK for the next couple months. I've got an item of mine in the US, that I purchased in the US. I'd like to have it shipped to me in the UK. I'm worried that customs will open the package, make up a value, and charge me some outrageous fee. This has happened to me in the past -- including being assessed VAT on things that were purchased in the US while I was a resident there.

I was considering simply getting my brother to send it to me from my return address (i.e. source and destination names are the same), as I seem to recall this method working for me a couple years back.

I was wondering if anyone had any first-hand experience with avoiding customs charges when shipping your personal property to yourself.

Where can I buy boxes in the Netherlands?

MentokTheMindToker — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:50:54 -0800

I'm having great difficulty finding a supplier of boxes and packing materials in the Netherlands that doesn't require buying in bulk I have two colocated servers (Dell PowerEdge 2950) sitting in a datacenter in Amsterdam that I need to ship back to Australia. The datacenter got rid of the original boxes so I have to supply my own. My first option was to get the shipper (FedEx) to pack them for me, but the dimensions of their large 25kg boxes aren't big enough. Second option is to find a local packing supply company and order a few boxes to send to the datacenter and they will pack the servers for me. I stumbled across a couple of sites like this one which have everything I need, except that they require purchases of 20+ boxes at a time. Does anyone know a .nl packing and supply company that would be able to help me out? All I need is a couple of boxes suitable for shipping 2u servers and some foam and/or bubblewrap.

Shipping packages to a hotel?

destrius — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:46:05 -0800

I will be traveling to the US soon, and would like to be able to buy some stuff online and have it shipped to my hotel room. Do hotels allow this? More specifically, I'll be staying at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center in Alexandria, VA. I have emailed Hilton asking about the policy but the mail was directed "to the hotel" and I've not heard from them since. I realise I could give the hotel a call, but I'd prefer to avoid any long-distance phone charges (I'm in Asia now).

Has anybody done this before? In the case of packages delivered via a courier service, will the hotel sign for the packages or do I somehow need to be physically present when the package arrives?

Information on Shipping Large Items & the Best Rates

Audio Lover — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 07:22:17 -0800

I have a few large items that i would like to sell on eBay however the shipping charges are way to high, this is not due to weight but due to dimensional size. ie. 30" x 30" x 26" high or another item is a pair of speakers which are approx 50 lbs each and 20" x 24" x 34". The cost of shipping these items makes it impossible to sell them on eBay and get what they are worth. I hope some of you savvy sellers and shippers can help me out with this problem, i have many vintage items that are large and too expensive to ship via UPS, FedEx or Dhl. Thanks

How do I get my blade home?

iona — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:06:14 -0800

Long time listener, first time caller: Any globetrotting rowers or shipping pros out there? I need to transport a rowing oar overseas, and I don't want it damaged. I'm planning to check it on my flight as 'sports equipment', but any advice or alternate suggestions are welcome. More details inside. I have a trophy oar (a 'blade') in England, and I want to bring it home to Canada with me when I fly back in a few weeks' time (on Air Canada, if it matters). It's a wooden macon, ~3.5m long, and comes apart into two roughly equally-sized pieces. The oar was well-used before becoming a blade, so it's already a bit roughed up and I don't mind a few more dings on the main body of the oar. However, the blade face has been custom painted and varnished, and I definitely do not want anything to happen to it - scratching of paint or varnish, snapping of blade face, etc all would be very bad.
My tentative plan is to wrap up the two pieces separately, with bubble wrap and a cardboard shield around the blade face, and check them as baggage on my flight. I'm worried if I try to wrap the two pieces together they'll jostle and bang into each other and cause damage. I'm very keen not to incur any damage to my blade, but I can't spend a fortune on this (otherwise I'd build some fancy custom wooden crate) - so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

What airlines will get me from Phoenix to New York City with three adult cats?

Optimus Chyme — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 12:44:11 -0800

What airlines will get me from Phoenix to New York City with three adult cats? Failing that, can you recommend anyone who does live animal shipment? I moved to New York and left my cats with sitters in Phoenix while I found an apartment. I have an apartment now and would like to retrieve my cats. My plan was to a) fly back to PHX and fly them back out to NYC with me or b) have them shipped out here via a live animal transport service.

I know, for instance, that Southwest doesn't allow pets at all. What airlines are the most pet-friendly?

With respect to shippers, I got an eye-popping $1500 estimate from Precious Pet Transport, which I will be happy to spend if there are no other options available. Do you know of better or less expensive pet transport companies?

Flying back and renting a car is out of the question due to time and cost constraints; my research indicates that it would be the most expensive option other than building them a rocketship out of gold.

I am open to any suggestions or advice you may have. Thank you!

Need help with international shipping

rathikd — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 07:10:00 -0800

Information on International shipping (US to India)? I have to ship a large number of books to India from the New York/New Jersey area. It's looking like 5 cases weighing in at about 45 pounds/case.

