How do I move a weird amount of stuff halfway across the country?

July 3, 2015 6:31 PM

In a few months I'll be moving several states away. I have a weird amount of stuff to move: much more than I can carry with me on the plane, and more (and more weird/bulky) than I can reasonably ship via traditional shipping methods, but not nearly enough stuff to fill a moving truck. I don't drive so can't just throw it in a small rental van and drive it myself, and anyway I'd prefer to pay professionals to do it. So what are my options?

The bulky/weird stuff includes one regular bike, one folding bike, an espresso machine, and a large LCD display. There's no furniture. Everything else, I figure will probably fit into 10-15 boxes. Are there movers who will move this small amount of stuff?

posted by rhiannonstone to Travel & Transportation (15 answers total)

You probably want a freight company.
posted by Nerd of the North at 6:34 PM on July 3, 2015

Best answer: Yes! It's called a POD. On phone so can't link but easy to find via Google.
posted by amaire at 6:38 PM on July 3, 2015 [2 favorites]

Our PODs were each half the size of a garage, I think that's too much.

You'll need to figure out the dimensions of the final packed load and then look into freight/LTL (Less Than (truck)Load) shipping. I believe FedEx and UPS actually both do LTL, and might even come palletize it for you, but local shippers probably will at well.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:41 PM on July 3, 2015

Call a couple of moving companies. Sometimes they will put your items in with another persons move when they have room left over.
posted by BoscosMom at 6:50 PM on July 3, 2015

Best answer: PODS offers a smaller container, too.
posted by jaguar at 6:54 PM on July 3, 2015

Best answer: There are small PODS that are 7'x7'.
posted by amaire at 6:54 PM on July 3, 2015

If your end points work for it, Amtrak shipping can be pretty affordable.
posted by ssg at 6:57 PM on July 3, 2015

Moving companies will ship partial loads but it usually takes longer because they have to wait until there's a nearly full truck headed your general direction.
posted by crush-onastick at 6:58 PM on July 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Oh! PODS! I totally forgot about those. Thanks!
posted by rhiannonstone at 6:58 PM on July 3, 2015

Best answer: ABF U-pack was another option that I discovered and worked out well for my cross country move.
posted by scalespace at 8:20 PM on July 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I found the PODS were a bit more expensive for the small amount I was shipping. Last Summer, I used uship.com to move several pieces of furniture from CA to NM. You post what you want to ship and shippers bid on the price. On my one and only transaction, the original shipper flaked out so I had to contact the other bidders but it worked out fine in the end and I didn't spend thousands in shipping.
posted by jabo at 8:38 PM on July 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

If any of the stuff you are moving is books, mailing them to yourself at your new address via media mail (discounted postage) is often one of the cheapest and most convenient ways to move books.
posted by Jacqueline at 10:30 PM on July 3, 2015

Be careful if you are mailing heavy boxes of books by media mail. Out strapping tape all around the box and your name on the inside, and maybe in the books, and take pictures of all the contents. When I moved to Alaska, I mailed about 8 boxes of books (all the books I use for work --- I thought it would be safer!) and only got 6 1/2 at the destination. A bunch of the boxes had basically been destroyed by the mail (I could tell because the post office had tried to tape them back together, sort of), so I got some books that were not mine shoved in the boxes, and some books just disappeared.
posted by leahwrenn at 9:27 AM on July 4, 2015 [1 favorite]

I've found that using pallet wrap will improve the outcome of shipping oddly shaped items enormously. When you load the pod, wrap up a quantity of things so they are snug. This will diminish the amount of breakage you may face at the other end.
posted by ptm at 5:17 PM on July 4, 2015

Seconding Uship--I was in the same situation and was quoted upwards of $1000 for a pod, but managed to have 4 large pieces of furniture moved (about 300 miles) for $400. The shipper was a bit eccentric, and I ended up having to help him move things (so be prepared for that), but it was worth it to me for the savings.
posted by carrienation at 7:37 AM on July 5, 2015