Anyone out there have any suggestions or experience in these matters? Usual time:money ratio applies. Any help/advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

I really don't want to take it all with me.

tip120 — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:04:27 -0800

What is the most secure and cost effective way to start moving a small number of things to the US from France? Last year, I moved to France for a job. Hooray. I'm not renewing my contract and moving back to New York. Yay!

I brought more clothes that I should have, and I have some books and things I would like to send back before I move home. I will be traveling a bit before returning to the States and don't particularly relish the idea of lugging my crap around with me.

While I will be doing some local pruning of the clothes, I know there will still be stuff to send back. What is the best way to send it back from France?

All the other posts on Ask that I saw dealt with moving from the US, not to. They also typically dealt with furniture and larger amounts than I am dealing with.

Is my best bet to load up a few boxes of clothes at La Poste and ship them back? Or is there another, cheaper yet just as safe alternative?

Save my vinyl!

pedstel — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:12:05 -0800

How should I ship my beloved LP collection across the country? So, I'm moving from Portland, OR to New Orleans, LA via plane. I don't have any furniture/pets/children so I'm mostly planning on taking what fits into a couple of suitcases and shipping everything else (mostly just clothes, some books). However, I do have some vinyl record albums that I need to ship, and I really don't want to damage/warp them in the process. I have enough records to fill 1 milkbox type crate completely (maybe 50-100?) Help me, hive mind! I know a similar question has been asked in the past, but I'm wondering if anyone has some tips on shipping specifically, rather than moving the vinyl via truck.

My God, I have a lot of crap.

Asherah — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:54:37 -0800

This is my first real (cross-country) move. What are your best packing/moving strategies that I should adhere to? I've found this previous thread, but am hoping for more tips and tricks for a successful move. I'm moving from Southern California to Baltimore for a few years, however I'm not taking any large furniture. I'm shipping 6-7 medium/large boxes of household goods via FedEx ground (with added insurance) and need to know where to start, how to make sure I'm not forgetting anything crucial, and obviously would like everything to get there unharmed.

I'm leaving a fair amount of my belongings at my current home, so its not seemingly as easy as the need to pack everything. I need to discern what I will and what I will not need/use. Just starting the packing is a bit overwhelming, would a master list be helpful in some way? Should certain items be packed with others in a convenient way for added protection?

Any strategies would be much appreciated!

How does my iMac join me on holiday?

Turtles all the way down — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:56:54 -0800

How do I take my 20" iMac with me on holiday? I'm not touring Europe, but rather going the historic family cottage in Quebec, so I'd love to continue working on my PHP projects in between sunbathing and dips in the lake. My current plan is to go to the local Apple store, ask them for some packaging, and put it in a suitcase. Naive? I also considered shipping separately, but the cottage is in a remote location, and I can't really interrupt the trip to the cottage with a detour in Montreal.

How to get a bike from California to Toronto

dobbs — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:05:38 -0800

I'm in Toronto. A bike I want is in Berkeley, CA. I do not know the seller and he refuses to ship (anywhere). I have a relative in Fresno who does not drive but if the bike can get to him, he can ship it to me. Is there a service or something that I can pay to either ship the bike to me or deliver it to my relative? Ridiculous details inside. I've already tried uship.com and got zero bids.

I've already tried MeFi Jobs and got zero response (though this was pre-my bro arriving in Fresno).

I've tried the forums on WeEndure, no response.

I've asked two local (to the seller) bike shops and one bike co-op if I could pay them to ship it to me. No go.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get this bike from the seller to me?

Thanks!

how to make cake in a jar

Anonymous — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 16:35:14 -0800

how safe are cakes baked in mason jars? I realize that it's not shelf stable canning, but google searches seem to indicate that the cake can stay good for up to 6 months. How successful have you been? Also - i'm looking to ship this from texas to new york and i'm concerned that the seal will break with the heat from the shipping. will freezing the cake before i ship it make any difference at all?

Any other tips or tricks about baking cakes in jars is certainly welcome. this is my first time!

anonymous since this is a gift to a mefite.

Is there a way to get Endicia (for Mac) to validate APO/FPO addresses?

cosmic osmo — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:08:47 -0800

Is there a way to get Endicia (for Mac) to validate APO/FPO addresses? I sell CDs and books on Amazon, and for whatever reason most of my customers seem to be in the military. To ship my items, I use Endicia for Mac and a DYMO printer to print address labels and postage. Prior to the most recent software update, I never had a problem getting Endicia to print labels addressed to FPOs or APOs, but now it won't let me--I get an error message that says "Postal regulations require that all addresses be verified," and it won't let me print postage for an unverified address. The addresses I'm given conform to the USPS standards for overseas military mail as far as I can tell, so what gives? Is there a way to get around this? (I'm thinking like a plugin or something is out there somewhere.)

Endicia used to be the best thing that ever happened to my Amazon/eBay selling, but now with this (and the change in acceptable labels for delivery confirmation barcodes), it's practically useless. Please help! Our troops need their gently used hip hop CDs!

Shipping computers across the Canada & U.S.A. border

danwalker — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:05:58 -0800

I'm in Canada, and I need to send some computers to our office in the U.S.A. (Vermont, to be more specific). Will the hardware be inspected by customs or other security as it crosses the border? A colleague is certain that we can't ship a computer across the border without it being seized and inspected by border security. I've never heard of this, outside of a laptop being carried by an actual person going through customs.

A quick Google turns up lots of info on duties and cross-border shopping, but not much about actually shipping a box of computer equipment into the States. Does a policy/practice/rule about cracking open every box to inspect the computer hardware inside exist? If so, can you tell me anything about it?

Will it make it intact?

QuantumMeruit — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:16:26 -0800

I have a 42-inch LCD TV in its original box that needs to make its way cross-country. Can we just drop it off at FedEx/UPS, or does prudence and shipping policy require us to find a larger exterior box with more cushioning?

ship from France to US?

cogneuro — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:13:13 -0800

Any up-to-date advice about less expensive (not cheap, of course) ways to ship about 100-150 lb of personal belongings from France to the US? I don't need fast delivery, just reliable and not break-the-bank.

There's got to be an easier way...

Oktober — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 07:19:58 -0800

Is there an easy and relatively inexpensive way to ship a pallet of furniture and household goods halfway across the country? Basically, I'm looking for a company that will drop a pallet off in northern va, then pick it up once it's all loaded up, then ship it to Chicago. I know I've heard of this service before, but for the life of me I can't remember what it's called. Ideally, I'd like to pay no more than $200 or so for it.

Take My Stuff - Please!

lunasol — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:29:06 -0800

Which is the best shipping service to use for moving? USPS, Fedex, or UPS? I would like them to come to my house. Specifics: I'm moving most of my non-furniture stuff about 1200 miles.

- Time is not an issue. I won't need this stuff for a month or so.
- I will have about 6-8 boxes holding clothes, books, and some kitchenware.
- I have one larger item - a TV - which I'd like to have someone come to my house, pack it up and ship it for me. I'll pack everything else myself.
- Budget: I'm willing to pay for pickup, but I'd rather not pay for speed, since I don't need the stuff to get there quickly.

A lot of the info I've found about these options online is sort of confusing and assumes a basic familiarity of shipping classes that I don't have. From what I can tell, USPS only does this for express and priority mail, which is more expensive than I need. Fedex picks up, but all fedex shipping is super-pricey. It seems like my best bet is UPS but I'm wondering if I might be missing something.

Also, will any of these entities send someone to pack up my TV?

Amazon and eBay best practices?

cosmic osmo — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:05:06 -0800

I need advice for selling my used stuff online via eBay and Amazon--more specifically, the shipping and order management part of it. I've been selling on eBay for a while and feel pretty comfortable with most of the process (taking pictures of the item, creating an auction template, when to list, etc.) In a flash of brilliance early this a.m., I signed up for an Amazon seller's account and listed a bunch of CDs I had been planning to sell and much to my surprise, I have already sold some! So far, so good.

All of this is very low-volume: I have at most 5 eBay auctions a week, and right now I only have about 30 things listed on Amazon. I'm using GarageSale to create and manage my eBay auctions, and Delicious Library to organize my Amazon sales. For eBay, I ordered a bunch of USPS Priority Mail boxes, quote a flat rate for shipping within the U.S., pack the items as the auction ends its nearing date and then once I get paid via PayPal (and the money is immediately whisked away into my checking account) I hand-address the packages and bring them down to the local P.O. to ship (always with delivery confirmation, and sometimes the buyer will pay for insurance). So far I've been pretty good at 'guestimating' shipping costs and haven't had any complaints from buyers.

This has been going well so far--all of my auctions end Sunday nights and by the time I go to the P.O. on Tuesday mornings, usually all of the buyers have paid. Sometimes I have to make a second trip to the P.O. later in the week, but I live less than 5 minutes walking distance and rarely wait in line for more than 10 minutes if I go on a weekday morning, so I don't really mind.

My question(s): What's the best way to ship books and CDs, given that Amazon gives you around $3 to do so? Should I start using some kind of online postage payment system (Endicia? Stamps.com? Whatever PayPal offers?) for either eBay or Amazon, or both? Is it worth it to buy things like scales or special printers? I have an HP Ink Jet printer, use Macs (Leopard) exclusively, and use PayPal (at least for eBay). As mentioned above I also use GarageSale and Delicious Library, and would love anything that integrates well with what I already have. How do I make my life easier, especially given that I have also just started selling on Amazon?

I've looked up previous questions about selling on eBay and Amazon, but if you have additional tips for using either (especially Amazon!), mostly with regards to shipping and order management, I'd love to hear them. I've also waded through the seller forums at both sites, but they seem geared toward people who do this for a living, and I'm just trying to clear out some storage space while also potentially making a few bucks.

help bring my books home!

arcadia — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 03:01:56 -0800

how can I ship my books from the UK to North America without spending a fortune? I am a PhD student in Manchester UK. I will be moving back to North America at the end of the year. I have about 500 pounds of books that I need to get back to North America. What's the cheapest way to do it? It doesn't have to be fast, just secure and as cheap as possible.